Creating Psychological Safety for Stronger Teams

Description

Course Duration:

Half-day, 1-day, or modular delivery over 2–3 sessions

Target Audience:

Managers, team leaders, HR professionals, and employees who want to foster trust, openness, and inclusivity within their teams or organisations.

Course Objectives

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

Understand the concept and importance of psychological safety.

Recognise how psychological safety impacts team performance and wellbeing.

Identify behaviours and practices that support or undermine psychological safety.

Develop strategies to create inclusive, respectful, and open team cultures.

Apply tools to encourage constructive feedback, innovation, and open dialogue.

Course Outline

Module 1: What is Psychological Safety?

Definition and origin (Dr Amy Edmondson’s research)

Why psychological safety matters: the business and human case

Link between psychological safety, innovation, collaboration, and retention

Misconceptions: It’s not about comfort or avoiding challenge

Module 2: Assessing the Current Environment

Signs of a psychologically safe vs unsafe environment

Common team behaviours and leadership pitfalls

Self-assessment: how psychologically safe is my team?

Module 3: Building the Foundations

The four stages of psychological safety:

Inclusion safety

Learner safety

Contributor safety

Challenger safety

Role of trust, empathy, and emotional intelligence

The leader’s role in creating safe environments

Module 4: Practical Strategies to Foster Safety

Encouraging open communication and constructive disagreement

Creating space for risk-taking and vulnerability

Responding to feedback and mistakes without blame

Speaking up behaviours – how to model and support them

Module 5: Embedding Psychological Safety into Team Culture

Meeting practices that promote psychological safety

How to give and receive feedback safely

Inclusive decision-making and respectful challenge

Recognising and rewarding candour and contribution

Module 6: Leading with Psychological Safety

Coaching conversations and active listening

Managing difficult conversations and underperformance safely

Supporting neurodiverse or marginalised voices

Sustaining safety under pressure and during change

Delivery Style

Facilitated discussions and group work

Role plays, reflection activities, and real-life scenarios

Peer learning and action planning

Optional pre-work or post-session surveys

Course Materials Provided

Participant workbook

Psychological safety assessment toolkit

Conversation starter guide

Leadership checklist for building safety

Personal and team action plan

Optional Add-ons

Team psychological safety assessments (anonymous survey)

Post-course coaching or leadership debrief

Co-delivery with DEI (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion) workshops

Integration with feedback or team development programs