Discussion: Trust Building in Leadership: Strategies for Eliminating Fear on Podcasts
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In a podcast episode of "Behind the Curtain: Adventures in Continuous Improvement," management experts Mohamed Saleh and John Dyer discussed the importance of psychological safety and driving out fear in building a culture of team-based continuous improvement.
Psychological safety, as defined by Professor Saleh, is a prerequisite for any change. It refers to the feeling of security to make change without fear of reprimands and being capable of making change due to appropriate training or development.
Effective leadership actions for driving out fear and building psychological safety center around active, participative leadership and intentional engagement with teams.
Leaders must be actively involved in the continuous improvement processes themselves, not delegating or spectating. As Saleh emphasized, "Lean is not delegated. Lean is not a spectator sport." This means leaders should engage with their teams in real and meaningful ways, such as attending and participating in kaizen events alongside employees.
John Dyer suggests that leaders should at least undergo the same training on teamwork, continuous improvement, lean, and Six Sigma as their employees and ideally conduct such training themselves. This increases empathy and credibility, reinforcing psychological safety because leaders are learning "with" the team, not "above" them.
Daily employee recognition, showing appreciation, observing work, and providing intentional, one-on-one coaching contribute to a trusting and supportive environment. These actions create habits and expectations of engagement and psychological safety rather than performative or superficial gestures.
Professor Saleh and John Dyer also emphasized the importance of building a collaborative culture by understanding "tribal" language. They identified different employee cultural groups and stressed the importance of promoting the "team-based" mindset, which uses inclusive language fostering collaboration. Leaders can build psychological safety by breaking down silos through carefully selecting change agents and forming small teams or "triads" that support informal leadership modeling desired behaviors.
Consistent and varied communication is another key factor in creating a psychologically safe environment. Leaders should maintain communication tailored to different employee groups to reinforce inclusive, collaborative culture, thus reducing fear and promoting safety to express ideas and suggestions openly.
These practices collectively reduce fear by modeling vulnerability and equality, encouraging open communication, and reinforcing respect and inclusivity, creating a psychologically safe environment where continuous improvement thrives as a shared team responsibility.
Management guru W. Edwards Deming included "Drive out fear" as one of his 14 points for management transformation in 1982. Professor Saleh favors open-ended questions such as "Tell me more" for inviting participation in meetings, while John Dyer prefers the phrase "Please help me understand" for fostering a collaborative atmosphere.
In the podcast episode, the continuous improvement experts also discussed leadership actions that destroy trust and create fear, as well as those that grow trust and inspire problem-solving and innovation. Lack of transparency, command and control leadership style, and creating a culture of fear and blame are three ingredients that hamper psychological safety, according to Professor Saleh. Saleh considers daily management boards done poorly to be more harmful than helpful.
One of Professor Mohamed Saleh's favorite books on psychological safety is "The Fearless Organization" by Amy Edmondson. The book offers insights and practical strategies for building a fearless organization where everyone feels safe to take risks, share ideas, and collaborate effectively.
By adopting these leadership practices, organizations can foster a culture of trust, open communication, and continuous improvement, ultimately driving out fear and building psychological safety.
In the context of fostering a culture of continuous improvement, leaders in business could embrace educational resources on self-development, such as Amy Edmondson's book "The Fearless Organization," to bolster their understanding of psychological safety and mentor employees towards personal growth.
Effective leadership should not only drive out fear but also encourage team-based activities that promote business growth, like kaizen events, and prioritize education and self-development, making themselves equal learners with their teams, thus reinforcing the values of empathy, credibility, and trust required for the advancement of both personal and business growth in a collaborative environment.
