What is psychological safety?

Amy Edmondson, a Harvard Business School professor who coined the term, defines psychological safety as perceptions that we hold regarding the consequences of our interpersonal interactions. Specifically, she describes it as: “a shared belief that the team is safe for interpersonal risk-taking.” Where there is little psychological safety therefore, team members simply don’t feel comfortable taking interpersonal risks. At the very core of psychological safety is a sense of confidence that our voices are heard and valued at work.

Why is psychological safety so important?

Ensuring psychologically safe teams within your organisation ensures that a culture of trust can be established. Once employees feel that they are in a safe environment with a culture of trust, they are empowered to speak up when necessary, be honest regarding how they feel at work, and take chances they wouldn’t otherwise.

Therefore, apart from ensuring employees feel valued and respected, the workplace becomes a dynamic forum where employees are innovative and creative, and share ideas that further the organisation as there’s no fear of ridicule or negative consequences.

What’s happening this month?
 

In addition to sharing internal and external resources relating to psychological safety, we have two exciting events to share with our clients and followers.

Delta talks… psychological safety

On Friday, 4 August, our Founder and CEO Professor Doyin Atewologun will be discussing all things psychological safety with Consultant Michael Puchalla, and very special guest speakers Viva Asmelash, ED&I consultant and founder of Liberation Labs, and Agatha Agbanobi, ED&I consultant and founder of Relevé.

During this free talk, Doyin, Michael, and their guests will:

• Discuss what psychological safety at work is.
• Talk about why our social identities (e.g., race, ethnicity, gender, LGBTQIA+, disability) matter when it comes to feeling psychologically safe.
• Provide evidence-based practical tips that draws on experience of working with underrepresented professionals and majority status managers/leaders.

This Delta talks… is open to all and free to register, and attendees can interact with each other and ask questions.

Delta talks… psychological safety is now available to watch on our website here.

How to build psychological safety in your working team or community – a Delta Open Workshop

Delta Open Workshops are two-hour training sessions that can be joined by anyone. We run these at a very limited capacity to ensure a collaborative environment where participants can interact with each other and their trainer.

We’re running an Open Workshop that will build on the themes discussed in our Delta talks… episode on psychological safety. This workshop will leave participants with actionable insights that they can apply to their workplace or group, helping to build a psychologically safe culture that empowers employees or group members to thrive.

During the workshop, led by Senior Managing Consultant and psychological safety expert Sophia Kalpaka, attendees will gain:

• Clarity on what psychological safety is, and its benefits to your team/organisation/group.
• A practical tool to assess the current state in your team/organisation/group.
• Top tips to support you as you begin to build a psychologically safe culture.

Tickets for this event are £150 per person and are strictly limited. For more information and to book, click here.

Delta can help build a psychologically safe environment in your team or group. If you’d like to discuss how we can do this, or would like to discuss points raised in Delta talks… or our psychological safety Open Workshop, please get in touch.