I'm Manveen Rana here in Davos, and I'm joined by Ulrike from
BCG.
It's a pleasure to be with you, thank you.
Ulrike,
we're going to be talking about something which I think
businesses probably aren't thinking about enough, and
that's psychological safety at work.
Just explain what that means.
So you're right that leaders do not talk enough about it.
And it really means that people can bring their whole self to
work.
They feel safe in speaking up, they don't feel judged.
They feel listened to.
And they really can sort of express their views,
and somebody you know, to engage with their leaders. It's incredibly
important because that's the only way to retain them, to
encourage them, you know, for creativity.
In my view, it's the only way to deal with the challenges that
are around us and still have our team's focus on what we also
have to do, which is the work.
Yeah.
I mean, there probably aren't many working cultures where
everybody feels entirely comfortable being able to say
whatever they like.
How would you advise leaders to try and change a culture or to
make people feel like they can make them feel more comfortable,
make them feel more comfortable in their own skin, in the
office?
So I do think it starts with listening and when I say
listening, it's real listening.
So really wanting to know what the other side has to share.
And the other thing is, one needs to be relatable, right?
If you are the perfect leader that doesn't show any
vulnerabilities, any of their worries, and just is the
superstar.
I don't think that creates psychological safety because
then, you know, the tone from the top seems to be that you
have to be perfect, you know, at work, and nobody is perfect,
nobody has to be perfect.
So I really do think this encouragement to, on the one
side to listen, and encouragement for people to
speak up and to share their thoughts, is crucial.
And every day, it's not just here and there.
It is sort of in every conversation. And this isn't
just sort of something which makes, you know, a nice culture
at work and that's why we should do it.
It actually has a real impact on the way businesses perform.
Tell us about that.
It it really does.
We've surveyed 28,000 people across 15 countries and what has
come out is that people are twice as motivated.
They think...their impression of whether they can bring the whole
self to work increases three times.
And what is also interesting is that diverse groups and with
that I mean people of color, women, disabilities, whatever
you can think of, they are retained four to six times as
likely than if there is not psychological safety at work.
So it has a real impact.
It is totally real.
That's amazing.
So productivity gains and better retention.
Are you hearing businesses talking about this a bit more
now?
Yes, but not enough.
I do think that it is still, you know, leaders still feel, many
leaders still feel that they have to be perfect. Which is a
shame because again, nobody is, and just the last several months
show that nobody has the answers and we really need to co-create.
And you know, to co-create, you can only do that if people feel
safe, right.
If people sort of put out their ideas, put out their thoughts,
they're not being charged for it.
They feel safe in doing it.
So yes, I do think it has started.
I do think there's more to do.
I think we have to role model it every day and remind ourselves
every day that we have to do it.
Well, thank you for reminding us.
It's been really interesting hearing about psychological
safety.
Thank you, Ulrike.
Thank you so much.