Psychological safety is the cornerstone of any successful team. What fuels that safety? Trust.
According to Google’s Aristotle study, trust accounts for 60% of a team’s efficacy. Think about that—60%! That means more than half of a team’s ability to perform is directly linked to the level of trust its members feel.
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When your team feels psychologically safe, they’re willing to take risks, share ideas, and make decisions without fear of judgment or failure. It’s within this environment that true innovation happens. In the world of product management, psychological safety isn’t just helpful—it’s vital for fostering innovation, driving collaboration, and building overall team commitment.
But how do you create that environment? One of the most effective ways to foster psychological safety is by providing your team with a clear, adaptable product strategy. A strong strategy gives your team structure but, more importantly, offers them the flexibility to make decisions without feeling paralyzed by fear of failure.
How Strategy and Psychological Safety Work Together
A well-crafted product strategy is more than just a static document. It’s a dynamic roadmap that guides your team through the complexities of product development. A good strategy lays out the challenges ahead, defines the assets your team can leverage, and sets boundaries to help them make informed decisions.
But here’s the key—a strategy should be descriptive, not prescriptive. Your strategy should serve as a framework, giving your team the understanding they need to navigate the landscape and solve problems. It should guide, not dictate, how they approach their work. When a strategy is too rigid, it forces the team into a corner. They feel stuck, and the fear of deviating from “the plan” stifles creativity and, ultimately, trust.
As Roger Martin says, “Strategy is the opposite of planning.” Planning is rigid; strategy should be fluid.
An adaptive strategy builds trust by anticipating risks and providing options for when things go off-course. It gives your team the confidence to pivot without fear of failure because the roadmap includes multiple paths. If the team knows the strategy allows for adjustment, they’re less likely to feel trapped or anxious when things don’t go as expected.
Real-World Example: When Strategy Flexibility Saves the Day
Imagine a product team working on a critical launch. The plan is detailed, the goals are clear, and deadlines are tight. Then, something unexpected happens—a feature fails in testing, and the timeline is suddenly in jeopardy. Without a flexible strategy, the team might panic, stick to the failing plan, or worse, stay quiet about the issue to avoid looking bad.
But in a team with a dynamic, trust-building strategy, this roadblock isn’t the end of the world. The strategy already accounted for potential setbacks and outlined alternative actions the team could take. Instead of fear, the team feels empowered to act, present solutions, and adjust their approach. They communicate openly because they know the strategy allows room for failure and recovery.
Challenge Yourself: Weave Flexibility into Your Strategy
Here’s a challenge for the week: Ask yourself, what happens if the current strategy fails? How will the team adjust to meet that failure? How can you, as a product leader, weave that adaptability into the strategic narrative you share with both your team and stakeholders?
A good product strategy should prepare your team for failure, not just success. It should give them the confidence to take risks, knowing that setbacks won’t derail the entire project. When your team feels safe in the knowledge that there’s always an alternative path, trust will grow, and with it, their willingness to innovate and collaborate.
So, what will you change in your strategy this week to build more trust?
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