Mental health is the talk of the town in every workplace these days. Managers and companies strive to ensure that employees feel mentally safe in the workplace. Despite best efforts, managers can, even by accident, undermine their employees’ psychological safety.
Said actions might be big or small, but can often leave a lasting impact on the employees. A repeated pattern of the same can even have adverse effects on the team’s culture and dynamics.
Saying “Speak Up” — Then Shutting People Down
Providing your employees with opportunities must go hand in hand with active listening. Opening up the floor to let your juniors voice their thoughts is a great step toward being open with communication, but it is ultimately only the first step.
Interrupting, dismissing, or defending instead of listening while a junior team member is talking can make them hesitate in sharing their mind in the future. Especially if they do not align with your own thought process. In a similar vein, implying that certain opinions of junior members might be “wrong” through subtle cues can leave lasting damage.
TPB Solution: In case of disagreements, hear the other party out, no matter their level of seniority. Have an open-minded discussion that welcomes differing opinions and finds a resolution that satisfies all.
Punishing Mistakes While Claiming to Encourage Learning
Making mistakes is a part of learning. No one who walks a new path can do so without stumbling at least once. However, how managers handle those mistakes can make or break the team dynamic.
If a manager chooses public call-outs instead of providing constructive feedback on mistakes, chances are employees will feel increasingly anxious about their work. Rather than being open about their struggles, they might try to overcompensate and even burn out to avoid future embarrassment.
TPB Solution: A performance evaluation that focuses more on blame rather than causes and rectifications is not conducive to learning at all. Managers must treat mistakes as learning opportunities and work with juniors to resolve them. Rather than simply pointing out mistakes and expecting juniors to resolve them on their own, guide them through the correct steps to create a true learning environment.
Playing Favourites (Even Unintentionally)
Managers, too, are human, and it is completely understandable that they might have stronger positive feelings for one team member than another. However, there is a massive difference between “having a favourite” and “playing favourites.”
For example, as a manager, you might agree more with the ideas presented by employee “A.” However, when another employee, let’s call them “B,” presents a different idea, you must give it equal consideration, if not more.
If you do end up agreeing with A’s idea, you must always explain why the idea is actually meritorious. Valuing input from only a few “trusted” voices can easily lead to erosion of trust from others. When a manager creates an inner circle, others stop competing with them and lose motivation to share their ideas.
TPB Solution: Remember to set aside your personal biases when listening to ideas and opinions. Show everyone that you are a kind of manager who actively listens to all ideas, no matter who presents them. Similarly, emphasise that your positive feelings towards one employee do not give them any liberties more than any other employee.
Treating Disagreement as Disloyalty
In a team with varied voices, disagreements are bound to happen. However, managers sometimes see pushback as negativity or resistance rather than the employee’s desire to have their ideas heard.
Rewarding compliance with your way of thinking over someone’s critical thinking can hamper both the employee and the company. In a team, an employee’s loyalty should not be taken for granted. Loyalty, even in a workplace, is built by acknowledging diverse opinions and reaching consensus.
TPB Solution: The team’s focus should be on proposing ideas they believe will work best. If a junior does voice a differing opinion, it should be taken as a sign of how confident they are in their idea. Digesting a new and different idea can be hard, but it should be seen as a sign of a junior’s faith in the leadership to have their ideas given due consideration.
Using Silence as a Leadership Tool
A wise person chooses their words carefully, but they also know when it is important to speak. Similarly, a manager should not use silence as a leadership tool. Indeed, as a supervisor, sometimes, silence might be the best option, especially when you want your juniors to learn on their own.
However, a good manager does not always leave their teams to read between the lines, even when asked for clarification. Similarly, saying “it’s not my place” to avoid difficult conversations undermines the duties of a manager and a leader.
TPB Solution: The world is becoming more open in expression, where employees expect their leaders to be verbally active as well. To create a productive environment, managers need to both listen and speak to keep team dynamics healthy.
Over-Reliance on “Professionalism”
Maintaining professionalism in a workplace is certainly important. But it should not be prioritised over work, especially in changing times. With the evolving workforce, the very definition of what “professionalism” means is being rewritten.
As such, when managers focus more on policing tone than on addressing ideas, or expect their employees in a certain way with no exceptions, the workplace can quickly go from communicative to stifling. When “professionalism” becomes an excuse to silence emotion, lived experience, or discomfort, managers need to step back and rethink what they expect from their team.
TPB Solution: Be open to change in what “professionalism” stands for. Are the newer trends affecting work outcomes or team dynamics? Are the newer habits really disrespectful or just a sign of changing speech patterns? Focus on creating a work environment that welcomes all, is not constrictive, and maintains the dignity of the workplace.
Failing to Model Vulnerability
Slowly but surely, being vulnerable at work is losing its taboo. Employees are slowly opening up to the idea of admitting their mistakes and sharing their ideas, no matter how unconventional it may sound.
This is a behaviour that many managers want their employees to have. However, expecting your employees to be vulnerable without reciprocating can be a major obstacle to this task.
When employees never see their managers admitting mistakes, even small ones, they become reluctant to share their own missteps. When they do not see their managers being open with their thoughts, employees remain highly resistant to sharing even those ideas they might feel deeply passionate about.
TPB Solution: Be the change you want to see. To encourage employees to be vulnerable at work, showcase that you, too, are doing the same. Being vulnerable feels like a risky endeavour, no matter the location. Hence, managers need to lead by example, showing they, too, are willing to take this risk.
In the End…
Psychological safety is not constructed through policies. It is built through workplace behaviour and actions of different team members. In particular, managers play a crucial role in dictating how safe an employee feels while in the office.
Small, repeated signals matter more than grand statements in an office. How a manager handles small conflicts, deals with differing opinions, and distinguishes between personal and professional bonds has a significant impact on an employee’s mental health.
As a manager, it is not unexpected to make mistakes. However, how one chooses to rectify those missteps, how open they are about acknowledging their mistakes, and how willing they are to listen to others can go a long way in providing employees with a sense of relief.
