Amy C. Edmondson

Conquer the most essential adaptation to the knowledge economy Psychological Safety at Work: How to Ensure Learning and Innovation in the Knowledge Economy offers practical guidance for teams and organizations who are serious about success in the modern economy. With so much riding on innovation, creativity, and spark, it is essential to attract and retain quality talent—but what good does this talent do if no one is able to speak their mind? The traditional culture of “fitting in” and “going along” spells doom in the knowledge economy. Success requires a continuous influx of new ideas, new challenges, and critical thought, and the interpersonal climate must not suppress, silence, ridicule or intimidate. Not every idea is good, and yes there are stupid questions, and yes dissent can slow things down, but talking through these things is an essential part of the creative process. People must be allowed to voice half-finished thoughts, ask questions from left field, and brainstorm out loud; it creates a culture in which a minor flub or momentary lapse is no big deal, and where actual mistakes are owned and corrected, and where the next left-field idea could be the next big thing. This book explores this culture of psychological safety, and provides a blueprint for bringing it to life. The road is sometimes bumpy, but succinct and informative scenario-based explanations provide a clear path forward to constant learning and healthy innovation. Explore the link between psychological safety and high performance Create a culture where it’s “safe” to express ideas, ask questions, and admit mistakes Nurture the level of engagement and candor required in today’s knowledge economy Follow a step-by-step framework for establishing psychological safety in your team or organization Shed the “yes-men” approach and step into real performance. Fertilize creativity, clarify goals, achieve accountability, redefine leadership, and much more. Psychological Safety at Work: How to Ensure Learning and Innovation in the Knowledge Economy helps you bring about this most critical transformation.

Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth

The Fearless Organization

matej yangwao

** spoiler alert **
           Few great bits are definitely inside, will recheck later.

>Collectivist workplace cultures make it easier to prioritize the group’s needs, objectives, and goals above the individual’s wants.

>People tend to contribute more when they are sure their voices will be heard

>People feel morally obligated to speak up, share their expertise and opinions, and provide constructive criticism where their perspectives are valuable. This accelerates employee learning and information exchange.

>Good things happen when individuals speak out, ask questions, argue passionately, and commit to ongoing learning and growth.

≥Accepting new ideas — and recognizing and rewarding individuals for expressing their perspectives and pointing out errors — helps businesses cultivate courageous cultures.

>While the teams with high psychological safety seemed to make more mistakes, they were the most productive. And although they made many mistakes, they avoided repeated errors, which encouraged future improvement.

>Their grounds for not saying anything vary from wanting to avoid embarrassment to believing that their voices might be insignificant.

>If we kick against deeply ingrained psychological barriers, we can create organizations where people can bring their whole selves to work.

>You realize that success and failure are equally significant to growth when you take chances.

>Psychological safety emerges in teams or groups, not throughout an organization. Therefore, removing fear as a motivator increases people's confidence in themselves.

>Teaming is the art of communicating and coordinating with people across boundaries of all kinds — expertise, status, and distance, to name the most important.


>As a leader, you should assess existing psychological safety by educating your staff on the dangers of not speaking out. Include questions regarding team members’ comfort in sharing ideas and discussing errors, obstacles, and sensitive subjects. Use a five- or seven-point Likert scale (examples available on the Internet), a psychometric measure often used in survey research.

Daryl Houston

Lots of good info in this one. The writing is fluid and goes down easy, and the author provides data to back up what is ultimately a pretty common sense premise. Well worth a read if you manage a team.

Christian Beck

If this is a new concept then this book will be a great read. It has plenty of case studies to help the concepts of psychological safety stick. But if you’re not new to this concept then there’s nothing useful that you probably won’t already know. I think overall this is a valuable book but one that cites many studies and even car studies that are well-traveled with plenty of examples online.

The Fearless Organization Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth

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