Creating Psychological Safety Within Neurodiverse Teams
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What psychological safety looks like
Actually, it’s probably easiest to start with what the opposite of psychological safety looks like, particularly as there have been high-profile examples of that recently.
Think back to Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover in late October 2022. He was already known to be a controversial entrepreneur who made headlines for his bold business decisions and unorthodox leadership style.
Just over a week after the Twitter deal closed, he emailed staff asking them to opt-in to work “long hours at high intensity” or leave. Others were fired for disagreeing with that approach. It was reported around half of the global workforce (around 3,7000 employees) went on to lose their jobs.
A few weeks later, in mid-November 2022, Meta announced its own workforce reductions (13%, around 11,000 people), with employees being told they would receive an email if they were to be impacted.
Now, I’d like you to imagine, for a moment, that you’re on the payroll for Twitter or Meta just before these turbulent times start…
Your mental load (the cognitive effort it takes to manage invisible, non-tangible tasks involved in being an adult - I’ve written about that before here) is chock-full of news about the inevitable recession, the climate crisis, and the war in Russia.
You’re already feeling stressed about how to stay warm over winter with the rising electricity costs, how to feed your family when the household budget is more squeezed than ever, and what you’ll do about the increasing mortgage/rent payments.
You read that Collins Dictionary’s word of 2022 is “permacrisis”: an extended period of instability and insecurity (the topic of last month’s article - here). Apt.
It feels like there are so many variables and unknowns and uncertainties, but at least you have a secure job with a predictable income because that gives you peace of mind and financial stability. That’s one less thing to worry about, right?
You can stop imagining now - thanks for playing along. Hopefully you get the gist, and can imagine that taking job security away from an employee plays havoc with psychological safety.
When many workplaces are set up for neurotypical thinking, psychological safety is when neurodiverse team members are comfortable being themselves because they are trusted and respected.
Our brains and bodies look for predictability in life and respond accordingly.
When we know we can speak up without being belittled, shouted at, or made fun of, then we’re more likely to share ideas, challenge the status quo, ask questions, and put our hands up to mistakes. In short, we feel safe because we don’t feel vulnerable because there isn’t any kind of perceived threat.
Make it stand out
In contrast, if we fear any kind of attack (verbal or physical), our heart rate increases, anxiety kicks in, and we’ll, quite literally, start to feel unsafe (even if we’re working from the comfort and security of our own homes).
When our brains recognise a pattern such as “see manager’s name in the inbox and immediately assume they’re kicking off about something again” then that fear starts automatically because it wants to warn us that something bad is likely to happen.
Yes, even when the brain is wrong and the body’s automatic response is unfounded (and the email is a polite thank you for the work completed on a big project).
How do I know this?
Because I’ve worked with clients where they talk a bloomin’ impressive talk when it comes to core values centred around open and transparent comms, but behind the scenes, however, it’s a total shit show. The leadership team regularly shouts, belittleing and bullying team members in front of others. And I had anxiety attacks from seeing a manager’s name flash up on my phone, because I genuinely did not know if I was about to::
Be shouted at in a way that is not at all congruent to the apparent “mistake”, forcing me to either defend myself or just accept the abuse because nothing I can say will change their mind. So I made a small typo in an email to one of the directors? Who cares? Bet you a fiver and a handful of coconut Quality Street the recipient still read and understood that message. Sheesh. I wish I’d let that call go to voicemail.
Be on the receiving end of a rant about someone else behind their back. Nothing can calm the manager down. They’re literally talking at me for 45 mins. I disengaged entirely. Wish I’d not picked that call up either.
Tell me they’re taking the day off and will be back online tomorrow. *Cue sighs of relief from the team because no one will be verbally attacked while the boss is offline and we can actually do our jobs. Hoorah.*
Digging deeper into the research around psychological safety
In my research around the topic, I discover Dr Amy Edmondson who wrote a book called, The Fearless Organization: creating psychological safety in the workplace for learning, innovation and growth*. She went on to say:
“In most workplaces today, people are holding back far too often - reluctant to say or ask something that might somehow make them look bad.” Dr Amy Edmondson, The Fearless Organization
And I’d add to the above. Because, yes, it is about people worrying that they’ll say or do something that will make them look bad, but it’s also about being responded to in such a way that makes them feel like they *are* bad.
I once worked with a bully of a boss who made me question my entire career because he belittled me so often that I genuinely thought *I* was the problem. A lack of psychological safety had me feeling useless and futureless. Trust and respect were definitely lacking in that relationship.
Don’t worry, he won’t read this - he removed me as a connection everywhere after I stopped working with him. #SeeYa 🙃
Back to fangirling over Dr Edmondson, she went on to review the seminal work of a guy called Professor William Khan, and wrote, “Kahn explored the conditions in which people at work can engage and express themselves rather than disengage or defend themselves… people are more likely to believe they’ll be given the benefit of the doubt - a wonderful way to think about psychological safety - when they experience trust and respect at work.”
