Psychological Safety In the Workplace: What it Is, the Four Stages, and Tips for Team Leaders

Psychological safety is a common term in the agile workplace, but due to its increased popularity, the concept has been misinterpreted and oversimplified in recent years.

We gathered examples from within the ICAgile team and conducted research to break through the confusion around the topic.

This article offers a comprehensive look at workplace psychological safety and four tips for organizational leaders to begin fostering psychological safety within their teams.

What is Psychological Safety?

In her book The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth, Amy C. Edmondson describes psychological safety in the workplace as “a shared belief held by members of a team that the team is safe for interpersonal risk-taking.” These risks can include showing up authentically, speaking up to ask questions, presenting new ideas, and taking accountability for mistakes without fear of retaliation.

The key elements of team psychological safety outlined in Edmondson’s work include:

Inclusivity

Open communication

Constructive feedback

Trust & respect

The modeling and encouragement of risk-taking

The ICAgile team often discusses the importance of bringing our full selves to work. Rather than needing to fit into defined constraints of who an employee is supposed to be, we are encouraged to share our personality, interests, hobbies, and ideas. As a result, we have more creative brainstorming sessions, shared connections, and productive workflows.

The 4 Stages of Psychological Safety

Another notable author on psychological safety, Timothy R. Clark, coined the phases of fostering this environment within a group of people in his book The 4 Stages of Psychological Safety: Defining the Path to Inclusion and Innovation.

Clark’s four stages of psychological safety are as follows:

1. Inclusion Safety

Inclusion safety is the foundation and first stage of establishing psychological safety within an organization. This occurs when team members feel accepted, included, and valued for their contributions, irrespective of their background, role, and other unique characteristics.

2. Learner Safety

The second stage is creating a culture of learning and development. A team that encompasses learner safety will feel safe being curious, asking questions, and making mistakes, with the shared understanding between leadership and employees that growth is not always linear.

3. Contributor Safety

The next phase toward achieving psychological safety is when team members feel they can speak up and contribute their innovative ideas and skills without fear of rejection. Contributor safety empowers team members to see their own talents as complementary assets to the organization that can be leveraged to further the collective mission.

4. Challenger Safety

When teams have met the criteria for the final stage of establishing psychological safety, team members will feel comfortable introducing opposing viewpoints to colleagues and leaders within the organization. Challenger safety calls for leaders to value feedback as a mechanism for improvement and positive change, and in time, this culture is solidified and adopted by the rest of the team.

As an organization moves through the stages of psychological safety and builds collective resilience, the benefits are vast and can include improved:

Employee wellness

Retention rates

Collaboration

Engagement

Productivity

Collective learning

Adaptability

Innovation

4 Tips on How to Create Psychological Safety in Your Team

Understanding the concept behind psychological safety is the easy part–the real challenge is implementing new behaviors that foster this unique environment. We’ve rounded up four tips to help leaders at every stage of the journey.

1. Celebrate Diversity

Teams that embrace diversity are buzzing with creativity, connections, and confidence. To create an inclusive playing field, leaders should hire people with diverse backgrounds, acknowledge and encourage contributions and perspectives from all team members, and maintain a culture of mutual respect through all interactions. In doing so, team members see the value in their differences, allowing them to let go of the need to water down their ideas, accomplishments, or unique experiences that make them who they are.

At ICAgile, we are encouraged to view our work from a multicultural lens–from how we interact with each other to ensuring our content resonates with a global audience. Our small remote team, scattered across the U.S. & Canada, offers diverse perspectives on projects and problem-solving fueled by the unique stories that shape our worldview.

2. Offer Opportunities for Continuous Learning

Teams can promote learner safety by offering ample opportunities for continuous learning. For example, some organizations grant employees paid time off or a financial stipend to indulge team members' educational interests, like taking a course or attending a workshop to deepen their skills. Moreover, this knowledge is brought back into the organization so that when one team member grows, the whole team grows.

In addition to offering each employee an annual stipend for learning, prioritizing growth plans, and viewing mistakes as teaching moments, the ICAgile team participates in a monthly educational session called Facts & Snacks. In this meeting, a team member hosts a presentation that educates the rest of the group on a skill or function within their wheelhouse for an opportunity to broaden our collective intelligence.

3. Encourage Input From All Team Members

Encourage input from all team members on key decisions and projects to overcome hesitation in contributing. Psychological safety exercises such as brainstorming sessions help employees feel comfortable sharing their thoughts. By contributing regularly, employees learn over time that their ideas are considered and valued, opening new doors to change and innovation.

At ICAgile, we work in two-week sprints, and each week, our team meets to plan initiatives, discuss progress, and problem-solve potential roadblocks–but one thing that makes these meetings unique is that they act as an open forum. Employees are encouraged to ask questions and exchange ideas, supporting contributor safety.

4. Promote Regular Feedback Exchange

The practice of receiving and giving feedback can assist employees in feeling empowered to challenge the status quo. Creating a safe space for constructive disagreement builds confidence in team members to take more risks. These safe spaces can include feedback between managers and their employees or colleague-to-colleague discussions.

ICAgile leaders practice an open-door policy and are willing to hear out team members regarding their recommendations and opinions, even if these perspectives may go against existing approaches, because they believe that change is essential for success. In addition to employees receiving feedback, remember that challenger safety can only be solidified when organizational leaders are also willing to accept input from the rest of the team.

Conclusion

Understanding the academic definition of psychological safety and its four stages can assist leaders in experimenting with new strategies and activities to help employees feel valued, heard, and empowered to take risks.

Did you find this article helpful? Bookmark the ICAgile resource library page to share fresh agile-related insights with your team each week!

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Psychological Safety In the Workplace: What it Is, the Four Stages, and Tips for Team Leaders

What is Psychological Safety?