psychological safety

Psychological Safety in Remote Teams

Psychological Safety in Remote Teams | Dr. Will Ramey
Psychological Safety in Remote Teams | Dr. Will Ramey 800 600 OnTheStacks
Psychological Safety in Remote Teams

How to build psychological safety into remote teams

Research Backed Approaches to Leadership and Team Dynamics with Dr. Will Ramey, The Leadership Dr.

The future of work is changing and that includes the work environment itself. Remote teams have increased, and leaders need to instill psychological safety within their remote teams, just like their face-to-face teams. I share three tips of how to use technology to create psychological safety within your remote team so you can maintain high performance and cohesion.

Developing Psychological Safety in Remote Teams

Do you feel disconnected from your remote team? Are you struggling to build trust and communication among team members who are not physically together? It’s time to stop ignoring the challenges of remote teams and start fostering psychological safety.

Building psychological safety in remote teams can be challenging due to the lack of face-to-face interaction and isolation. However, leaders who use technology to facilitate communication and collaboration and create a sense of connection and community among team members can foster psychological safety and build a high-performing remote team.

For a deep dive check out “Hybrid: A Guide for Successfully Leading On-Site and Remote Teams” by Travis Hearne. I connected with Travis through a mutual friend. Travis is a nine-year USMC veteran and CEO of Titanium Leadership. We both share the desire to equip leaders, with the skills and abilities they need to lead well and be successful no matter if their team is in person, remote, or a hybrid.

How to Cultivate Psychological Safety in Remote Teams

Making your team comfortable with taking risks and feeling safe to be creative is a daunting challenge when they all work under one roof. It is possible to shape a psychologically safe remote work environment. Most of us were thrust into leading remote or hybrid teams within the past three years. It was a struggle for me at first because I enjoyed the spontaneous collisions and moments of levity throughout the day with my team. We adapted quickly to insert social moments on top of our business communication cadence when we switched to a hybrid environment.

Here are three tips to get you started:

  1. Use video conferencing, instant messaging, and real time collaborative tools to facilitate communication and collaboration among remote team members. These tools allow for real-time interaction and can help create a sense of connection.
  2.  Create a sense of community by scheduling regular team-building activities and virtual social events. Making time and encouraging remote team workers to connect for a virtual coffee allows them to get to know one another and build trust.
  3. Address isolation and feelings of disconnection by encouraging team members to take breaks, step away from their screens, and engage in activities that promote mental and physical well-being. A team that is healthy and well-rested is more likely to be productive and engaged.

Adapting to the Future of Work

It’s time to adapt and overcome the challenge of working with a remote team. By using technology, building a sense of connection and community, and addressing isolation, you can create a high-performing remote team.

Remember that developing psychological safety in remote teams is an ongoing process that requires patience, persistence, and a willingness to adapt and change. The use of technology can help but it’s also important to understand that it can’t replace human interaction and the importance of addressing isolation.

Let’s continue the conversation. Connect with me on LinkedIn Dr. William Ramey | LinkedIn

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Modeling Psychological Safety

Modeling Psychological Safety | Dr. Will Ramey
Modeling Psychological Safety | Dr. Will Ramey 800 600 OnTheStacks
Modeling Psychological Safety

Modeling Psychological Safety

Research Backed Approaches to Leadership and Team Dynamics with Dr. Will Ramey, The Leadership Dr.

Leading by example includes acknowledging that you are not perfect. Leaders that build inclusion and model psychological safety will set the conditions for psychological safety to emerge within their team. I share one of my own bouts with perfectionism and share three ways you can start to model psychological safety for your team. Let’s jump in!

Perfection can be the enemy

We have all heard a variation of the quote “perfectionism is the enemy of…progress, good, creativity.” I personally like Mark Twain’s summation, “Continuous improvement is better than delayed perfection.” Perfectionism can drive you to achieve great accomplishments, but it can also paralyze progress for you and your team.

The world of work is changing, so must how we lead. A leader cannot be an omnipotent being that has all the answers all the time. Believe me, you will burn yourself out and ruin relationships striving for perfection. Early in my career I thought I needed all the answers before I could lead. During a training exercise when I was learning to lead in the Army, we were on our objective. I was put in charge of the operation. Things were going well. We were on our objective a little longer than planned. I wanted to ensure everything was done just right! Then the simulated artillery fire came in. The scenario started to change, and I wasn’t prepared for it. Perfectionism drove me to feel the need to have everything done right. I wasn’t listening to my team or accepting their ideas on trying different approaches. Our team got stuck on the objective, we couldn’t adapt quickly because I thought I needed to complete the first mission perfectly…or so I thought.

I realized then what I really needed was to access the collective knowledge of my team. I needed to have relationships with my team members and understand their needs. We needed to be able to continuously try, assess, adjust, and execute. If my team was only moving forward once something was completed perfectly, we would fail.  Embracing this idea meant I needed to take down the façade of perfection and model psychological safety.

How to Model Psychological Safety

Leaders who model psychological safety in their own behavior create an environment where team members feel comfortable sharing their thoughts and ideas. By being vulnerable, showing empathy, and actively listening to team members, leaders can build trust, open communication, and create an environment where everyone feels heard.

