Insights on fast flow
Addressing misconceptions on Psychological Safety to improve performance
Psychological safety is a foundational requirement for organizations seeking fast flow and effective change. We have seen a couple of articles recently that suggest psychological safety could have a downside, so we decided to reflect on the issue.
An article in Fortune in 2023 suggested that performance is improved when everyone is ‘held accountable’ and implied that this was at odds with psychological safety. Another (Hive Learning) suggested that being ‘comfortable’ was the opposite of psychological safety, though it did acknowledge that you could be comfortable with either scenario.
In this article, we review the benefits of psychological safety, why these benefits occur, whether or not there is a downside, and what you should be ‘comfortable’ with.
Optimizing for Fast Flow: Key factors for organizations seeking effective software delivery and team wellbeing
The mini-book answers key questions such as how to structure organizations and teams, how to get the most from all of your team members, and how to identify and remove inhibitors of flow. And there is a detailed section on the relative merits of different models of change. Should there be a central change department, for example?