Amy Edmondson en TEDxHGSE - Construyendo un lugar de trabajo Psicológicamente Seguro

Workplace Silence and Voice

The speaker introduces scenarios of workplace silence where individuals refrain from speaking up when necessary, highlighting the impact of withholding voice in organizational settings.

Workplace Silence Scenarios

• A nurse hesitates to question a high dosage due to past negative experiences with the doctor.

• A young pilot notices a mistake by a senior officer but remains silent.

• A new executive refrains from voicing concerns about a takeover plan to avoid standing out negatively.

Impression Management Strategy

• People tend to avoid asking questions, admitting mistakes, offering ideas, or criticizing the status quo to protect their image.

• Impression management starts early in life and becomes ingrained in adulthood, hindering learning and innovation.

Impact of Withholding Voice

• By staying silent, individuals miss opportunities for learning and hinder organizational progress.

• Workplace silence leads to missed contributions and prevents the creation of better organizations.

Psychological Safety in Workplaces

The speaker discusses psychological safety as a key factor in fostering environments where individuals feel comfortable speaking up without fear of reprisal.

Psychological Safety Definition

• Psychological safety is the belief that it is acceptable and expected to voice concerns, questions, ideas, and mistakes without judgment.

Personal Experience with Psychological Safety

• The speaker shares an experience studying medication errors in hospitals that led to discovering the importance of psychological safety.

• Initial findings showed better teams made more mistakes; further investigation revealed that these teams were more open about discussing errors.

Importance of Open Communication

• Openness within teams allows for reporting errors and finding solutions collaboratively.

Psychological Safety in the Workplace

The speaker discusses the importance of psychological safety in the workplace and provides three simple strategies for leaders to foster a culture where employees feel safe to speak up.

Building Psychological Safety

• Frame work as a learning problem, not an execution problem, emphasizing uncertainty and interdependence.

• Acknowledge personal fallibility to create safety for speaking up among subordinates and colleagues.

• Model curiosity by asking questions to encourage voice and engagement.

Balancing Excellence and Psychological Safety

The speaker addresses concerns about balancing accountability for excellence with creating psychological safety in the workplace.

Balancing Accountability and Psychological Safety

• Psychological safety is about letting up on brakes, not motivation; it's crucial for engagement.

• Emphasizes that focusing only on psychological safety may lead to a comfort zone, while solely prioritizing excellence can result in an anxiety zone.