What is Psychological Safety | Intro to The 4 Stages of Psychological Safety

This book is about human interaction.

I want to help you become more effective as you interact with others—coworkers,

friends,

family,

really anyone.

In the book,

I define the path to inclusion and innovation based on psychological safety.

Psychological safety means that you feel safe interacting with others

without fear that you'll be embarrassed or punished in some way.

The pattern I share in the book is a universal pattern that

I've discovered as I've worked with teams and organizations around the world.

It's also,

quite frankly,

the key to happy and healthy relationships.

We all have an inborn need to do 4 things when we interact with each other.

First,

we want to feel included,

that's number 1.

We long to belong.

Humans need to be accepted

before they need to be heard.

Second,

we want to feel safe to learn and grow.

That means being able to ask questions,

give and receive feedback,

experiment,

and even make mistakes.

Third,

we want to feel safe to contribute.

That means being able to participate

as a member of the team,

using our talents and abilities to make a difference.

And fourth,

we want to be able to challenge the way we do things,

to look around and say,

you know what,

it's time to change

and I have an idea about how to make things better.

These are the four stages of psychological safety:

one, to feel included;

two,

to feel safe to learn;

three,

to feel safe to contribute;

and fourth,

to feel safe to challenge the status quo.

We thrive in environments that respect us and allow us to do these 4 things.

If we can't do them,

if it's emotionally expensive,

fear shuts us down.

It triggers what we call the self-censoring instinct,

and when that happens,

we hold back

and manage personal risk.

And we're not happy we're reaching our potential,

but when the environment nurtures psychological safety

and we feel safe enough to do these four things,

there's an explosion of confidence,

engagement,

and performance.

Here's my invitation.

Read the book as you do,

crack yourself open

and take a look inside.

Ask yourself if you feel included,

safe to learn,

safe to contribute,

and safe to challenge the status quo.

Finally,

ask yourself if you're doing all you can

to create an environment where others can do these four things.

In the process,

I hope you'll look around and see others with respect

and fresh amazement,

find deeper communion in your relationships

and more happiness and satisfaction

in your own life.

Enjoy the book.