How Learning From Mistakes Ensures Psychological Safety In The Workplace

Making mistakes at work is not as horrifying as you might think.

Once a team member feels included, step one of psychological safety, they’ll want to know if learning “on the job” is part of the work culture they can expect.

More specifically, if they make a mistake while fulfilling their job duties, they want to know if they’re supported to learn from it.

A company that values learning from mistakes instead of taking a punitive approach harbors growth and development of its team. Abiding by this approach is key to establishing psychological safety.

What is Learner Safety?

Learner Safety, the second stage of Psychological Safety, is the ability for team members to take ownership of their ongoing learning.

It also means receiving support from leadership in the ongoing growth and development as a team member.

Finally, it means having the ability to learn from and celebrate mistakes as a member of the team.

The pace of change in our world and in our jobs is so fast that taking away the ability for employees to learn from mistakes is a sure method to stunt agility, creativity, and innovation.

As a leader, I always encourage my teams to take calculated risks, fail fast, and recover. The value is not in the quality or perfection of a solution, it is in what you learn when you don’t get it quite right.

To support Learner Safety, leaders should make a practice of:

Sharing their own failures and key learnings.

Celebrating failures as a natural part of work.

Ensuring there is time to discuss what went wrong and what was learned as a result.

Inviting team members to create a plan for their ongoing learning and development.

The Lurking Executive Shadow

Consider this scenario for a clear understanding of what learner safety might look like.

I spent the first part of my career in hotels and restaurants.

I held every job in that industry from dishwasher to general manager, from host to chef, to part owner of a catering company. In college I served food, cooking tableside in a high-end dining room.

Once I had seven years of experience in the business, I was happy to accept a job as a café server in the flagship hotel of the most luxurious brand in hospitality. The food was outstanding, the company culture was (and still is) the best, and the money was fantastic.

One day, the owner and CEO of the hotel company came in for lunch.

He usually sat in an out-of-the-way section of the café to conduct lunchtime business meetings and was served by one specific waiter. That day his server was sick, and my boss asked me to take the table.

As I approached the table and greeted the owner, who was truly kind and down-to-earth, I noticed I suddenly had a shadow over my shoulder.

The food and beverage director of the hotel was standing about a foot behind me. He continuously whispered instructions in my ear and followed me around the dining room to ensure that I made no mistakes.

His message was clear - no mistakes allowed!

Here I was with a shadow hanging over my shoulder, my relationship to the organization and to my work, figuratively and literally.

Granting of Executive Trust

Five years later I decided to leave the hotel and take a job in a restaurant with a much more casual atmosphere.

This location of a regional chain restaurant was in a turn-around process, upskilling their service and improving the quality of their food.

On my first day there, the general manager handed me a stack of coupons for free desserts and granted me the ability to comp a customer’s meal if we failed to satisfy them in any way.

“Do I need to ask permission first,” I asked.

“No, I trust you,” she responded.

“Do you need to talk to the table first,” I followed up?

“Nope, just let me know so I can make sure the meal is comped in the system.”

This was a clear and empowering message to the staff about the culture of the restaurant, the trust placed in us by the general manager, and about how we would all co-own the improvement of the dining experience at our restaurant.

What Happened At My Hotel Gig?

My service that day went off without a hitch despite the executive shadow over my shoulder.

Because I was young and brave (or stupid), I had a conversation with the food and beverage director to let him know that he hired me because I was experienced and that I did not need his help in serving the CEO’s table.

I need not have bothered doing that though, because the hotel owner placed a note in his daily reservation, asking for me to continue to be his server, and specifically indicating that no leadership was to be involved.

While the food and beverage director might not have understood the value of Learner Safety, the CEO most certainly did.

I worked there for about 5 years as a server and sommelier and was chosen as a five-star employee twice during that time. But I never had the desire to become a manager in that company.

How Trust Changed the Trajectory of My Career

My experience at the chain restaurant was quite different. The granting of trust and Learner Safety on my first day helped me to realize the value of great leadership in a successful business. That lesson caused me to want to become a leader.

I also stayed with that company for five years, but during that time, rose to become a shift supervisor and then a restaurant manager, whose focus was on turning around struggling locations.

My first leadership role was with that company.

The Second Stage of Psychological Safety is Crucial

Thanks to Dr. Timothy Clark and his company Leader Factor, we have a clear and actionable model to understand and enable psychological safety in teams and organizations.

The Four Stages of Psychological Safety ensure that employees are:

• included

• allowed to learn and make mistakes

• able to contribute and make a difference

• encouraged to challenge the status quo and make things better

When these four stages are present, there is no limit to team innovations or successes. The second stage, Learner Safety, is crucial to enabling a team that can bring their full selves to work to try new things, fail fast, and learn and grow from mistakes.

If you would like to help your company or team enable innovation through Psychological Safety schedule a free strategy session with me. www.inflectionpointcoaching.net/scheduling.