Since 2023, Psychological Safety and DEI has become a loud topic in the Learning & Development industry. In the effort to bring the value of DEI to the limelight organisations are also being more transparent in how they achieve their results, providing case studies and reports. It’s a real shift from historical attitudes towards psychological safety in the workplace, which have often been more on the passive side of the scale.
Like many other important movements that we’ve experienced in the past decade, it has been led by the connectivity of social media. We now have an inside perspective on other organisations and their practises.The reality is, we’ve never talked so much about DEI. But much of it is still getting stuck in the echo chamber of indifference.
What is Inclusion, Equity, & Diversity?
- Inclusion refers to the behaviours and cultural norms which allow people to feel welcome in contributing to decision-making processes and development opportunities. Inclusion is what will unlock and propogate the potential of a diverse workplace.
- Diversity can be present without inclusion. And depending on what your diverse workforce looks like, D&I efforts will look different for different companies. This is because, good psychological safety practises require managers and leaders to put the people first rather than just the practise. Thant’s why inclusion and belonging matter.
- Equity means fairness and impartiality. It is not that members of a team need to be brought down to level the playing field, it’s about providing equal support and professional opportunities to contribute, communicate and take the reigns of their personal development.
Being able to attract a diverse workforce isn’t the same as being able to retain one…
What do we mean by this? Surface-level hiring campaigns and loose promises might attract individuals to a company that seems to offer inclusivity but does little to retain them. If a proactive approach to D&I isn’t built into the foundations of your workplace culture, these individuals will soon move on to greener and more inclusive pastures.
Larger companies like Google and Microsoft have led the way for quite some time in this way. Celebrating their diverse workforce by documenting individual experiences on their blog. Companies like Microsoft and Google have made their D&I journeys available for everyone to see. Not necessarily appropriate for every company but it serves to highlight the importance of psychological safety practices.
In the month of May we had the opportunity to collaborate with DEI and Transgender Eduction & Awareness specialist, Sophie Wood. Founder of Belonging Base, Sophie Wood has over 20 years of experience working within People & Human Resources. Starting within the UK Police Service, Sophie Wood has since worked with major global FTSE 100 companies and tech start-ups. An enlightening conversation on Psychological Safety, DEI best practises, Sophie reveals current D&I pain points which companies are facing, as well as their solutions.
Every organisation is unique in terms of its values and people, but one thing that we should all share is putting our people first.
DCo and Belonging Base share the value that a ‘one size fits all approach’ doesn’t work when your focus is people. It’s the difference between fishing for success versus making a targeted effort to help your team.
Acknowledging differences
Practical solutions from Sophie Wood.
Solutions to our DEI problems are often quite simple.
To borrow an example from Sophie Wood and her work; something as simple as pronouncing a name correctly can make all the difference when cultivating feelings of belonging. Pronouncing names correctly is a courtesy that is so easy to get wrong. It’s not a fancy, expensive solution but for particular team dynamics, it makes all the difference.
If your organisation struggles with this, Sophie suggests applying a phonetic spelling beneath their name in internal emails so that you can see how to say it.
Sophie Wood applies this to new organisations by creating a personal celebration calendar with all members of the team. This provides opportunities for people to come together to connect without having the same conversations about work.
Psychological Safety Dissolves Boundaries & Increases Efficiency
Psychological safety is about turning up to work in your authentic identity whilst also being able to make and learn from mistakes. It is also about a having a strong sense of accountability. It’s a shared belief held by members of a team that the culture is safe enough for interpersonal risk taking. It should dissolve superficial boundaries between people as they feel safe enough to express themselves in a more honest and consistent way.
Of course, this has a fantastic effect on productivity, making it easier to communicate ideas and remove roadblocks. For managers and leaders, this can also help provide a more complete view of how their team is working towards projects.
There are 4 stages to Psychological Safety
Often a misunderstood term, Psychological Safety is confused with being just positive and nice, placing professional conduct on the back burner. But this is really the opposite aim of what Psychological Safety and DEI really offer organisations. What Psychological Safety should do is put accountability first when it comes to the inner workings of a team. A certain level of responsibility becomes shared in terms of communicating, sharing ideas, skills and experiences.
Psychological Safety is not just about being nice, making decisions because you want to be liked, it’s not a reason to complain, or about sitting back, and definitely not about leaders or managers taking a back seat.
The Point In Leadership Podcast, Ep.5 (Feat. Sophie Wood).
The growth cycle of individuals who experience great Psychological Safety in their workplace looks something a little like this;
- Inclusion – Allowing everyone feel a sense of belonging, respect, and acceptance.
- Learner – Feeling comfortable making mistakes without fear of punishment or judgment. And taking accountability for successes and failures.
- Contributor – Feeling valued for your contributions and being able to share ideas without fear.
- Challenger – Feeling comfortable to challenge the status quo and speaking up.
Psychological Safety Creates Tangible & Long-lasting Results
Once established (dependant on the size of your organisation) psychological safety becomes a repeating cycle that requires minimal fire fighting. Once apart of the culture, DEI will uphold itself, providing long-lasting results that will not just impact your current teams but also the ones after it.
- Increasing productivity
- Retention
- Efficiency
- Communication
- Attracting talent
- Continuous Learning
- A fortified workplace culture
Curious to learn more about this topic? Check these out…
How To Introduce Psychological Safety To The Workplace
Our free guide: What Everyone Should Know About Psychological Safety
