Building ‘safety’ in teams

Teams need ‘safety’ in order to work well. But how do you create it?

Psychological safety means that team members feel respected and believe they will be treated fairly by others. When teams have high levels of psychological safety, all team members feel comfortable taking risks, sharing information, challenging ideas and trying new things.

Here are three ways to build psychological safety in your team.

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Managing Irrational People

Stella’s performance just wasn’t up to scratch. Kath, her supervisor, was keen to help Stella improve. But whenever Kath gave Stella feedback, the conversation got out of control.

Stella seemed unable to accept any form of feedback without becoming defensive. No matter how Kath worded her message, it triggered tirades and tears. Feeling at a loss about what to do next, Kath came to my course on Dealing with Difficult People.

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Kiera and Jason didn’t get on. Annette, their supervisor, tried to sort things out. But Kiera insisted it was all Jason’s fault.

Kiera refused to acknowledge her own part in the conflict. In desperation, Annette enrolled in my course on Dealing with Difficult People. During a break, I talked to Annette about how to set boundaries and limits on poor behaviour in the team. You might find these tips useful, too.

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How to make change positive

Sean was preparing to announce the relocation of the company’s head office. Some staff might react badly to this change. How could he get everyone onside?

Sean needed to prepare his presentation very carefully. I helped him use NLP framing techniques to build a positive message. You can use the same techniques whenever you need to announce a change or introduce challenging news.

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Detox your team

Zeb was enthusiastic about stepping into his first team leader role. Little did he know that he was ‘inheriting’ a toxic team.

Sarcasm and catty remarks were abundant. Positive remarks and respectful interactions were rare. Conflicts from years ago were still reverberating. Here’s how I helped build a healthier dynamic in this team. You can use the same strategies to set your team up for success.

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Handling irrational people: Four steps for success

Irrational behaviour can be confusing or annoying. But with a bit of know-how you can handle it professionally. Here are some steps mental health professionals use to manage people who aren’t thinking straight. You can use them, too, when dealing with irrational people.

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The FAST way to sort out conflict

Negotiation can be challenging, particularly in a conflict situation. Using FAST principles will help you keep the conversation in ‘okay’ mode.

Focus on one issue at a time

Difficult negotiations can be derailed by side issues. So you need to focus and keep the conversation focussed on one thing at a time. Sometimes, during conflict, the other person deliberately tries to take the conversation off-track. But you can prevent diversions by identifying the key issue which needs to be resolved.

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Establishing team norms

Pete’s the project lead for a new cross-organisation team. He hasn’t worked with the team members before. Time is of the essence for this project and Pete needs to get the team performing.

Here’s how we’d help Pete deal with this problem. You can use the same strategies to develop or reinvigorate your teams.

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Rebuilding a team after unpopular change

Carla has just been promoted. Now she’s supervising a newly restructured customer service team. But it’s clear not everyone is happy with the changes that have been made. Carla’s new team is in conflict.

Carla needs to get her team back on track quickly. Here’s how we’d help Carla deal with this problem. You can use the same strategies to improve your team’s performance or rebuild your team after a period of significant change.

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