At PeopleNotTech we make software that measures and improves Psychological Safety in teams. If you care about it- talk to us about a demo at contact@peoplenottech.com
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In another article last week we had a disclaimer, it’s disheartening one is needed since we should know we are on the same team by now but nonetheless – we are well aware of the unfolding new Covid threats we all face – our focus on other topics doesn’t mean we are blind or insensitive to the reality around us, but that we are intently conscious of not letting this immense window of opportunity regarding the importance of the people work pass without lasting change remaining.
In last week’s episode on the Fundamentals of Psychological Safety Series, we revisited the topic of “Psychological Safety In Numbers”. As you’ll see there, there are supporting numbers aplenty to show the importance of PS but for reasons firmly connected to the HumanDebt™, these numbers are neither clear nor common knowledge. Furthermore and most problematically, they aren’t used in building the business cases that people deserve and their necessity is even disputed by those who struggle with the idea of putting PS in the service of productivity through high performance.
Ever since I discovered the concept of Psychological Safety, I have been bedazzled by how little existed in terms of well known supporting numbers -at the time-. We seemed to shy away from both types of numbers – the ones proving how important it is to have Psychological Safety in teams and the ones showing how much of it we may have at any given time. While the latter lack is is explainable by how tools such as our Dashboard that enabled HR to measure the wellbeing of the team didn’t exist, I suspected that the former had to do with a combination of factors some of which are indeed organisational and systemic, such as a reluctance to build business cases to support bettering employees’ lives in general; the way surveys and feedback have historically been mismanaged; the lack of clarity towards overall goals and KPIs; and resistance to the idea of data and measurement in general.
The other factor which may have played a part was this lingering stance in the community that measuring people’s performance is somewhat gauche and it is treating them disrespectfully so of course, we don’t have data on precisely how Psychologically Safe they are and no plan to make them more so. To be frank, this faux moralistic stance has been grating me tremendously since and it is the first thing that needs to go.
Shying away from honest, open and fair measurement is disingenuous and harmful. It is in fact, economically -and therefore humanistically- irresponsible. It puts Psychological Safety in the “nice to have” category when really it is firmly planted in the “must-have” one. It keeps it “fluffy” in the minds of the execs when it is anything but and ignores how it has transformational effects on the bottom line of those who work on it intently.
It devalues the concept and by extension, it robs teams of a fair chance to have it.
There is extensive “trauma” when it comes to the idea of measuring performance in business. To many, the topic is thorny because of the scarring way that it has been conducted in the past. The business would ask how people are doing to either whip them into shape or bean count mistakes and assign blame that would save them bonus dollars.
This punitive past casts a shadow on any modern-day efforts. It tars not only performance management but the mere mechanism of asking for feedback and communication from one’s employees too and needless to say it limits many enterprises severely.
In fact, if you look around you’ll see that performance management as a department, as a concept, as a topic even has fallen out of favour so severely that rarely is it mentioned anymore. This means that many places no longer have clear progression or succession plans in place, there are fewer and fewer annual reviews, less and less preoccupation with compensation and benefits, less clarity on ways to progress etc.
This is partly connected to an ill-understood air of political correctness and partly springs from the “pay makes little difference” realisation of the last decade but it is mainly a result of the pushback on its historically punitive nature which people had had enough of.
It isn’t the data collecting we need to do away with but the devious, unhealthy and unfair way in which it has been used in the past. It needs not to be the sneaky, punishing, unpleasant exercise it has been. And it needs to consistently be “for the good” before our already burned employees will believe us.
I put it to us we need to urgently change our collective stance around data and our negative inner rhetoric around performance management and we need to redefine the narrative to transform it from a hated, dreaded and traumatic event to a moment that employees would welcome. A regular time where their overall performance would be fairly appraised and their efforts repaid and they would be praised and supported. We need to take back the reigns around the “why” as well, that deep understanding that more data will not be out of a sense of treating people as resources, on the contrary, it will be to drive a better work-life. That we need to find out how people are doing to reward them, not punish or disregard them.
There is an increasing number of professionals working hard to challenge antiquated perceptions towards data analytics that you can use to help augment your dialogue reframe. Lean on the data they produce on the importance of data.
Conceding to the need for gathering data and measuring is only the first step of course, and really what matters is intentionally changing behaviours to improve the readings,-hence why we are so militantly honest in saying workshops, talks, sterile exercises in the absence of data and action are worthless- but the latter will never happen in absentia.
In other words, what we need, what teams really need, is to change the Psychologically Unsafe behaviours they observe are holding them back – lack of trust, of openness, no emotional connection, no empathy, limits on courage, impression management and so many more but they won’t be able to do so while the dynamic of the team remains an unexplored black box.
Not only is measurement necessary, but it also needs to be regular and it needs to show its worth by underlining its indubitable relationship to better outcomes, hit KPIs or accomplish goals.
Our best clients welcome the measuring, they often design it in true partnership with their own employees where they audit and redesign their survey/feedback loop and then redefine their relationship to data to place it in its rightful place as an enabler to good work, not a method to harm anyone. They connect it tightly to their KPIs (Agile or otherwise) and that in itself counts towards the famous “organisational permission” that allows people to think themselves worthy of doing the human work in their day-to-day because the enterprise supports it.
Perhaps the work to redefine everyone’s attitude around data ought to start by asking whether the analysis ought to happen at an individual or a team level? Perhaps the enterprise needs to atone for their past sins by penning an honest “this is why analytics are not evil but reverent and helpful now” open letter? Perhaps we all need to put our thinking hats on and confront our fears justified as they may be? Perhaps just openly discussing how data – its gathering and its visibility makes us feel and why is good enough of a path?
Data is the cornerstone to increasing performance and therefore productivity. There’s nothing disrespectful about defining and seeking productivity. There’s no oppression in a quest for performance. Everyone welcomes both really, every professional worth their salt would be more than happy to be forensically observed if they knew it was to spread knowledge or demonstrate value, it’s when past traumatic experiences threaten to repeat themselves that they don’t.
So one of your organisational NYE resolutions/ 2022 goals/real priorities should be around helping people reclaim their relationship with data and with being praised and rewarded for good performance and aided to achieve it by doing the needed human work that brings improvement about.
Bring your people along on a rewarding journey of introspection and growth with an open heart and a curious mind and watch their fears and limitations melt away.
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This Thursday on the Fundamentals of Psychological Safety Series: “Good Behaviours/Bad Behaviours of Teams”. Subscribe so that it arrives in your inbox.
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The 3 “commandments of Psychological Safety” to build high performing teams are: Understand, Measure and Improve
Read more about our Team Dashboard that measures and improves Psychological Safety at www.peoplenottech.com or reach out at contact@peoplenottech.com and let’s help your teams become Psychologically Safe, healthy, happy and highly performant.
To order the “People Before Tech: The Importance of Psychological Safety and Teamwork in the Digital Age” book go to this Amazon link