The topic of psychological safety is relevant to all areas of life. It's crucial for successful studies, healthy family relationships, and is clearly essential for development in the work environment.
No One Wants to Make Mistakes
Yet, making mistakes is a necessary part of life and progress. It's natural to feel uncomfortable, sometimes embarrassed, and even frustrated when we fail. However, no one makes mistakes as a hobby. Burying our failures slows down the entire process of development and deprives others of the knowledge of what to avoid.
If you made a mistake, chances are the person in front of you has made the same one before, and the person next to you will make it tomorrow. Mistakes cost time, money, and progress, yet they can be minimised with just a few adjustments. There is no need to purchase a machine or download any applications.
How About Amy C. Edmondson?
Amy C. Edmondson, a Harvard professor, defined psychological safety in great detail during her lecture at NEWTON. She described it as a setting of working confidence where even failure is an acceptable outcome. However, she clarified that this does not imply reduced expectations, comfort, security of position, or flattery. Edmondson emphasised that a psychologically safe environment is one where ideas, questions, fears, and failures are welcomed and valued.
If you hear bad news, cries for help, and expressions of disapproval in the collective, congratulations! You have successfully created a functional psychological environment with the potential for faster growth.
In her final metaphor, Edmondson compared the art of failing to the Newton Family’s favourite sport, sailing. If the captain wants to maintain the course and navigate through rough seas, the crew must work together seamlessly.
In these turbulent times, we need each other more than ever. Only by collaborating as a team will we learn to make the right mistakes and significantly improve our chances of achieving our goals. Mistakes are proof of evolution; they show us the way forward.
At NEWTON, we address the topic of psychological safety by promoting the intelligent handling of mistakes, learning from them, sharing the lessons learned, and building resilience. A new course titled 'The Art of Failure' will soon be added, expanding our range of special trainings for managers, such as X-tream Management and Authentic Leadership Bootcamp.
