202112180933 Psychological safety is the top indicator for group performance

Individual skills are not what matters. What matters is the interaction. Small behaviors — not measurable skills — make all the difference.

In a study of groups of differing skill levels all trying to accomplish the same task, groups succeeded not because they were smarter or better, but because they were safer. The only valid correlation between performance and behavior is whether the group was safe and connected.¹

We make groups feel safe through belonging cues. These are small behaviors that add up to the statement “You’re safe, you belong here”.

This has been demonstrated in other sources as well, including the famous study from Google.²

A very similar but different angle on this is that 202107291132 Trust is a requirement for higher-level cognitive functions. That angle shows that a minimal amount of this metric is a requirement for base function, whereas this shows that it can be generalized as a continuous correlation to performance.