Psychological safety is a critical factor in removing obstacles that hold back teamwork.
by BY MARCEL SCHWANTES, INC. CONTRIBUTING EDITOR AND FOUNDER, LEADERSHIP FROM THE CORE@MARCELSCHWANTES
for Inc.
Photo: Getty Images
Improving team participation is a constant challenge for leaders, whether people are working together in the office or remotely. Many teams can suffer from “domination by the few,” where several people control every meeting and shape the team’s direction.
Getting the quieter members of the team to contribute and participate is a challenge for in-person teams and has additional barriers that need to be overcome for those working in hybrid environments.
Vivek Nigam, president and CEO of BeRemote — a tech startup that helps companies to boost productivity and team participation — has spent much of his career managing people through challenges impacting team participation.
Vivek shared with me a few strategies for being more collaborative, boosting participation, and increasing trust — all required for high-performing teams.
The team environment needs to be a safe zone where each member feels empowered to speak and contribute. Clinical studies discuss psychological safety as a critical factor in addressing the obstacles that hold back participation. Vivek shared a few ways leaders can boost psychological safety, including:
- Actively soliciting questions
- Providing multiple ways for employees to share their thoughts
- Encouraging dialog and discussion on comments
- Learning about each other
- Protecting the teams’ information
