Foster Psychological Safety for Your Remote Team

 Mon 29 March 2021

Foster Psychological Safety for Your Remote Team

Research shows that high-performing teams have a sense of psychological safety, which means employees feel they can speak up, ask for help, and offer ideas without being punished or ostracized. Here are some ways to promote psychological safety on your team, especially if you’re remote:

 (1)    Ask questions. Proactively check in and show curiosity about your employees’ lives outside of work.
  (2)   Show vulnerability. Share your professional and personal experiences and encourage your employees to do the same.
 (3)    Build a sense of collective responsibility. Invite team members to participate in meetings by asking: What do you think? What’s your perception of this? What are we missing?
  (4)   Encourage risk. Give employees the latitude to try out new ideas, pitch new projects or processes, and experiment on the fly.

This tip is adapted from “What Is Your Organization’s Long-Term Remote Work Strategy?,” by Erin E. Makarius et al.