【English Composition Practice Book】How to Ensure Psychological Safety? Basic Concepts and Methods

2024年10月28日 08:00

There are various methods to ensure psychological safety, but there is a common concept.

That is that it must be one that removes the “four anxieties (perceived ignorance, perceived incompetence, perceived hindrance, and perceived negativity)” that arise when psychological safety is lacking.

Here are some methods to eliminate these four fears and ensure psychological safety.

Technique 1: Provide equal opportunity to speak up

Members can feel that the team is psychologically secure only when they can freely express their opinions.

In reality, however, there are cases in which the opinions of particularly talented or prominent members of the team are given priority, and the opinions of other members are disregarded.

To increase psychological safety, supervisors should stop favoring the opinions of one particular person and create equal opportunities for all members to speak up.

One technique that facilitates equal input at meetings is the “round-robin” method.

In this method, after all participants have written their opinions on sticky notes, one by one, the contents of each sticky note are read out in turn and the sticky notes are put up near the participants who have similar opinions, and the process is repeated.

On the other hand, it may be difficult for participants to express their opinions if they are not accustomed to the meeting, so it is advisable to prepare in advance by talking to participants individually before the meeting and asking them to think about their opinions beforehand, or by providing an ice-breaker before the meeting begins.

Technique #2: Encourage cooperation rather than competition

If competition is always expected among members, it may be difficult to relax and work, but on the other hand, if people feel that someone will help them when they are in trouble, they can work with peace of mind.

Therefore, supervisors need to encourage cooperation rather than competition among members in order to increase psychological safety.

Consider it as a matter of course that each person has something he or she does not know or cannot do, and build a team that can mutually cooperate with each other.

It is also important to encourage cooperation among members by making each person's work goals and accomplishments public and “visualizing” each other's work to further strengthen the relationship of trust.

Technique 3: Be aware of positive thinking

If all reactions to issues found or problems encountered are negative, it will be difficult to approach work in a positive manner, as people will become more concerned about their surroundings than necessary.

However, a slight change in the way you say or think can have the effect of making you see things in a more positive light.

To increase psychological safety, make sure that everyone on the team, including the supervisor, is aware of the positive reception and reflections.

To this end, it is also important to raise the awareness of each individual.

Technique 4: Supervisors respect subordinates

The relationship of trust between supervisors and subordinates is another important factor in enhancing psychological safety, which requires supervisors to respect the existence and opinions of each member.

For example, they should acknowledge each member as an individual, look them in the eye when conversing with them, recognize the diversity of their values, and be supportive rather than negative or critical.

By doing these things, members will recognize that they are necessary for the team and that their supervisor understands them, and psychological safety will be easier to maintain.

Technique 5: Conduct a valuable 1-on-1

Some companies conduct 1-on-1s between supervisors and subordinates in order to confirm each member's goals and achievements.

By making good use of 1-on-1s, which provide an opportunity to speak your mind to your supervisor, you can expect to increase psychological safety.

By conducting 1-on-1s frequently throughout the company, without limiting the department or time period, 1-on-1s will take root in the team.

It is important to increase psychological safety by not only talking about work content, but also by having quality chats and learning about each member's values.

By having the supervisor try to make small talk that makes them want to ask questions, or by asking “open questions” that cannot be answered with “yes” or “no,” the 1-on-1 time becomes more valuable and helps to increase psychological safety.

Technique 6: Create an opportunity to talk openly

While it is necessary to have a certain amount of tension in the workplace, if the atmosphere is too tense, some members of the team may become deflated and unable to express their true feelings.

In order to enhance psychological safety, it is necessary to occasionally release tension and create opportunities for members to speak their minds.

Examples of easy ways to do this on a daily basis are to have an ice-breaker before the start of a meeting, such as introducing oneself, introducing others, or playing a simple game to communicate one's inner self.

If it is not too stressful for the team members, it is also a good idea to have meetings over food and drink or to hold a drinking party after work.

Technique 7: Support the newcomer as a team.

New employees, mid-career hires, and newly transferred employees tend to be anxious until they become accustomed to their new environment and duties.

In some cases, this anxiety prevents them from fully demonstrating their abilities.

To increase psychological safety for newcomers, it is important for the entire team to support them.

Examples include on-the-job training for newcomers, mental care through the Brother-Sister and Mentor systems, and regular 1-on-1 feedback.

Technique 8: Review the evaluation method

In the conventional evaluation method, which ranks members based on their individual achievements, there may be cases in which people do not feel secure in their work because they “cannot make mistakes” or are “concerned about the success of others around them.

Therefore, it is effective to drastically review the evaluation method in order to increase psychological safety.

This can be done by implementing team/project-based evaluations instead of individual evaluations, or by implementing “no-rating,” in which members are not ranked but instead are evaluated and reviewed at regular 1-on-1 meetings.

Technique 9: Create an open organization

Many Japanese companies have a top-down organizational structure that emphasizes management and leadership.

In such an organization, it is difficult for front-line employees to express their true feelings to upper management.

To ensure psychological safety, it is important to create an open organization.

Although it is not easy to change the organizational form itself, it may not be so difficult to enable all members to exchange opinions on an equal footing, regardless of position, age, or employment status.

In an organization with such active communication, psychological safety is enhanced.

Technique 10: Review the team structure.

If the psychological safety of the team cannot be ensured even after trying various methods, there may be a problem with the compatibility among team members.

If the relationships within the team are not good, it will be difficult to build a team with high psychological safety, no matter how much the supervisor wants to build a team with high psychological safety.

If psychological safety is not improving, then it is time to reevaluate the team structure.

By changing the team composition, you can expect to facilitate communication among team members, which will make it easier to ensure psychological safety.

[Summary]

Psychological safety refers to a state in which everyone can speak and act freely without fear or anxiety.

When psychological safety is ensured, members can work without feeling unnecessary stress, allowing them to maximize their abilities, which in turn leads to higher corporate productivity.

To this end, it is important to first ask questions about psychological safety and understand the current status of the team.

From among the various ways to ensure psychological safety, choose the one that best suits your team and build a team with a high level of psychological safety.

【参考図書】
「日本人のための英作文練習帳」酒井文秀(著)GregoryAlanDick(英文監修)