An IIM Ahmedabad alumni working in product management took to LinkedIn to share an incident that forced her to resign. She recalled that the moment also made her realise the lack of psychological safety in her team.
LinkedIn user Soni Shaw wrote, “In one of the last escalation emails that I had replied to just before leaving my job, every possible team was added to that thread. There was a product feature launch that was getting delayed due to which teams were trying to blame each other as well as the product team,” she wrote.
In the following lines, she added that leaders from different verticals involved in the situation replied, “either defending their teams or sharing details to demonstrate urgency”. However, what shocked Shaw was the lack of response from her own team. “But never on that mail thread, did anyone from the product leadership reply,” she added.
She mentioned this was the moment when she realised, “This is what a team with missing psychological safety looks like.” Following this, she resigned from her job.
Take a look at the entire post here:
Since being posted two days ago, the share has accumulated more than 3,500 reactions. It has also prompted people to post varied reactions.
What did LinkedIn users say about this post on psychological safety at the workplace?
“If this happened – and if there were no other instances of the team not supporting you, would you have stayed and fought this? Maybe the team had no idea how to respond, and only you had all the information needed to deal with it,” argued a LinkedIn user.
“’Resign and leave’ might be a luxury for many, but if it comes to that, you should. We are in a world where job safety is overrated and psychological safety is underrated. I have seen how toxic workplaces can ruin lives, let alone careers. It takes months to get another job, it takes life time to be yourself again,” shared another.
“I had a similar experience with a Galway firm. My line manager berated me in front of other stakeholders, and unfairly, I was asked by HR the same day to pack my bags and leave. I was handed garden leave, and all my access was withdrawn within a matter of minutes. It was the worst experience I ever had. I got a better opportunity, but the damage stays on. Psychological safety is very essential in the corporate world compared to job safety,” commented a third.
“This situation goes to say how crucial psychological safety is for a thriving team. When employees feel safe speaking up and collaborating, mistakes become learning opportunities and innovation flourishes. To avoid this, I focus on building trust and open communication that leads to everyone feeling supported and creates a harmonious workplace,” joined a fourth.
“I had a similar experience once. A team blamed us for something, and our team lead never replied in that thread to support us. When we had the meeting to discuss that issue, the team lead never spoke even once throughout that meeting. That day, I realised that some people can be good at their work, but that does not mean they are good leaders,” wrote a fifth.
