Many businesses within the finance and financial services industry have strict guidelines, policies, and procedures in place, all of which are designed to ensure that mistakes and associated repercussions do not occur.

However, in a massive two year study done by Google, it was revealed that most highly performing teams have one thing in common: psychological safety, or the belief that you won’t be punished for making a mistake.

Ancient evolutionary adaptations explain why mental stability in complex, interdependent conditions is both fragile and essential to success. The brain processes a provocation as a life-or-death challenge. The amygdala, the brain alarm bell, ignites the response to fight or flight, hijacking higher centres of the brain. The brain structure of “act first, think later” shuts down insight and logical thinking. Quite simply, we lose our minds just when we most need it. While that fight-or-flight reflex can save us in life-or-death circumstances, in today’s workplace it impedes the strategic thinking required.

Twenty-first-century success depends on another system — the broaden-and-build mode of positive emotion, which allows us to solve complex problems and foster cooperative relationships.

When the workplace feels challenging but not threatening, teams can sustain the broaden-and-build mode where oxytocin levels are rising in our brains, generating trust and confidence-building behaviour. This is a significant factor in the success of the team.

When team members feel safe enough to speak their mind, take moderate risks, and are trusted to make wise decisions, businesses will start to see increases in levels of engagement, motivation to tackle difficult problems and situations, and ultimately, a better performance and better business outcomes.

After all, there is no team without trust.