Psychological Safety: What It Really Means
Psychological safety isn’t about being nice, always getting your way, or guaranteeing job security. As Amy Edmondson and Michaela Kerrissey note in Harvard Business Review, it’s about creating an environment where people feel safe to speak up, share hard truths, and engage in candid conversations that move work forward.
Too often, organizations confuse comfort with safety—or treat psychological safety as a policy instead of a practice. Research shows that teams with real psychological safety learn faster, innovate more effectively, and perform at a higher level.
The key? Honest, respectful dialogue, trust across differences, and cultures where everyone’s voice is valued.
Workshops & Learning Opportunities
🧠 Creating Psychologically Safe Relationships Across Differences Learn a simple model for building trust and respect in everyday interactions—especially across race, age, gender, and generation.
🧠 Leading for Belonging: How Managers Build Trust, Safety, and REAL Team Culture Explore what true belonging looks like and how managers can create it through empathy, trust, and REAL Leadership™.
🧠 Psychological Safety for Leaders: Why It Matters and How to Build It Unpack what psychological safety really means and leave with concrete tactics to build it on your team.
🧠 Everyday Actions That Change Culture Discover how small, daily actions from every team member shape culture, inclusion, and trust.
🧠 Navigating Uncertainty: Building Resilience Across Teams and Identities Learn practical tools to build resilience across roles, generations, and identities in times of change.
🧠 Building Below the Surface Relationships (Individual Contributor Version) Strengthen collaboration and inclusion by building trust across differences—at any level.
📩 To learn more or customize a package that works for you, reach out anytime: [email protected]
What Participants Are Saying
“So many things to think about. Thank you for sharing your insights and expertise. I’m leaving with lots of questions and ideas to explore as I reflect on last school year and the new one ahead.”
“LaTonya was intelligent, thoughtful, and wise. The content is so relevant to our work. Her opening—that so many orgs struggled with psychological safety and are now struggling with trust—was so helpful. She was a gift to the cohort.”
“This session was phenomenal. I didn’t realize how much I needed this work. It gave me great direction and inspiration for continued learning and application.
Related Podcast Episodes
🎧 Ep 9: Is Psychological Safety Overrated?
🎧 Ep 23: How to Have Psychologically Safe Conversations about Difficult Topics (Part 1)
🎧 Ep 24: How to Have Psychologically Safe Conversations about Difficult Topics (Part 2)
🎧 Ep 57: Is Psychological Safety Enough? Rethinking How We Lead and Work
Psychological safety pairs candor with accountability. The best teams don’t shy away from hard truths—they invite them in.
Our workshops give leaders and employees practical tools to:
- Encourage candor without sacrificing kindness
- Successfully grow into their leadership roles
- Build trust and resilience across differences and generations
- Foster collaboration in everyday leadership
Next Steps
👉🏾Bring These Workshops to Your Team. Reach out anytime: [email protected]
📚 Stay Tuned for Our Book Relaunch The second edition of Leading Below the Surface is coming soon—more insights and tools for building psychological safety and REAL leadership on your team.