Psychological Safety in Teams

Psychological Safety in Teams

Poll

Have you ever stayed quiet in a meeting even though you had some concerns?

• Always

• Never

• Sometimes

Poll

Have you ever witnessed someone else's idea getting shut down?

• All the time

• Happens sometimes

• Never happens

With a partner create a list of reasons why people speak up in the meetings and why they hold back

When I hold back

When I speak up

• 
  

hold back = not to do smth often because of fear or because you don't want to make the situation worse

In your opinion, what is the #1 trait of a high-performing IT team?

A) High technical IQ

B) Perfect English skills

C) The ability to take risks without fear

Discuss the following questions

1 What is psychological safety? Give a definition or an explanation the way you see/understand it.
2 Do you think it matters? Why?

You are going to watch a video what psychological safety is and why it is important for high-performing teams. Watch the video and give a definition for psychological safety according to what you hear.


to fall short = to fail to reach a standard that was expected or hoped for, causing disappointment
to maintain = to continue to have
to thrive = to grow, to develop, or to be successful

Psychological safety is a shared belief that the team is safe for interpersonal risk-taking.


Can I be myself without fear of embarrassment or punishment?

• What stood out most to you from the video?

• What's the difference between psychological safety and just "being nice" or avoiding conflict?

Finish the sentences below so that they are true for your team

In our team it's OK to ...
We understand that ...
When someone makes a grammar mistake, we ...
If you disagree with a senior person, you can ...

Safety Builders
(actions that increase psychological safety)

• 
  

Safety Killers (actions that reduce psychological safety)

Analyse the behaviours within the team and answer the following questions

• Which behaviours do we already do well?

• Which should we stop, start, or do more of?

One thing I'll try to do differently next time is ...

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Role-play scenarios

Discuss the scenarios below


1 What is the potential negative outcome of not speaking up?
2 What would make a person feel safe to speak up?

1 A junior developer notices a bug but is too shy/afraid to speak up because the team-lead seems too impatient.
2 A team member has an unusual/unexpected/innovative idea but is afraid to voice it for fear of being ridiculed for thinking outside the box
3 During a daily/sprint review a team member is too afraid to admit that they are struggling with a task as they are worried about being perceived as incompetent

Mistake of the Week

During your weekly sync or retrospective, dedicate 5 minutes for a "Learning Moment."

How it works: A senior member shares a small technical or communication mistake they made that week and what they learned.

Purpose: to shift the focus from blame to learning

Definition of a Dumb Question

As a team, create a "Safe Question" list.

How it works: Have the group brainstorm common "silly" questions they are often afraid to ask (e.g., "What does this mean?", "Why are we using this library instead of X?").

Purpose: Normalizes the act of asking questions and reduces the "embarrassment" barrier for junior/new members.

The "Accents & Speed" Working Agreement

Create a communication protocol for meetings with UK colleagues.

How it works: Establish a "Signal" (e.g., a specific emoji) that means: "The speaker is going too fast/the accent is difficult; please rephrase."
Purpose: It makes the "struggle to follow accents" a team problem to solve collectively, rather than an individual's "lack of skill".

Rotating Facilitation

Rotate the "Meeting Owner" role every week, regardless of seniority.

How it works: A junior or less confident speaker facilitates the stand-up. Purpose: Gives everyone "permission" to be vocal and lead in a structured way.