Does your team feel safe expressing every idea that’s relevant to your work? Imagine your team sitting around a table.
People either express what they’re thinking (putting their ideas, like cards, on the table) or they don’t (protecting their ideas by hiding them under the table).
When we work in teams, we most likely only talk about what’s on the table – that is, the issues, feelings and ideas that people have expressed and can talk about. It works great, as long as our team feels comfortable enough to get their thoughts out. That’s what the popular concept of psychological safety means – that people feel they can share information and opinions needed to do the work. Information that may show something’s wrong and needs to be fixed.
When people fear the outcome of saying something, though, they start to push their thoughts under the table – this keeps them and their ideas safe from criticism, ridicule, or embarrassment. The things we keep under the table have just as much bearing on our ability to participate in our team’s work as they stuff we do talk about, though.
Imagine a team conversation when…
- One member has been made fun of for always agreeing with the presenter, who’s a lot like them
- One member just had a close relative die, and hasn’t mentioned this to the team
- Another member learned before the conversation that their part of the project has a technical issue that needs significant time to solve
- Yet another member has just talked to an angry customer about a feature that isn’t working the way they expected
- The member presenting has shared ideas before and had them shot down by the group; they’re worried about presenting again
How well is this group really going to be able to pay attention, listen and solve problems together?
You’ve probably been at this team meeting before. It’s easy to spot – the group goes silent or listless… or, on the other end of the spectrum, gets confrontational with no real purpose.
What do you do?
Lead by example, if you can – bring up something you’re keeping under the table that stops you from participating fully. Talk about how it’s holding you back, and ask others if they have similar thoughts to discuss. Ask your team members some powerful questions.
What hopes do you have for the team that you hesitate to express?
What needs to change so you feel safe expressing those hopes?
What issues, ideas or feelings are we avoiding as a group?
What could we gain by talking about these things?
What is holding us back in this conversation?
You can do this formally or informally. You probably know what makes sense for your own team members. What else has worked for your teams when you find yourselves stuck like this?
this is an old post i found when cleaning up my personal blog – while it’s nearly a decade old now, it’s still as relevant as ever to team dynamics and safety