Psychological Safety. Toxic Cultures. Accessibility Support.
This month I thought it would be valuable to share links to two very different articles that focus on psychological safety or the lack thereof. The first offers a roadmap for creating a psychologically safe workplace. The second is an excellent example of how not to create such an environment and the damage it can cause.
The Psychology of the Workplace
The workplace is a social environment that can be challenging to navigate at times. Erin Gloeckner examines how easy it is to encounter workplaces that seem to do their best to discourage people from speaking up and offering their input. Safe and Supported provides a clear path toward creating sustainable and psychologically safe workplaces that can also promote a culture of risk-taking. The ten points Gloeckner offers for creating a psychologically safe workspace could help address many of the problems noted in the next article.
If you are not signed up to receive eNews updates from the Nonprofit Risk Management Center, I urge you to do so. The information they offer can be invaluable for students and arts managers.
Toxic Arts Organizations
As I read Luke Jennings’s article about the toxic culture of a ballet school and company, it seemed to me to powerfully connect with points raised in Gloeckner’s about the attributes of a psychologically unsafe workplace. One would hope that the acceptance of toxic arts workplaces is declining, but when you read about what is alleged to have been the abusive norms at this ballet school, it is hard not to be discouraged. As Jennings notes, at arts and sports institutions, “isolation from the outside world and a highly competitive atmosphere create conditions in which the powerful can behave towards the young with impunity.”
The takeaway from both articles is that there are ways to create all kinds of workplaces that support risk and are also psychologically safe.
Access Support Widget
You may have noticed the blue and white accessibility icon at the top right corner of the website. I hope this new tool is of value to anyone trying to navigate the web pages of Management and the Arts. Some of the features include changing screen contrast, text spacing, and a dyslexia-friendly setting. I am exploring how to make the website for the upcoming sixth edition of my book even more accessible. Stay tuned.
Thanks again for your time and interest.
Bill Byrnes
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Safe and Supported: The Intersection of Psychological Safety and Fruitful Risk Practice
By Erin Gloeckner, Risk eNews, https://nonprofitrisk.org Oct. 2021 (13-minute read)
“My input isn’t valued here.”
“My coworkers always reject my ideas.”
“I feel so stupid around my boss.”
“I have to pick my battles.”
“It will be safer for me if I keep my head down.”
“I wanted to warn them, but I couldn’t risk being ridiculed again.”
“I told them it was dangerous… why didn’t they believe me?”
“If I speak up again, I’ll probably get fired.”
If you have experienced thoughts like these, then you might need psychological safety.
“Team psychological safety is defined as a shared belief that the team is safe for interpersonal risk taking…Team psychological safety is not the same as group cohesiveness, as research has shown that cohesiveness can reduce willingness to disagree and challenge others’ views, such as in the phenomenon of groupthink (Janis, 1982), implying a lack of interpersonal risk taking. The term is meant to suggest…a sense of confidence that the team will not embarrass, reject, or punish someone for speaking up. This confidence stems from mutual respect and trust among team members.”
Link to article:
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Luke Jennings on abuse at the Royal Ballet, London Review of Books, Vol. 43 No. 18, September 23, 2021
(13-minute read)
When the Royal Ballet returned to Covent Garden earlier this year after fourteen months of cancelled shows and empty auditoriums, its public announcements were upbeat. The new season (which has just opened) would include world premieres by Wayne McGregor, Christopher Wheeldon and Kyle Abraham, alongside classic ballets by Kenneth MacMillan and Frederick Ashton. In May and June, ahead of the full reopening, the company streamed an online programme featuring choreographers closely associated with the Royal Ballet. One name was conspicuous by its absence: Liam Scarlett, the former Royal Ballet artist-in-residence. In March 2020, following accusations of inappropriate behaviour over the previous decade, the company had severed ties with him. Other companies followed suit. In April this year it was announced that Scarlett, who was 35, had died. An inquest opened in May and revealed that he had been ‘admitted to Ipswich Hospital on 12 April due to a cardiac arrest following an attempted hanging’. The inquest will conclude in November.
Link to article:
https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v43/n18/luke-jennings/learned-behaviour