Difficult relationships within a team top the list of reasons people leave a company. Poor colleague connections often reflect a lack of a formal culture of psychological safety. A founder of LeaderMakers, a leader development and support organization, outlined the core rules of such a culture and how to implement them within a business to foster stronger teams.
Teams that embrace psychological safety share several key traits, with the absence of toxic criticism at the forefront.
“Rudeness to teammates, belittling questions, attempts to show one’s own superiority, and repeating problems without offering solutions are clear signs of an unhealthy corporate culture. In a well-functioning, cohesive team, feedback serves the project. Members challenge proposed ideas to uncover weaknesses, improve outcomes, and prevent mistakes,” the expert explained.
Another central element is a calm response to mistakes.
“The urge to avoid errors can shrink creative potential and sow a climate of fear. When team members worry about judgment, they may withhold their own ideas, stifling bright concepts before they even arise.”
Building an environmentally friendly psychological culture requires active involvement from leadership, the human resources function, and the team itself. The process includes several stages: assessing the team for signs of psychological strain, aligning value orientations, and introducing profiling practices.
“A sense of psychological safety, coupled with confidence that an employee can speak up freely, reduces turnover and helps form durable, productive, and pleasant teams to work with. Companies can embed this culture by prioritizing corporate values, integrating it into recruitment to ensure complementary personalities join the ranks, and cultivating mechanisms that learn from mistakes while honoring every perspective,” the expert advised.
Previously, socialbites.ca explored how a leader can recognize that subordinates may not respect him, underscoring the importance of behavior and culture in leadership effectiveness.