Retaining talent has been a challenging task for organizations, especially amid an accelerated pace of change in modern world, driven by the need of creativity and innovation. But what good does this talent do if no one is able to freely share their ideas?
A new book, entitled ‘The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth’ explores the connection between psychological safety and high performance at work, arguing that people speaking their minds are an essential part of the creative process for healthy organizations.
Written by Amy C. Edmondson, Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at the Harvard Business School, the book comes to serve as a practical roadmap for both teams and leaders to create flourishing environments where people feel safe to contribute their ideas.
In this way, Ms. Edmondson examines the culture of psychological safety, a hot debate in today’s business world, which translates into a culture where it is “safe” to express ideas, ask questions, and admit mistakes and is typically impeded by the fear of being embarrassed, marginalized, blocking not only the individual’s learning, but also overall collaboration and creativity.
Through a balanced mix of research findings, case studies of real world corporate struggles, and personal views, this is an easy-to-read but well-researched book for a wide variety of readers. Moving beyond the simple study of a ‘Fearless Organization’, the author also provides a step-by-step guide through scenario-based examples for bringing it to life, giving leaders the confidence they need to extract collective talent. From this perspective, it acts as valuable tool for those relatively new to organizational leadership, to mitigate risks of loss while maximizing chances for innovation.
However, the book hardly classifies itself as a book specifically for leaders. The Fearless Organization is not only addressed to people involved in management, but also anyone wishing to identify if they are working in a toxic environment, any employee seeking to build a culture of learning, as well as anyone interested on psychology and leadership.
See also: 7 tips to boost productivity at the workplace
Did you know? As part of a two-year study, Google developed in 2015 a list of the 5 key dynamics that make great teams successful: