Psychological Safety: An Imperative for High-Performing Teams

Some of business's greatest innovations have come from individuals willing to think unconventionally and take a chance on an idea that might have seemed unlikely at first. Unfortunately, most people find it difficult to be open, think creatively, or take risks when they fear judgment, criticism, or ridicule. That is precisely why psychological safety is a far more powerful and consequential tool than its name might initially suggest.

This course will help you understand the core elements of psychological safety and their relationship to trust, innovation, and high-performing team cultures. You will also learn how to apply psychological safety practices in your organization through a hands-on capstone exercise.

Who Should Attend:

• Leaders and managers
• Team leads
• HR professionals
• Decision makers
• Stakeholders across functions who need to build open, accepting, high-performance cultures

How You Will Benefit:

• Understand what constitutes psychological safety and why it is a business imperative
• Recognize the research and science that underpin psychological safety in the workplace
• Deepen your understanding of healthy conflict and its role in building psychological safety
• Experience rapid, effective methods for building connections among team members
• Build greater skill in facilitating courageous conversations
• Identify the mindsets and behaviors that either support or undermine psychological safety
• Review case studies from organizations with both high and low levels of psychological safety
• Develop greater confidence in creating environments that foster trust, belonging, and healthy risk-taking, leading to higher innovation, satisfaction, and performance
• Practice the interpersonal skills needed to build a high psychological safety climate
• Take genuine ownership of supporting a culture of psychological safety in your organization

What You Will Cover:

• Defining psychological safety and exploring its tangible business benefits
• Examining what happens to teams and organizations when psychological safety is absent
• Understanding how remote and flexible work arrangements influence psychological safety
• Discussing the human and business case for prioritizing psychological safety
• Exploring strategies to engage all voices and manage diverse perspectives constructively
• Developing emotionally and socially intelligent practices that reinforce psychological safety
• Identifying the specific behaviors that make people feel more psychologically secure at work
• Addressing power dynamics and structural factors that affect workplace safety
• Exploring three foundational concepts connected to psychological safety: trust, risk, and vulnerability
• Building effective feedback and conflict management strategies
• Using positive reinforcement and celebration to strengthen safety-building behaviors
• Creating psychological safety in virtual and hybrid team environments
• Capstone Activity: Taking ownership of helping build a lasting culture of psychological safety