Psychological Safety Increases Workplace Success
Cathie Leimbach • November 28, 2023
Erica Keswin, a workplace strategist and coach, suggests that Workplace Performance = Psychological Safety + Purpose. When people feel safe at work and believe their work has purpose, they will be a stronger performer. And, appropriate rituals at work help employees feel safer.
A ritual is a sequence of activities involving gestures, words, and/or actions that mark a specific occasion. Rituals that make people more connected to the mission and people in their organization create a greater sense of belonging, increasing employees’ sense of being in a safe place and motivating them to meet and exceed workplace expectations.
Consider these ideas around rituals:
- In-person rituals help employees get to know each other, they help people want to develop valuable connections with each other rather than hiding behind technology.
- If we want the benefits of psychological safety, we need to be intentional about establishing and maintaining them. Rituals don’t come out of thin air.
- Rituals can include celebrating recurring events such as welcoming a new employee, acknowledging promotions, marking the end of a week or the completion of a project.
- Rituals can be accessible to everyone. They don’t have to cost money or be complicated or intimidating. They can be as simple as a Monday morning team coffee break.
What simple ritual could your company adopt to increase human connection and workplace pride? What is one step you can take towards starting this ritual?
Most leaders don’t struggle because they lack knowledge. They struggle because leadership opportunities show up in daily conversations —and those moments are easy to miss. The difference between average and high-performing teams often comes down to four leadership behaviors: 1. Build Trust Through Everyday Conversations Trust is built in small moments. Listen to concerns Ask thoughtful questions Follow through Address issues quickly and respectfully 🤝 Trust grows through consistent, everyday conversations. 2. Reinforce What Good Looks Like People repeat what gets recognized. Be specific: “I appreciated how you handled that client issue quickly—that made a difference.” 🔒 Clarity + recognition = stronger performance. 3. Address Problems Early—Kindly and Clearly Avoiding issues creates bigger ones. Keep it simple: What was expected? What happened? What needs to change? 👥 Clear, timely conversations reduce drama and improve results. 4. Support People So They Can Succeed Your role is to help your team succeed. Clarify priorities Remove obstacles Provide resources Coach progress 🔍 When people have clarity and support, performance follows. The Real Lever: Conversations None of this requires new systems. It happens in everyday interactions— 1:1s, quick check-ins, and follow-ups. Better conversations → better results. Quick Reflection Which one would make the biggest difference for you right now? Build trust Reinforce performance Address problems early Support success 👉 Join our next 60-minute Leadership Conversation – Inspiring Employee Performance on Monday, April 6, at 3:00 pm ET. Not a webinar. A working session with other leaders looking at what’s actually happening on their teams—and how small shifts in daily conversations change performance fast. If you're curious what even a 10% shift in consistency could look like for your team… this is a good place to start.
You don’t need to make big changes in your leadership practices to get better results. Often, it’s small shifts in everyday leadership conversations that quietly change how work gets done. Here are three that work: 1. Make priorities clear Start meetings by stating current priorities. That creates focus right away and helps conversations stay on topic. 2. Ask instead of solve Instead of answering an employee’s questions, ask, “What are your suggestions?” Such questions encourage employee thinking and stronger follow-through. 3. Hold short monthly one-on-one check-ins Meeting with each employee one-on-one allows the regular review of goals, progress, and obstacles. These short conversations surface issues early and keep everyone aligned. These small habits keep teams steady and focused. Your challenge this month: Pick one shift and try it. Notice what changes in clarity, buy-in, or accountability. Sometimes the difference between teams that struggle and teams that move smoothly comes down to a few simple leadership conversations happening consistently. 👉 Join our 60-minute Leadership Conversation on March 30th at 3:00 PM to see how small shifts in everyday leadership conversations can quickly improve clarity, ownership, and results.