Psychological Safety

Psychological Safety

At it’s core, engineering is the practice of learning. To learn effectively and to be productive, engineers

must feel safe asking questions and discussing mistakes. Everyone in Artsy Engineering, but especially those in leadership positions, are responsible for fostering a psychologically safe work environment. Specifically, that means:

• Admitting and discussing mistakes (“We introduced this bug, what can we learn from it?”).
• Framing work primarily as a learning experience (“Let’s pair on this feature so we can learn X new framework together.”).
• Demonstrating curiosity and praising curiosity in others (“(When asked a question in a DM) This is a good question, would you mind asking in #channel-name so others can learn too?”).

• Further Reading:

  • What it Feels Like to Work in a Supportive Environment for Female Engineers
  • Building Better Software by Building Better Teams
  • Building Compassionate Software
  • High-Performing Teams Need Psychological Safety. Here’s How to Create It
  • Psychological Safety, Risk Tolerance and High Functioning Software Teams