re:Work is a brilliant collection of practices, research, and ideas from Google. One article in particular I’d like to share is regarding Team Effectiveness
Re:Work: Guide: Understand team effectiveness
NYTimes: What Google Learned From Its Quest to Build the Perfect Team
There is a broad consensus that creating psychological safety net is vital for team success. Recently a colleague asked me to share my thoughts and examples of how I create this safety net for my own team.
Empathy and Communication
The foundation for the safety net is to have empathy. Clearly demonstrate that you genuinely care for the team, as people. In our case, we’ve had 15 min to 30 min catchups everyday since the pandemic began. This really helped us connect as people.
This catchup call is not a mandatory “meeting”. If you can’t make – you don’t join. If you don’t feel like joining (we’ve all had those days) – you don’t join. That’s it. It’s simple. You join because you genuinely care and want to connect with other humans – who happen to be your team members too.
This worked for us was because we are a (small-ish) team of seven who talked almost everyday. We did not have the same success when we tried to meet weekly with our ‘extended team’ of close to thirty five.
The key is to go find your own way to stay connected in a meaningful way (i.e. for the right reasons.)
Reframe to “Learning Problem”
The Second is to frame or reframe work problems into “learning problem” instead of an “execution problem”. This takes practice. For example, in the moment, as soon as you hear about an ‘issue’; Instead of asking “who screwed up? ” or “Why did you make that mistake?” – It is way more fruitful to ask “What did we learn from this?” or “How can we avoid this from happening again”
If this does not come naturally to you – then practice. Growth mindset tells us everything is a learnable skill. You too can learn to reframe – if you practice. Reframing your perspective is a very powerful concept, not just for team success.
Leading by Example
The third is to lead by example. Acknowledge and be vocal about my own shortcomings.
If I expect my team to share their vulnerabilities with me, it starts with me initiating and If I expect my team to share their vulnerabilities with me, it starts with me initiating and opening up. This also means that if I expect my team to be feel safe, have the psychological safety net, then it starts with me also leading by example and showing that I’m behaving like I have the safety net myself.
Its clear the responsibility to create this safety net is not just with the team lead. Everyone must chip in for it to really work.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on how you create a sense of psychological safety net in your team.