Abraham Maslow helped us understand that we are motivated by our needs. He also pointed out that in order to actualize our potential, we need to satisfy our lower needs, and then move on our higher needs. You won’t develop if you remain focused on satisfying your hedonistic, material, selfish, instinctive, animal, and survival needs. He uncovered that human beings become highly motivated and operate at their very best when they are in pursuit of their higher, uniquely human needs. The needs of growth, self-actualization, fulfilment, potential, value contribution etc. The lower needs are not wrong, and you must satisfy and enjoy them. But if you give them too much attention and meaning, you rob yourself of the opportunity to tap into the more profound motivations on the higher levels.
In my work, I strive to help people uncover and pursue their higher needs. Here they become inspired by meaning, purpose, development, and potential. They become internally motivated and live healthier, longer, more fulfilling lives.
But I made a mistake… In working with teams, I realized that there is a gap in the foundation. Because my clients are of a higher socio-economic background, I assumed their basic needs were met. However, most teams I work with report a very low level of perceived safety within their organization. So while I find myself talking purpose, growth, impact, and higher order meaning to teams, their lower order needs remain unmet. You cannot build anything lasting if the foundation is unstable. Of course, I am referring to psychological safety, and although Maslow was probably referring to physical safety, stability and order, the effects of feeling psychologically unsafe will have a similar influence as feeling physically unsafe on the individual. Your body cannot tell the difference between a threat that’s either real or imagined. Your neuro-endocrine and immune systems will respond in the same way by secreting adrenaline, cortisol, and other pro-inflammatory mediators in response to feeling unsafe, albeit it being psychological. People will be on high alert, with a chronically aroused sympathetic nervous system (stressed and anxious), and this will lead to a reduction in immune function and performance.
Sport as a metaphor
While I am a coach, trainer, author, and speaker, above all I am a rock climber and an adventurer. I love climbing high cliffs and mountains and exploring new territory.
Here I am climbing the Sentinel in the Drakensberg.
This is the Khumbu Valley in the Nepalese Himalayan Mountain range. I went on an adventure with Pemba sherpa. I was with him for a month, and even though he could hardly speak English we really formed a strong bond over that time.
This is Valie and me in Madagascar on the Tsaranoro Massif. It’s an 800m cliff in rural Madagascar. There were no medical or rescue services or cell phone reception, and Valie could speak no English at all. So, this was a particularly scary experience. But for some reason I felt safe.
Here we are climbing in Thailand. I was mostly climbing with a Japanese climber named Naru, who could only speak a little bit of English.
So why am I sharing this with you?
What do you see in these pictures?
Absolute trust.
If I didn’t trust these guys, I would never risk my life like this. Yes, I take personal risk, but I can because I feel safe. Without trust, we would not achieve our goals, have peak experiences, mountain top moments, and many stories to tell.
Even though we talked minimally while climbing, I trusted these men utterly and completely. Literally with my life. Because we had real trust, we could attempt anything. Because of trust we could be vulnerable and acknowledge if we were scared or unsure. We could embrace and resolve conflict if we dis-agreed on the best way forward and upward. Therefore, we could commit to our collective objectives and hold each other accountable. And ultimately achieve the collective results that we were after. Without these ingredients we would not be able to endure the discomfort, challenges, and overcome the obstacles and fear. And without all of that, we would not be an effective team.
- Do your team members have absolute, vulnerability-based trust in one another? Or would they never acknowledge when they are wrong, need help, or made a mistake?
- Does your team embrace conflict when there is difference in opinions and ideas? Or do they avoid the discomfort by brushing over it?
- Can they set aside ego, status, and politics and agree to disagree and commit to the best way forward? Or are they to proud and egocentric when someone else has a better idea?
- Do you hold yourself and each other accountable for poor performance or behaviour? Or would you rather let others off the hook because confrontation is uncomfortable?
- Are your team members focused on the collective results? Or on their own individual or departmental accolades and praise?
- Do your team members feel safe? Do you feel psychologically safe? Do you believe that you will not suffer any negative consequences for taking interpersonal risk? Like asking for help, speaking up with an unconventional idea, challenging the status quo, making a change, or admitting a mistake.
How should leaders behave to help their people feel safe? You cannot command safety or trust. Leaders are called that because they go first. They must lead by behaving in ways that foster trust.
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Fear and distrust are the roots of disease and dysfunction that will spread and hamper productivity and performance in any organization. Five signs or dysfunctions of a team that feels psychologically unsafe are the absence of trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance of accountability, and inattention to results. If you notice any of these signs in your team, it’s probably because there is a lack of trust and people don’t feel psychologically safe. Which of these of these 5 signs or dysfunctions are showing up in your team’s behaviour?
Teams operate optimally when they have trust. In psychologically safe environments people will not fear negative consequences for taking interpersonal risk. This means better ideas, innovation, collaboration, improved communication, and creative problem solving. This creates higher stakeholder value.
I have learned something new. Before coaching teams to peak performance and actualizing potential, I now first establish what the levels of trust are as a foundation. The outcome of psychological safety is an environment where team members feel safe to ask for help, admit mistakes, raise concerns, suggest ideas, and challenge old ways of thinking and working. Via this honesty and openness, risks are reduced, new ideas are generated, and creativity and innovation thrive.
If trust is the foundation, then psychological safety is the bedrock of a healthy organization.
About the author: Reinhard Korb is a Meta-coach and integrates neuroscience, neuro-semantics, psychology, and lifestyle for optimal health, performance, engagement and productivity. As the founder of Keep Thriving, he has facilitated and helped organisations and individuals actualize their potential.
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