One of the aspects that most concern organizations is related to the productivity of the teams and from there they seek the support of a consultant to help them achieve it, the performance of the people in their work is something of great interest to the managers and in a great way they are responsible for promoting the right environment for the company to have a desired performance.
I have participated in analysis and development processes, to build these favorable spaces in organizations, what I am looking for primarily is that there is psychological security in work teams, this is often an arduous task, largely because it requires a certain maturity and openness of team members and even more of managers or supervisors and also due to the high existence of very hierarchical, patriarchal, very rigid and lacking sensitivity organizations.
When I speak of psychological safety, in summary I mean that work environment where there is a belief shared by team members that the group is a safe place to take risks, mutual support is given, they feel safe when expressing their opinions, proposals and the fact of taking risks is also emphasized, in these teams it is not a crime to make mistakes, rather they are nourished by talking about it in order to improve in these aspects and rush to learning, this concept was developed by Professor Amy Edmondson, She tells us that to achieve this, the leader must have the " ability to listen and social sensitivity, inviting people to express themselves, to talk about their emotions, not interrupt, anticipate reactions and take them into account."
Likewise, it emphasizes the fact that:
“In psychologically safe environments, people believe that if they make a mistake they will not be penalized or generate pejorative opinions. They also believe that others will not resent or penalize for asking for help, information or feedback. These beliefs favor confidence to take risks and therefore to achieve the benefits associated with learning "
This is a real challenge for managers today, at least it is what I have had to live as a consultant, I have also noticed how younger managers find it easier to develop this aspect in their management.
One of the actions that is important, once the members of the organization are aware of this aspect, is to make it part of the organizational culture, this I always propose and seek to achieve since the benefits will persist over time.
As managers this is an aspect that should be part of our professional skills, for this it is not enough to read or take courses on this topic, it must be taken into action with commitment, the benefits that management brings is enormous, so much so that you I ensure that you will reach another professional level and stand out from the rest, because the results will impact many aspects of the organization.
In this sense I ask you, as a leader, is your listening active? Do you have sensitivity towards others? Do you promote responsibility to effectively take charge of situations? Do you respond actively and consciously to your collaborators? Do you detect when your collaborators are discouraged? Do you penalize mistakes? Is there trust and tolerance when it comes to opinions? Do they take advantage of everyone's experiences? Is there openness in team conversations? Are they open to debate without being blamed? How are they to receive and actuate the proposals of the team members? Do you work to build trust?
My invitation is that you bet on creating psychological security in organizations, this will greatly improve productivity, innovation, problem solving, performance, organizational climate among others.
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Author: Lcdo. Michael Aular - Micdan Consulting
Twitter: @Micdanconsultin
