• High levels of trust between team members
• Comfort raising differing opinions or ideas
• Willingness to admit mistakes without fearing negative repercussions
• Ensuring all voices are heard
• Not feeling the need to excessively filter who you are at work

Because when people feel scared or embarrassed, there can be no learning. And when there is no learning, there is no path to improvement. When people are afraid to challenge the status quo, there can be no innovation. Simply put, teams with higher levels of psychological safety are faster at helping their organizations win in their market.

With you, the team leader. Your job is to build the foundations of a healthy team climate by consistently role modeling and reinforcing positive behaviors. Simple–but not easy.

Whether you’re standing up a new team or resetting your current team, it is worth your time to ensure you have all the ingredients to provide an environment where people on your team feel safe enough to ask questions, engage in healthy conflict, and put forth new ideas. This is not about coddling your team with warm fuzzies. When your team members can engage in task-oriented conflict without excessive personalizing, defensiveness, hole-poking or stonewalling–this is the competitive advantage that will fuel your team’s creativity and propel your organization to success.

With a checklist, of course!