For the last eight years, Tanya Awadallah has been reading and learning about psychological safety and incorporating her knowledge into practice. Here Tanya shares some of her favourite articles and books on psychological safety, the benefits of stellar teamwork, and building healthy, creative, innovative workplaces.
I first read about psychological safety in a Google study called Project Aristotle, which was published in The New York Times in 2016. Since then, the topic has become a bit of an obsession.
Amy Edmondson’s definition of psychological safety is nice and simple. It’s a belief that you will not be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns or mistakes. I think that sums it up pretty simply.
For me, that means I’m working in a team where I’m not scared to ask questions, even challenge something. I know what my role is. I have clarity. I’m not scared to ask for help and that won’t automatically mean that I’m less or weakened in any way. If I raise an issue, how will that be received? Maybe more importantly, will it be followed through? So I guess, in a nutshell, I’d say it’s being on a trusting team. If we can get rid of all of those hurdles, then our people are just left to focus on doing their best work.
I know some people think it’s wishy-washy but I think it’s really serious. We spend so much of our lives at work and so much time and energy goes into what we do. Creating psychologically safe workplaces is huge for organisations in terms of retention and turnover.
The following are some book and article recommendations for those who want to learn more.
“What Google learned from its quest to build the perfect team”
Charles Duhigg, The New York Times, 25 February 2016
This New York Times article is on a Google study called Project Aristotle and it’s what really piqued my interest or obsession. Google researched hundreds of their teams over five years and found that the most important attributes separating a successful or unsuccessful team was psychological safety.
One of the key findings of the study really makes sense to me: “Some of the behaviours that create psychological safety, like conversational turn-taking and empathy, are part of the same unwritten rules we often turn to as individuals. When we are establishing a bond, human bonds matter as much at work as everywhere else, and, in fact, sometimes matter more.” This study is a great place to start.
The Fearless Organization: Creating psychological safety in the workplace for learning, innovation and growth
Amy Edmondson (John Wiley & Sons Inc, 2019)
The Fearless Organization explores a study of teams in hospitals. One team was psychologically safe and another wasn’t. When the researchers looked at the results of those teams, the team that was psychologically safe had worse results when they really drilled down. But it was because that team was more open and honest about the results. They were just generally open and trying to improve the work. However, the team that wasn’t safe was spending all their energy trying to protect themselves.
The book includes information on the value of a psychological workplace but also advice on how to create one. It also includes a leadership self-assessment that I’ve found to be a useful tool when self-reflecting.
The Four Stages of Psychological Safety: Defining the path to inclusion and innovation
Timothy R. Clark (Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2020)
This book talks about safety following the natural sequence of human needs – that we first want to be included, then we want to learn, then we want to contribute and, finally, we want to challenge the status quo if we feel that things need to change. All without fear of being embarrassed, marginalised or punished in some way. The book explores 4 stages of psychological safety: Inclusion safety, Leaner safety, Contributor safety and Challenger safety.
The Psychological Safety Playbook
Karolin Helbig and Minette Norman (Page Two, 2023)
This is a small, almost pocket-sized book. It has some excellent and very practical plays and moves that leaders can learn and use in different situations. It covers communication, listening, embracing risk and failure, and designing inclusive rituals. And there’s a whole chapter on managing your reactions, which is huge in terms of contributing to a safe culture.
The Advantage
Patrick Lencioni (Jossey-Bass, 2012)
I had to include this classic because I think it’s relevant to any learning on the subject of culture. “Organisational health will one day surpass all other disciplines in business as the greatest opportunity for improvement and competitive advantage.” It encourages leaders to do their most important jobs; they have to ensure that employees throughout the organisation are continually and repeatedly reminded about what is important. And they must be on guard against contradictory and inconsistent processes that can confuse employees and against bureaucracy that can creep into an organisation when people get complacent.
Teaming: How organisations learn, innovate and compete in the knowledge economy
Amy Edmondson (Jossey-Bass, 2012)
This book proposes that “teaming” should be a verb. “Teaming is a dynamic activity, not a bounded, static entity. It is largely determined by the mindset and practices of teamwork, not by the design and structures of effective teams”. This book encourages us to build a “teaming mindset” and watch out for some of the barriers to teaming.
Teaming to Innovate
Amy Edmondson (Jossey-Bass, 2014)
This pocket-sized book is an extension of Teaming and provides real-life examples that show how teaming to innovate provides the spark that can clarify goals, nurture creativity and enable synergy. I like the description of three levers that leaders use to influence the actions of others: communicating an inspiring picture of a desirable future, modelling desired behaviours, and then direct coaching and feedback.
Emotional Intelligence for the Modern Workplace
Morten Johnson (Lightning Source INC, 2022)
This book explores emotional intelligence and how it is fundamental in creating an atmosphere of psychological safety for teams. It provides practical takeaways, stories, strategies and some exercises too. I think it’s a great place to start if you’re wanting to change your culture.
Employee Enragement: Why people hate working for you
James Adonis (Nero books, 2016)
Another pocket-sized book that I refer to frequently and keeps me very humble! This book is based on a study of 2,400 employees who were asked: “What makes you angry, upset or frustrated at work?” The 50 chapters are all only about one page each. It’s a great tool to reference when you need to check yourself!
The War of Art: Break through the blocks and win your inner creative battles
Steven Pressfield (Black Irish Books, 2022)
I’ve included this book because it motivates me and helps me work from the better part of my nature. Steven Pressfield talks about resistance, which feeds on fear but encourages you to do more creative work and overcome your procrastination, distraction and paralysis. He says inside all of us is resistance, a tricky enemy that sabotages our dreams, and it is the source of our fears, doubts, excuses and poor habits.
Tanya Awadallah is a Principal of MHN Design Union in Surry Hills, NSW. As Practice Director she works closely with the leadership team developing and implementing systems and strategies that cater for an ever-expanding practice. Tanya is passionate about MHNDU’s role both as an innovative design practice and a force for positive social change in the community.
Also see the video recording, Stepping Up on Safety & Wellness, which features Tanya Awadallah.
