Psychological safety is that quality of culture that tends to empower people to do what's right, even if it goes against the grain.
Without it, people will not stick their necks out or call out problems. They won't tell you the truth or that they are having a hard time.
As someone new to the management sphere, but coming from an engineering background, it was the absolute first thing I've gone out of my way to establish.
> As someone new to the management sphere, but coming from an engineering background, it was the absolute first thing I've gone out of my way to establish.
The pattern recognition that has kicked in for me watching managers in many clients is the ones that can effectively lead because they've established this psychological safety within their teams and can stand up to pressure from above, are the ones that have also established a narrative upwards the management chain that they're practically nearly FIRE'd, and could essentially leave at any time without much adverse impact.
Empty nesters, on the home stretch towards retirement, working just because the missus wants a few more years at trade/career/profession/etc., whatever form the story takes, it immediately defangs any implicit threats of "do this with your team or else you're fired" that seem ever-present in higher hierarchy levels of many organizations. In fact, these leaders engender such strongly-cohesive teams, sometimes the implied threat goes the other way up the management chain: "if that manager leaves under a cloud, some/many/most/all of the most effective team members will follow them wherever they go at the same time".
Without it, people will not stick their necks out or call out problems. They won't tell you the truth or that they are having a hard time.
As someone new to the management sphere, but coming from an engineering background, it was the absolute first thing I've gone out of my way to establish.