But how do you model psychological safety in your own behavior? Here are three tips to get you started:

  1. Be a role model for your team by being open and transparent in your own behavior. Share your own vulnerabilities and mistakes and show that it’s okay to not have all the answers.
  2. Show empathy and actively listen to your team members to create a sense of trust and understanding. When team members feel that their ideas and concerns are being heard, they will be more likely to share them.
  3. Encourage feedback by being out and about with your team. Be curious and open to learning from them, then actively seek out feedback from your team members. Show your team that you value their input and are willing to make changes based on their feedback.

For a deeper dive into creating psychological safety check out the book The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth by Amy C. Edmondson

the fearless organization

It’s not about perfection, it’s about progress

You don’t need to be perfect. Start modeling psychological safety in your team. By being a role model for openness, empathy, and feedback, you’ll create an environment where team members feel comfortable sharing their thoughts and ideas, leading to increased engagement, reduced turnover, and improved team performance.

Remember that leading by example and modeling psychological safety is not only beneficial for your team, but also for you. You can open yourself up to learn and grow from the feedback and ideas of the team.

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Want to continue the conversation? Connect with me on LinkedIn Dr. William Ramey | LinkedIn

Check out my OnTheStacks Podcast episode here: 

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Building Team Psychological Safety

Building Team Psychological Safety | Dr. Will Ramey
Building Team Psychological Safety | Dr. Will Ramey 800 600 OnTheStacks
Building Team Psychological Safety

Building Team Psychological Safety, with Dr. Will Ramey

Research Backed Approaches to Leadership and Team Dynamics with Dr. Will Ramey, The Leadership Dr.

Helping your team feel psychologically safe at work leads to creative solutions, richer connection within your team and helps take the pressure off you to have all the answers. I share the trap leaders can fall into, what psychological safety is, and how to encourage it within your team. Let’s get into it!

One or more links below may contain an affiliate link, which if you make a purchase, we might earn a commission that helps us keep the mics on!

The “Expert” Leader Trap

Team leaders sometimes feel that they need to have all the answers. Do you find yourself thinking that if you don’t have the best idea, your team members may not view you as “the leader”. Do you ever feel threatened by the talent and brilliance of the members of your team? You’re not alone. Often times, leaders believe they need to know everything, have all the answers, and be the best at everything. As we continue to work in fast paced ever changing work environments, we need to adapt how we lead.

I made this mistake early on in my leadership career. If I wasn’t the resident expert I wouldn’t be truly respected as a leader. It did have positive benefits. I consumed massive amounts of information. I learned new processes quickly. The downside was, I was not as connected to my team and did not give them space to bring up their ideas. They were not growing, and I was the reason why.

If you want the most creative solutions, the most innovative ideas, and the biggest buy in from your team, you must open up and embrace a different approach to leading. You’ve got an entire team that thinks differently, has a variety of perspectives and experiences that they bring to work. Leverage the collective power of your team by building trust with psychological safety.

What is Psychological Safety?

Amy Edmondson, an Organizational Behavior Scientist and expert in psychological safety has helped shape the definition. Psychological safety is a shared belief held amongst team members that they are safe to take risks and will not be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns, or mistakes. When team members feel safe to share their thoughts, they are more likely to voice concerns, share new ideas, and engage at work. This leads to better decision-making, increased creativity and improved team performance.

Think about it. Did you ever have a good idea but felt shy about bringing it up? Maybe you watched as a someone you worked with tried something new, failed, then got ridiculed. How likely are you to try something new or bring up your idea in a work environment like that?

I led teams in the U.S. Army, we needed creative solutions, and sometimes we needed them fast. I relied heavily on the insights and ideas from my team members. The best ideas come from those closest to the problems. Therefore, I had to lead by creating a space where we were willing to try new ideas and continually refine them in order to learn and grow.

For a deeper dive into creating psychological safety check out the book The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth by Amy C. Edmondson

the fearless organization

How to Encourage Team Psychological Safety

How do you create a culture of trust and psychological safety in your team?

Check out these three tips to get you started:

  1. Encourage open communication by creating channels where team members can share their ideas, thoughts, and concerns without fear of punishment. This can be done through regular team meetings, virtual suggestion boxes or one-on-one conversations.
  2. Create a culture of trust by being transparent, honest and fair in your interactions with team members. When team members see that you are trustworthy, they will be more likely to trust one another.
  3. Lead by example by being open to feedback and being willing to admit when you’re wrong or when you don’t know something. If team members see that you are willing to be curious, learn, and admit your mistakes, they will be open up too.

It’s time to embrace your team’s ideas and start building trust with psychological safety. By creating a culture where team members feel safe to share their thoughts, you’ll be amazed at the new ideas, perspectives and solutions that will come to the surface.

As a leader, it’s important to remember that creating a culture of trust and psychological safety is an ongoing process that requires patience, persistence, and a willingness to adapt and change.

Want to continue the conversation? Connect with me on LinkedIn Dr. William Ramey | LinkedIn

Scale your content 10X Faster with Jasper, your AI writing assistant! Try Jasper for FREE – Click Here!

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Check out my OnTheStacks Podcast episode here: 

If you find value and enjoy our content, smash that YouTube Subscribe button here: OnTheStacks YouTube Channel

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