The art of being who you are – even at work

"Life can be wonderful if you're not afraid of it", Charles Chaplin once said in the film "City Lights", from 1952. Simple yet profound, the legendary line from the brilliant English actor, comedian and filmmaker makes more and more sense in the corporate world today.

The fact is that companies are discovering that a company “without fear” can also be “happier”. In other words, more productive, innovative, competitive, flexible, economical and therefore profitable. However, for this to really happen, it is first necessary to develop in workplaces an element that is talked about more every day, but not practiced as much: “psychological safety”.

One of the foundations of the lean system, it is, in short, the daily challenge of creating, structuring and maintaining a culture and mindset in the workplace in which all individuals, regardless of position and hierarchical level, can express themselves freely, truthfully and never “for show”.

This means a certain “empowerment” to be able, for example, to voice ideas, even if they run contrary to those of the “boss” or the majority. It also means the freedom to reveal, expose and talk about problems as they really are. More than that, the permission and even the encouragement to show and own up to one's own errors and mistakes, whatever they may be. Always with the aim of learning, correcting and asking for help to improve every day.

And perhaps most important: doing all this without any apprehension, shame or fear of feeling guilty or suffering unfair judgments, aggressive demands, cruel retaliation, let alone moral harassment of any kind.

In lean management, this is a fundamental stage of evolution because if people do not feel this psychological safety, they obviously will not talk about problems, much less solve them. Worse than that, they will always tend to sweep the “dirt under the rug”.

A company with high levels of psychological safety may even seem like a dream or a utopia, but many organizations are discovering that it is possible to evolve in this direction and, as a result, achieve better results.

To do so, it is necessary to develop in the organizational culture and mindset a series of elements that can, even if little by little, build and structure environments, ways of thinking, relationships, communications and behaviors different from the traditional ones.

For example, it is necessary to build a truly “inclusive” workspace. People need to perceive that they were hired because the company, in fact, accepts them as they are, including their physical and intellectual attributes.

At the same time, an organizational environment will never have psychological safety if individuals do not feel safe to learn at all times and in all the activities they do. For this, one cannot be afraid to learn, to ask questions, to be evaluated and, above all, to make mistakes.

At the same time, people must perceive that the company truly wants, takes into account and values their good contributions: good work, relevant ideas, well-founded projects, constructive criticism, the sharing of experiences, the exchange of information...

And it is necessary to develop what is perhaps the most challenging element of this organizational evolution: companies with advanced levels of psychological safety create conditions for employees at the “lower” hierarchical levels of the traditional organizational pyramid to really be able to “challenge the status quo”. That is, in a responsible, scientific, technical and respectful way, they can point out problems and opportunities for improvement in structures created and/or maintained by their superiors or even by other areas. Without fear of frowns and reprisals.

All this is only possible if there are leaders prepared and willing to build this environment, culture and mindset. They are the ones who will envision and shape these spaces, the necessary structures and the teams, so that people know how, why and when they can express themselves without fear.

For this, some strategic decisions by companies regarding the leadership styles they want and need are fundamental. Perhaps the most essential is to select or develop leaders who show humility. Who understand that they do not know everything. Who acknowledge their mistakes, weaknesses and gaps. Who own up to vulnerabilities and doubts. The example must always come from the top.

This can only really happen if leaders manage to put into practice what is known as “positive inquiry”. That is, interacting with their team members in a way that differs from the traditional one. It means a certain way of speaking, asking, listening, recognizing and even thanking, always in the sense of reinforcing psychological safety, never weakening it, whether through spoken, written or even “body” language. Body language can also reveal aggressive communication, even if the words are mild.

More than that, companies need to build and keep alive management structures that encourage people, responsibly and with technique, to expose and investigate problems. That challenge teams to experiment responsibly, protecting people when they take risks associated with deep learning.

For example, in Daily Management (DM), which, in this context, needs to be a daily, everyday space where individuals can, together, analyze processes, look for failures and root causes, and discuss solutions. Without fear of making mistakes, thinking and learning. And welcoming divergent opinions, even if they run contrary to those of the “boss”.

In this context, leaders need to make purposes clear: how they will be built, deployed, disseminated, shared and assigned to people, according to each person's competencies and skills.

Another urgent need is to "depersonalize" problems. This means establishing and promoting a culture in which it is assumed – and practiced daily – that, until proven otherwise, problems lie not in people but in processes. It is poorly designed processes that should be “held accountable”.

For this, leaders need to move away from typical “command and control” leadership, whose characteristics are already well known. It is a style centered on giving orders. Focused on the hierarchical belief that whoever knows most is whoever holds the highest position. It advocates not giving people the freedom to test well-founded experiments. It spreads the mindset of “it's always been this way” or “we've already tried that, and it didn't work”. It does not tolerate divergence or disagreement. It gets upset when someone is dissatisfied with its communications, attitudes or behaviors based on hierarchical power. It loves to place blame on this or that person, even if covertly.

All of this is always picked up and understood by everyone. At times, it causes individual suffering. And, in general, it prevents or weakens any attempt to build real psychological safety in the organization.

As important as understanding “what” psychological safety is, is knowing “what it is not”, so as not to invest energy in “placebos”. It is not about being “nice”, saying what others want to hear or avoiding conflict.

On the contrary, a psychologically safe organization encourages deep and detailed discussion of problems, always with the aim of finding their causes and implementing specific countermeasures, but without generating blame or fears that shake people's emotional outlook.

Nor does it have to do with personality traits – for example, people who are friendly, charismatic, calm, polite, introverted or extroverted. Nor does it mean trusting someone more or less. Very differently from that, it is about creating a new way of relating as a group.

It is not opposed to holding individuals accountable for the work they do, which is very different from punishing people when things go wrong. It is about encouraging individuals to accept mistakes, but in the sense that they see them as opportunities to improve work and processes.

It does not take much effort to understand the benefits of psychological safety. By promoting a certain liberation of individuals from the everyday emotional suffering that is a hallmark of traditional management, it frees brain energy for creativity. Therefore, it opens powerful avenues for generating more innovative processes and products.

In addition, it is already known that happier people tend to cultivate healthy and lasting relationships. This, in turn, strengthens connection and engagement at work, aspects that are highly valued and sought after in today's corporate environment.

By fostering greater happiness in everyday work, this practice also contributes to talent retention, reducing the turnover that often results from professional dissatisfaction. In addition, an environment of greater well-being helps reduce stress and strengthen people's health.

All of this culminates in something essential: it makes the company more human.