Mar 29
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Anna Bromley
Why Psychological Safety Is the Hidden Superpower for Teams
Reflecting on Our Session on Psychological Safety
On Friday, my old pal Emerson Scotland and I ran a joint knowledge-sharing session on the topic of Psychological Safety.
This one stood out for me personally—not just because it’s something I’ve read about quite a bit, but because you always internalise concepts more deeply when you have to explain them to others. Presenting really forces you to organise your thoughts and build a more coherent understanding.
The Recording
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What I Took Away
Our research and conversation around psychological safety uncovered a few key insights that really stuck with me:
Psychological safety is becoming increasingly essential
As the world becomes more remote, AI-driven, and uncertain—economically and socially—creating safe environments for people to speak up and contribute is vital. Without safety, there's no creativity, no innovation, and no real collaboration—all of which are non-negotiables for effective teamwork.
Psychological Safety underpins emotional intelligence
This clicked for me. If you grow up in an unsafe environment where your feelings are ignored or invalidated, you likely develop coping mechanisms rooted in survival—fight or flight—rather than learning how to regulate and express emotions in healthy ways. That extends into adult life and workplace dynamics.
There’s a real cost to getting it wrong
Failing to create psychologically safe environments leads to reduced productivity, knowledge hoarding, low morale, and ultimately lower quality outputs. People become defensive rather than cooperative.
Healthy environments share common patterns
These include open forums for honest discussion, framing challenges as learning opportunities, valuing constructive emotional expression, and fostering candid conversations without pretence. These all contribute to a more open culture—which, in the long run, becomes a team’s competitive advantage.
There are tangible behaviours that make a difference
Whether you're a leader or team member, demonstrating openness and vulnerability, practising a growth mindset, and encouraging curiosity all help cultivate psychological safety.
Small actions matter
Creating safety doesn't need to be grand. Support those who speak up. Celebrate lessons from failure. Share your own vulnerabilities with your team. These everyday acts build the kind of culture where people genuinely thrive.
The Questions That Came Up
We had over 30 people join the session, and the Q&A section surfaced some excellent, real-world concerns:
What’s your perspective on favouritism, and how can it be tackled?
How do you handle rudeness and disrespect in the workplace?
How do you measure psychological safety?
What’s the best way to handle a situation where senior leadership assigns the same task to multiple people without communication?
Our Take on the Questions
Favouritism
Emerson made a great point: favouritism is counterproductive. It’s far better to align people with tasks that suit their temperament and strengths. Everyone brings something different to the table, and the role of leadership is to recognise and match skills, not show preference.
Rudeness and Disrespect
My take? Be firm, but don’t stoop to the same level. Don’t respond in the heat of the moment. Take your time. Often, the best response is no response—just calmly move on. If it needs to be addressed, do it when you're ready and collected.
Measuring Psychological Safety
Unless you’re running targeted surveys—asking how heard people feel, how honest they can be, and how often they contribute—the best measure is personal interaction. Have one-to-one conversations. Ask more pointed questions about motivation, morale, and how supported people feel.
Conflicting Task Assignments from Leadership
If possible, raise it directly and respectfully. If not, speak with a peer who can act as a bridge. Keep it constructive and focus on the impact on the work—not personalities or blame. Most confusion comes from a lack of alignment, not malice.
Looking Ahead
We were thrilled with the turnout and the level of engagement from everyone who joined. These conversations are exactly what help us grow as professionals and teams.
If you would like a copy of the slides shared, then simply click the download button below.
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