To be successful in business, you need more than talented people on your team.
Amy C. Edmondson is a Professor of Leadership and Management at the Harvard Business School. In her book, ‘The Fearless Organization’, she explains how simply hiring skilled or brilliant employees is not enough. She makes it crystal clear that this approach will not put the organization on the path to success.
Of course, intelligence and knowledge are essential. Otherwise, companies wouldn’t fight and spend fortunes on recruiting the best candidates. Yet, that is not all that it matters.
Professor Edmondson points out the key to thriving business management is to innovate and create safe psychological environments. These workplaces allow team members to take risks. In these contexts, people are not afraid of making mistakes and speaking their mind. But, statistics show that workplaces are far from being psychologically safe.
According to research, 33% of people don’t share their work-related opinions simply because they lack self-confidence. Furthermore, more than 20% constantly feel that they are not heard by their leaders. Thus, they believe that even though they know they have a good idea, it won't make a difference.
As you can imagine, as talented as they might be, these people don’t help the product develop and become better. And that happens because they don’t speak their minds.
So, the key to a flourishing business is to foster psychologically safe workplaces.
Creating such environments can only be done by you, the leader. The best approach is to coach by example. Be the first one to start the discussion and encourage your people to articulate their opinions. Understand what is driving each and every one of your team members and guide them on the right track. Only by doing so will you be able to help your organization bloom.
