How To Use Psychological Safety In Cultures That Grow
Psychological safety precedes innovation, honest communication, agile behaviours, engagement and enables individuals to tap into hidden potential. All good things. Feeling psychological unsafe is in comparison, not a good thing. It results in fear, overthinking, under speaking and group think. All bad things. If we want to create a culture that grows, there is no advantage to people feeling psychologically unsafe.
But interestingly, when it comes to tasks (rather than a global sense of safety), it's different.
It will often be helpful to growth if people are stretched and challenged in their tasks. By enabling a (supervised) level of task insecurity in a psychologically safe environment, we create the opportunity to learn and innovate. By challenging individuals with tasks, we create the space for a growth spurt in capability, empowerment and achievement, even if it is accompanied by discomfort.
When people are not stretching in tasks, there will be no growth, even in a psychologically safe environment. This is because people get comfortable, and comfortable has an impact on their efforts and their fulfillment.
So ...
growth zone = psychologically safe environment + task stretch
no growth zone = psychologically safe environment + no task stretch.
no growth zone = psychological unsafe environment.
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