The term “Psychological Safety” has been thrown around a lot with all sorts of efforts to bring it to fruition. Leaders have experimented with various DE&I initiatives, Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), team-building activities and frequent transparent communications among others. All good, and all produce results. But if we drill into what a psychologically safe environment looks like, we will come to the conclusion that it is an environment where everyone can be authentic. That’s what it all boils down to.
Authenticity consists of three self-identifications; the individual self, the collective self and the relational self. These three identities, described in a Journal of Personality and Social Psychology by Brewer, M. B., & Gardner, W. (1996), represent a person as a whole. The individual self represents personal unique qualities such as opinions, beliefs, emotions, values and other personality traits. The collective self represents groups to which a person feels they belong; and the relational self consists of the roles a person inhabits in their relationships with others.
In a well-balanced work environment, a person would be able to share (should they choose to) aspects of their individual self or collective self, in terms of their group memberships, without fear of sacrificing their relational self with their colleagues. This balance provides consistency in their authenticity on and off work premises. Leaders of the organization have a role to play in creating an environment where each person feels they can be themselves without having parts of their identity stripped away; they can ensure authenticity at work in four deliberate steps:
First and foremost, leaders need to be open themselves to new identities and characteristics of their own teams. They have to start internally before leading others and changing the culture of their organization.
Second, they need to encourage companywide open-mindedness and acceptance of what is different without necessarily having to agree with it. Leaders must be clear that they are not asking nor expecting people to change their own identities in order to accept others. Everyone keeps their own unique identity understanding that others have unique stands that must be respected as well. No one is forced to adopt beliefs that do not align with their individual identity; just accept that others have views that might be different from theirs and personal practices that are not familiar to their own. The idea is to get familiar with what’s different.
Third, and in support of the previous point, running educational campaigns to raise awareness will help create an accepting environment. These can be in form of structured trainings and conferences or by inviting external speakers, circulating relevant publications, podcasts, statistics and videos from reputable sources.
Fourth, hosting periodic group discussions to bridge gaps and diminish stereotyping can further support authenticity. These discussions should be governed in a safe and open environment allowing people to opt-in or opt-out of the discussion. It is important to come out of these discussions with actionable next steps to make them more meaningful.
Supporting authenticity efforts, either by following the four recommendations offered here or using other means, should be part of the expected work conduct. Once authenticity becomes part of the organization culture and norm, a leader would have succeeded.
We hope these four suggestions help decipher what it means to be authentic and how to facilitate it in a work environment. For further information or assistance in enabling a psychologically safe environment, reach out to us! We are more than happy to brainstorm ideas and find a best-fit solution for your organization.
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