Psychological Safety
Psychological safety refers to shared beliefs held by members of a team that it’s safe to take risks; openly express their ideas, concerns, and divergent opinions; speak up with questions; share bad news or concerns and to admit mistakes—all without fear of negative consequences. It is not about complaining or arguing, but instead promotes positive interpersonal interactions within the group or team.
Three fundamentals of psychological safety
- Normalize failure—reframe failures as learning opportunities
- Everything is an experiment—embrace risk and failure as paths leading to success
- Acknowledge your own fallibility—welcome difficult emotions, admit mistakes, share lessons learned and share those lessons with others
Get help or share resources
Tell us what you need or share more resources on psychological safety by completing the Psychological Safety in CSE Teams and Groups form.
Resources
Presentation and resources from the March 22, 2024 "Making it Safe to Speak" Psychological Safety workshop
with the "Psychological Safety Playbook" author Minette Norman
- Presentation from Minette Norman with interactive responses from the attendees (PDF)
- "How Psychologically Safe Is Your Workplace" Forbes article with quotes from Minette Norman (PDF)
- "Teaching: The rewards—and risks—of sharing failure stories" Chronicle of Higher Education article (PDF)
Free "Psychological Safety Playbook" Tools and Discussion Guide
- Psychological Safety Playbook: Overview-Five Levers to Increase Psychological Safety (PDF)
- Psychological Safety Playbook: Five Essential Tools (PDF)
- Psychological Safety Playbook: 25 Moves to Increasing Psychological Safety in the Workplace (PDF)
- Psychological Safety Playbook: Play-by-Play Postcards (PDF)
- Psychological Safety Playbook: Discussion Guide (PDF)
Notes from the CSE "Psychological Safety Playbook" Book Club
with the CSE Diversity and Inclusivity Alliance
