Looking after staff is more important than ever. Here are 15 ways.

2 Dec

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Supporting psychological safety inside the workplace is critical when everything is unpredictable.

A senior executive in a multinational firm told me last week that his company cancelled all unnecessary expenses including all staff-related activities. "We have so much uncertainty. Many staff are in lockdown, customer demand is all over the map, and our supply chain is unreliable. It makes sense to conserve cash on nonessentials until things settle down."

It's natural that executives want to cancel or delay important decisions in the face of unpredictable responses from governments, customers and suppliers. However, this is precisely the time that senior leaders must double-down on investments that support their people.

Uncertainty affects managers and front-line staff even more than executives. As their stress rises their productivity drops significantly. This further erodes business performance adding to executive worries.

These worries get passed down to managers who are under enormous pressure to perform—or even outperform—at pre-Covid levels. They likely have no experience and little guidance in managing staff remotely. Further, they may not know how to support their staff's well-being. All of this undermines the manager's effectiveness and sense of confidence.

What’s needed is a model that managers can use to deliberately support their people and their productivity. This is where psychological safety comes in.

Psychological safety is how comfortable we feel in groups at work. The higher our psychological safety the easier it is for us to communicate, collaborate and solve problems—in short, do our job well. Low psychological safety triggers feelings of threat. We become more self-protective and less productive.

How we’re treated at work impacts our sense of psychological safety and there’s much that managers can do. In this article, we discuss fifteen simple, actionable ways to support your people.

The CARES model helps you support your people

Psychological safety can be broken into five easy-to-understand themes that make up the CARES model: Certainty, Autonomy, Relatedness, Equity and Significance. These are bedrock principles that support sound leadership. They are a practical guide that can be used by managers to support their teams through times of stress and uncertainty.

Here is a summary of each CARES theme with 15 concrete actions that managers can use:

Certainty

Our brains are predictive organs that constantly ask, "What's next?" They relax when we have predictable routines, when we work with people we trust, and when we use tools and procedures that we're comfortable with. Brain energy can then be devoted to the task at hand rather than anxious rumination.

Much of the uncertainty in the outside world is beyond the manager's ability to control. Managers can, however, consider how they might increase predictability in the things that are within their control. They might, for example:

1 - Create a predictable rhythm to people's days and weeks by scheduling meetings and touch-points at consistent days and times.

2 - Ensure that tasks are well explained and clearly understood.

3 - When changes are required, give staff as much advance notice, detail and rationale as possible.

These actions help create a stable and predictable work environment—a safe haven—that helps people work effectively despite external changes.

Autonomy

We all enjoy being invited to share our opinions and being trusted to use our own judgment. When we feel trusted and heard we feel we have some control over our environment. We tend to rise to the occasion and work to the best of our ability. However, when we feel scrutinized, or when we don't feel heard on things that are important to us, we can become resentful. Our level of enthusiasm drops.

The last two years have prompted organisations to radically and repeatedly change how we work. Some of these changes, such as working from home, can support our drive for autonomy. But many don't. We're simply told to work here or there as new tools are foisted upon us. Managers seem unwilling to listen to our legitimate concerns.

Concerned managers can support their staff's feelings of autonomy. They can:

4 - Discuss potential changes ahead of time and actively listen to their people's concerns and suggestions.

5 - Ensure that any change is presented with appropriate training and on-going support.

6 - Avoid micromanaging. Show that they trust their people to work hard to do their job to the best of their ability.

In a time of enormous disruption, helping people regain their sense of control is vitally important.

Relatedness

Humans are incredibly social beings. We have a strong need to interact with others in person. Masking, social distancing, working from home, and Zoom calls get in the way. They disturb our ability to connect with others and communicate effectively. They contribute to our feelings of isolation and stress.

The social fabric of our teams has been dramatically affected. Each of us may feel less sure of our place in our team and less confident of others' support. Collectively, the team loses some of its ability to communicate and collaborate and work constructively.

Good managers realize this and work hard to compensate. They:

7 - Find fresh approaches that encourage every member of the team to contribute to discussions.

8 - Learn how to show appreciation for each person in new ways.

9 - Schedule regular times to chat and listen—really listen—to each person on their team.

These steps help people feel that they are important members of the team who are worthy of others' support and trust.

Equity (Fairness)

Remember when you were a kid and dessert was divided unevenly? Remember how unfair it felt when you got the smaller piece? That feeling can be alive and well in our teams.

For many people, change can feel very unfair. After all, life is just not supposed to be like this, is it? This may make us extra sensitive to our perception of unfairness in the team: Why did Jo get a second monitor and I didn't? Is Sam taking Friday afternoons off while the rest of us work?

A sense of unfairness breeds resentment. It disrupts the reciprocity loop. When somebody is generous to me, I want to be generous in return. But when I feel that something is inequitable I may withhold my full time and attention.

Managers can do their best to be scrupulously fair. They may:

10 - Post work assignments and schedules publicly to support transparency.

11 - Call out language and behaviour that is dismissive or disparaging or in any way unsupportive of team members (or anybody else).

12 - Ensure that every individual feels they are receiving the support and training they need.

Fairness is fundamental to good communication and collaboration. It is at the heart of every good team.

Significance

When we feel valued by our teammates and supervisor, we feel a sense of self-worth, team loyalty, and motivation. Covid has disrupted normal social interactions. Working from home makes it even worse.

Feeling disconnected from others can lead us to feel not as valued or respected. As a result we may put less effort and care into our work. After all, what's the point? Who will notice? Who will care?

Good managers are keenly aware of this. They work hard to:

13 - Praise good decisions and good actions whenever they see it.

14 - Avoid criticizing mistakes. Rather, they support good intentions and they look for ways to discuss, teach and learn.

15 - Support and encourage strong opinions when they're voiced.

Individuals who feel respected and valued are the essential building blocks of high psychological safety—and high performing—teams.

Managers can deliberately create a psychologically safe space that helps their people—and their organizations—weather any storm

An organization's people are vital. Managers must find ways to assess how their people are doing. They must find new ways to support their staff despite upheaval.

Managers can use the CARES model to better understand the human dynamics that affect their staff. They can help buffer their team from uncertainty and stress by creating a supportive, inclusive environment. By deliberately improving psychological safety they strengthen their people, deepen their loyalty, and help them perform to their potential.

15 Things You Can Do To Support Your Staff’s Psychological Safety

Create a predictable rhythm to people's days and weeks by scheduling meetings and touch-points on consistent days and times.
Ensure that tasks are well explained and clearly understood.
When changes are required, give staff as much advance notice, detail and rationale as possible.
Discuss potential changes ahead of time and actively listen to your people's concerns and suggestions.
Ensure that any change is presented with appropriate training and on-going support.
Avoid micromanaging. Show that you trust your people to work hard to do their job to the best of their ability.
Find fresh approaches that encourage every member of the team to contribute to discussions.
Learn how to show appreciation for each person in new ways.
Schedule regular times to chat and listen—really listen—to each person on their team.
Post work assignments and schedules publicly to support transparency.
Call out language and behaviour that is dismissive or disparaging or in any way unsupportive of team members (or anybody else).
Ensure that every individual feels they are receiving the support and training they need.
Praise good decisions and good actions whenever you see it.
Avoid criticizing mistakes. Rather, support good intentions and look for ways to discuss, teach and learn.
Support and encourage strong opinions when they're voiced.