It got me thinking about Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. I’ve added an image below if you’ve not seen this before or need a quick memory refresher.
Maslow’s Heirarchy of Needs
Us humans will always struggle with finding the top three (belonging, esteem aka a positive self-evaluation, and self actualisation aka reaching full potential), if the bottom two (safety and daily needs)are not met.
When electricity, food and mortgage/rent payments are increasing, an employee's Daily Needs could feel unstable. When employees don't know how they’ll afford to pay the mortgage or put food on the table, it’s psychologically impossible for that employee to live up to their potential. Recent research went on to show that a third of the UK workforce “say cost of living-related financial worries have negatively impacted their productivity at work” - I wrote more about that here.
Can psychological safety predict success within teams? Quite simply, YES!
A study by Google (Project Aristotle) found that psychological safety was the most important factor in predicting success within teams. The study found that teams with high levels of psychological safety were more likely to take risks, be more productive, and feel more satisfied with their work.
If this isn’t an area you’ve already explored, book a discovery call with me and I’m happy to share my insights.
When everyone feels like they are included and valued within a team, they don’t feel the need to dial down their uniqueness in order to fit in.
Creating a psychologically safe workplace requires a commitment from the top down, and it starts with open communication. Employees need to feel like they can speak up without fear of retribution, and managers need to be open to hearing feedback - even if it is negative. By creating a psychologically safe workplace, companies can reap the many benefits that come with it.
Improved staff retention because in today's competitive marketplace, companies that can offer a supportive and inclusive culture are more likely to attract (and retain) the best employees. When management takes the time to better understand learning styles and communication preferences, teams are happier and work more cohesively. In the hybrid world, that means knowing whether team members respond better to comms via video on/off, large group meetings or smaller one-to-ones, and also considering learning preferences such as visual, auditory, reading, writing, and/or kinesthetic.
Increased productivity because questions are welcomed when the project or scope isn’t fully understood, which mitigates the risk of employees worrying or spending time creating work that doesn’t fit the brief.
Greater innovation as employees are encouraged to freely ask questions and share ideas within the team to co-create improvements and solutions. Differences in thinking, perspectives and experiences bring diverse thinking and solutions to everyday problems and the stagnation that comes from maintaining a status quo.
“Thinking differently means questioning how things are done, it means seeing solutions to problems where others don’t even see a problem.” - Rosie Weldon, Zodeq.
Reduced stress and burnout because team members feel safe openly expressing what they need in order to thrive in their roles. For example, uncontrollable background noise is a common distraction for people with dyslexia, ADHD and autism. Having the option to wear noise-cancelling headphones would make a huge difference to stress levels.
Recognition of complementary strengths means the most robust teams are built on jigsaw-piece foundations of complementary skills and ways of thinking to play to each person's strengths. Hyperfocus, incredible listening skills, and quick memory recall aren’t always natural talents in the neurotypical employee.
Increased positive well-being because our environments have as much of an effect on our mental well-being as on our brain chemistry.
In my calls with clients, I leverage my coaching experience and Compounding Confidence Framework®️ to create a psychologically safe environment. Our conversations start around the pillars of my Framework and we go on to define clear ways for: ways of working to be effective, working relationships to be strengthened, communication to be effective, and potential conflict to be reduced.
Steps towards creating psychological safety for your neurodivergent team
The first step is to understand the concept of psychological safety and why it’s important for neuro-inclusive managers and teams. Once you have that knowledge, start modelling that behaviour as a leader and begin to put into place the practices and tools that will help your team feel safe when communicating with each other. And then:
Encourage everyone to use plain language without jargon, corporate speak or nuances.
When psychological safety means people are comfortable being themselves, encourage neurodivergent team members to express their needs, explore their strengths and share ideas that are outside of the box for neurotypical thinkers.
Make it clear that you value learning and growth over perfection.
Provide appropriate support - whether that be more frequent one-to-one meetings, all the way through to training or coaching with professionals like me.
View mistakes as opportunities for learning and growth
Explain that speaking up will result in being and feeling heard, and that all voices are given the opportunity to contribute to decision making.
Make reasonable adjustments. Not sure what your neurodivergent team members need? Open up a conversation and ask. It could be quicker, easier, cheaper than you imagined.
Provide constructive feedback so team members can learn and grow - I’m a big fan of the simplicity of Start / Stop / Continue: What do we need to Start doing? / What isn’t working and needs to Stop? / What is working well and should Continue?
In summary
When everyone feels comfortable sharing their thoughts and ideas, your team will be able to work together more effectively, achieve greater results, and manage stress in the workplace more easily.
Smiling woman with brown hair and a purple jumper, beside a microphone. The background is neutral.
About
I'm Victoria Tretis, and I coach neurodivergent adults who feel stuck and overwhelmed in the chaos of daily life. They want to design and achieve their version of success. (I don't believe there is one right way to accomplish this.)
I also work with line managers who want to strengthen the support they provide within neurodiverse teams.
My work is not about rich people getting richer. Instead, sessions are centred around clients wanting to better understand themselves and those around them.