I recently led a discussion for the Leading Caterers of America about “leading with purpose”. Among an impressive group of leaders in our industry, we shared the things that great leaders do and the behaviors common among not-so-great leaders. We talked about the significance of having a compelling vision and being able to share that with our teams. We reflected on how critical emotional intelligence is to leadership and we reflected on what each of us could improve upon in that area. One of the common threads throughout the entire session was the importance of trust.  

Trust is paramount when it comes to leadership. A willingness to follow someone usually comes with a belief that the person is going in the right direction. That they have a certain level of credibility and that they will look after the people in their care. Great leaders build that trust by consistently doing what they say they are going to do. They can make tough decisions and take action when necessary. And they strengthen connections with their team by taking time to listen and get to know them on an individual level. The best leaders though transcend trust on an individual level and find ways to build trust within the organization as a whole by creating psychological safety.

Psychological safety starts with the leader, but it becomes part of the culture of an organization. It lays the groundwork for how people interact with one another and their willingness to be vulnerable. This video from Simon Sinek describes what that looks like. When psychological safety exists within an organization, very little drama exists. Teams are more innovative because people are willing to try new things. When stress and challenges creep in, employees navigate those situations with grace and respect as opposed to blame and ridicule. And companies with high levels of psychological safety are often considered great places to work.

The question becomes, how do we create this psychological safety within our organizations? I believe it starts by examining how we handle mistakes and failures. Are they viewed as grounds for punishment or are they celebrated as a learning opportunity? We all know that mistakes usually cost time, money, and other resources so we must create safety nets in our businesses that limit the impact of those things. This can take the form of restrictions on what decisions can be made at different levels, budgeting ahead of time for errors, or implementing double checks in critical SOPs. Building in room for failure and anticipating that it will happen, makes it less stressful when it actually does occur. People begin to fail faster in pursuit of doing awesome things and it fuels growth for individual team members and the organization as a whole. 

Psychological safety does not happen overnight and for companies looking to improve in this area, I recommend you start by confronting the reality of your current environment. Soliciting input from your team, evaluating the progress (or lack thereof), and watching how departments work together can provide insight into how much trust currently exists. Then it’s time for you as a leader to get to work. You may be doing a great job building trust at the individual level, and now is your chance to elevate your impact by building more trust at the organizational level.

How will you develop psychological safety with your team?