Laura Baranek, MBA, MSPOD’s Post

The work of Amy Edmondson is spot on. Few things are more important for the success of creative individuals and teams than providing a supportive environment. "Google found that teams with this kind of safe environment have employees who are less likely to quit, better at using diverse perspectives, and ultimately, more successful." There are nuances that came out of Google's Aristotle study, to be sure. And Edmondson among others has helped clarify their implications for leaders. ▶ Create an inclusive environment ▶ Encourage people to speak up, indeed, make sure ALL have involvement ▶ But don't just encourage others to speak up, model curiosity yourself, and get good and comfortable at asking questions to learn ▶ Be comfortable sharing uncertainty about how to achieve goals, acknowledge your fallibility ▶ Beyond being vulnerable in front of others, show a willingness to take creative and calculated risks, and be consistent in supporting that trait in those around For a great overview of the process of and concepts illuminated by the Aristotle project, see the great The New York Times article from here: https://lnkd.in/eM3RpJuP A helpful quote from that article: "The behaviors that create psychological safety — conversational turn-taking and empathy — are part of the same unwritten rules we often turn to, as individuals, when we need to establish a bond. And those human bonds matter as much at work as anywhere else. In fact, they sometimes matter more."

Excellent (quick-read!) article with 3 (no cost!) suggestions for leaders to help improve team performance by fostering more psychological safety in the workplace: 1. be open and approachable; 2. show your human side; 3. check your biases.

What Makes a Team Truly Successful? Google Uncovered the Answer. I've posted before about Google's extensive research on teaming via 'Project Aristotle', but its too valuable to not repost. Their findings showed that the most successful teams aren’t just about having the best talent, the key variable is Psychological safety. Key Insights: - Psychological safety means team members feel safe to take risks, voice their ideas, and admit mistakes without fear of negative consequences. - Teams with high psychological safety see higher levels of innovation, better performance, and stronger team morale. - Leaders play a crucial role in fostering this environment by encouraging open dialogue, showing empathy, and modelling vulnerability (see Brene Brown's work on this subject for more insights on the importance of vulnerability). Reflect on what you do/can do in your team(s):- - How safe do your team members feel when expressing their thoughts or challenging the status quo? - What steps can you take today to be present and focus on the conversations you take part in? - Are there behaviours or habits YOU need to change (NOT them) to make your team feel more supported? Building a successful team starts with trust and openness. We need to think about how we can move towards that through our individual and collective efforts. #Leadership #TeamBuilding #PsychologicalSafety #Innovation #GrowthMindset

At Google, Project Aristotle revealed that successful teams aren't just about having top talent. They thrive on 'group norms' like dependability, clarity, meaning, and psychological safety. In a safe environment, team members feel free to speak up and take risks, leading to better outcomes. To build such a team: 1. Be approachable and flexible. 2. Embrace your humanity. 3. Check your biases. At the LVMH House, we inspire our leaders to create spaces where everyone can succeed and thrive. Our next leadership program will focus on building high-performing teams. #Leadership #Teamwork #PsychologicalSafety #lvmh #lvmhhouse

Check out this Inc. article. My research has also shown that psychological safety is key to feeling a sense of community. And what facilitates psychological safety? Soft skills!

When you feel safe to show up as your authentic self at work, magic can happen ✨ As leaders, we have a responsibility to ensure our teams have psychological safety at the base of how we operate.

Do you hear (or use) any of these statements at work: “That’s how it’s always been done,” or “I can’t let them know I’m not sure,” or “We only talk about the positive things.” Each of these statements will lead to lower productivity and profitability, high employee turnover, and unmotivated employees. Check out this article on Google’s research to determine what makes an effective team. I’m happy to see Amy Edmondson get the credit she deserves for her #psychologicalsafety research! #fearlessorganizationscan

Google found that teams with psychological safety were better at creating a safe environment for sharing ideas. Out of 180 teams studied, those with this safety were more successful at fostering open communication and innovation. Psychological Safety is one of the greatest gifts a supervisor can give to an employee. It matters because people matter. When organizations prioritize politics, egos, org charts, and money over psychological safety, it harms business outcomes and company culture. Great teams need dependability, structure, clarity, meaning, impact, and authentic psychological safety. #psychologicalsafety #organizationalculture #teamwork https://lnkd.in/e8WtUdv9

Personally, I love this perspective... 😁 Also, How Google Works is such a classic. After seeing this I want to read it again. A big theme of the book is workplace culture. Still a super relevant theme, I'm curious to revisit the ideas of culture that were written over 10 years ago! #hr #workplaceculture #howgoogleworks

🔬 𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐇 𝐍𝐄𝐖𝐒🔬 Explore more with #ResearchNews13 🤝 𝐔𝐧𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 🤝 𝐋𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐠𝐥𝐞'𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦 Google launched "Project Aristotle" to find out what makes a team successful. Despite initial assumptions that individual talent or specific skills would be the determining factors, Google's research found that 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐝𝐲𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐜𝐬, 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐬, 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐞𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞. 🧐 Here are the key takeaways, which are highly relevant to business leaders and HR professionals: 💠 𝐏𝐬𝐲𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 One of the most critical elements Google discovered was the 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐬𝐲𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞𝐭𝐲. Teams where members felt safe to take risks and express themselves without fear of judgement or punishment were far more successful. In these teams, individuals were open to sharing ideas, asking questions and admitting mistakes - leading to better collaboration and innovation. 💠 𝐄𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 In successful teams, 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐚 𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞 and conversations were evenly distributed. When some people dominate the conversation while others remain silent, it stifles creativity and problem-solving. 💠 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 Teams that demonstrated 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐮𝐩 𝐨𝐧 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫'𝐬 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 were more cohesive and productive. Emotional intelligence, both at an individual and team level, became a key indicator of team success. 🫀 💠 𝐃𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 Successful teams at Google were highly dependable. 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐧 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 to complete work on time and meet expectations. In addition, clear goals and a shared understanding of roles and tasks made these teams far more efficient. 🎖️ 𝐁𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲 Google's research underlines that the human factors of: 1️⃣ trust; 2️⃣ communication; 3️⃣ emotional connection ... are more important to team success than simply having the best talent. 😎 #ThinkingPeople #TP #BusinessConsulting #BusinessTraining #Expertise #ResearchNews