Only When Your Relationships Feel Safe Amid Uncertainty Will They Proactively Move Key Ideas Forward


The pandemic has blurred the line between our professional roles and personal obligations. Our lives were not designed to work from home, which has put a strain on our work and relationships. That has psychological ramifications. In a recent conversation with Amy Edmonton, a Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at the Harvard Business School, about her new book, The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth, we discussed the key findings she discovered in her research on psychological safety in the workplace. 

“Psychological safety is a belief that colleagues and managers absolutely expect candor from me,” says Edmonton. “They expect me to speak up with my ideas and concerns and questions, and that’s how we solve tough problems, innovate, and collaborate effectively”.

Psychological safety has a direct impact on internal and external relationships. Workplaces that cater to their team’s psychological needs will strengthen their relationships during this time of uncertainty, whether in person or remotely. Leaders weaken the ties to their teams if they do not take this into account.

“[In] workplaces where psychological safety is missing, people are reading the tea leaves before they figure out whether or not they can or should contribute,” says Edmonton. “A great deal of important content is held back in non-safe workplaces.”

If we don’t feel that we can express ourselves in our workspaces, we are less likely to speak up when an issue arises, which splinters workplace relationships.

Our psychological needs are more prevalent than ever during the midst of a global pandemic and the current state of the nation. Anxiety is running high. The need for psychological safety in the workplace should be prioritized more now than ever. As we work at a distance, we need to work harder to check in with each other. We need to feel supported in our internal and external relationships to create a deeper sense of trust.

“Now, in the present situation, you can almost assume it’s [psychological safety] missing and realize you have to go out of your way to be more conscious of what people are up against,” notes Edmonton. “The need to proactively engage them and reassure people that we are just as interested in what you have to offer as ever.”

If this is something you and your company have not prioritized before, we can assume that it isn’t there. Edmonton spells out a quick way to set the tone:

“I think it is important that with virtual work to do a quick check-in. You need to know first and foremost whether people have very serious or distracting challenges on their plate at that moment because you need people to be able to focus and engage.”

Let your team know they can tell you that there is a two-year-old screaming in the next room or if their mother-in-law is doing the dishes in the background.

Now, check-ins don’t mean therapy sessions or not be upfront with people. It just means to connect and have people on your team feel heard. When people feel more empowered to use their voice, they will keep the ship steering in the right direction and value your relationship.

Edmondson has witnessed the benefits of these psychological tools when she implements them during her virtual classes. “What surprised me is how extraordinary willing and productive the students have been. This is not what they wanted, but they have been remarkably good-natured about this. They aren’t complaining.”

People want to get through this time as smoothly as possible while still being productive. As a leader, you can help quiet some chaos by recognizing the strain this year has been on your workplace relationships.

When people feel like they can approach their managers candidly, that will deepen your trust, relationship, and loyalty towards each other. That creates more robust teams who feel cared for and put in more care to the work.

When you acknowledge the elephant in the room and have an open discussion about it, you are becoming a fearless organizer, which are the kind of people who will thrive and get us to the other side of this new normal.

The opinions expressed here by Inc.com columnists are their own, not those of Inc.com.

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