Psychological Safety · Group Guide
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Is it safe to speak up here?

A group conversation about psychological safety — move through this together, one screen at a time.

How it works

  • One person holds the phone
  • Read each screen aloud together
  • Discuss — no wrong answers
  • Tap Next when you're ready
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Phase 1 · Ground it
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Your experience
💬 Discuss as a group
Share a time you spoke up at work and it went well. Then share a time you stayed silent — and why.
⏱ 4 minutes · everyone shares
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The "mum effect"
85% of employees have stayed silent about a concern at work — most often fearing they'd seem negative or damage a relationship. (Milliken, Morrison & Hewlin, 2003)
The organization never learns what it doesn't hear. The cost of silence is invisible.
Phase 1 · Ground it
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Why it matters
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Google's Project Aristotle
Google studied 180 teams for two years to find out what made teams effective. Psychological safety was the single strongest predictor — above talent, tenure, seniority, or structure.
What this means The most important thing isn't who's on the team. It's whether people feel safe enough to do their best work together.
💬 Quick reaction
Does that surprise anyone? What do you think it says about your team right now?
⏱ 2 minutes
Phase 2 · Assess it
4
Rate your team
Rate each statement silently (1 = strongly disagree, 7 = strongly agree). Then compare answers. Differences tell the real story.
"On this team, it is safe to take a risk."
"It is easy to ask other members for help."
"Mistakes here are treated as chances to learn."
Phase 2 · Assess it
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What did you notice?
💬 Group debrief
Where did everyone score similarly? Where did scores spread apart — and why might that be?
⏱ 5 minutes
Why differences matter When people on the same team score differently, it often means people are having genuinely different experiences — by role, seniority, or identity. That gap is data.
Which item felt most urgent to you? Name it. That's often where to start.
Phase 3 · Understand it
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Where does your team sit?
😶 Apathy
Low safety + low standards.
😰 Anxiety
Low safety + high standards.
😊 Comfort
High safety + low standards.
🚀 Learning
High safety + high standards.
💬 Honest conversation
If you had to place your team in one of those four zones right now — which zone, and why?
⏱ 5 minutes · be specific
The goal isn't comfort The learning zone requires both safety AND high standards. You can be a safe team that still pushes each other to grow.
Phase 3 · Understand it
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Pick a question
Tap each zone to reveal a discussion question. Pick the one or two that feel most relevant right now.
😰 Anxiety zone
When have you known something important but stayed quiet? What stopped you from saying it?
tap ▾
😊 Comfort zone
Is there a topic your team consistently avoids? What would it mean to actually talk about it?
tap ▾
🚀 Learning zone
When did someone on this team take a risk by speaking up — and it made things better?
tap ▾
😶 Apathy zone
Has there been a moment where you stopped trying to contribute? What caused that?
tap ▾
Phase 3 · Understand it
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Safety saves lives
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Research: surgical teams
Nembhard & Edmondson (2006) studied teams learning a new cardiac procedure. Teams with higher psychological safety had 3× better patient outcomes — not because they made fewer mistakes, but because they caught and fixed errors faster.
💬 Reflect together
In your work, what's the equivalent of "catching an error faster"? What goes unnoticed when people don't speak up?
⏱ 4 minutes
Phase 4 · Practice it
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Six things leaders can do
These aren't traits — they're actions. Tap each to see the evidence behind it.
🙋 Model fallibility›
Share a mistake and what you learned from it. This single behavior shifts team norms faster than any policy or speech.
🎙 Ask before telling›
Replace "here's what I think" with "what's your read on this?" Research shows this at least doubles how often people speak up.
👏 Respond productively›
When someone raises a concern, thank them out loud in the room. What gets visibly rewarded gets repeated.
🔎 Invite dissent›
Ask "what am I missing?" or "what's the strongest case against this?" — especially in high-stakes decisions.
🛑 Address put-downs›
Silence after a dismissive comment signals permission. A brief "let's hear that out" resets norms without escalating.
🤷 Normalize not knowing›
Say "I don't know" when you don't. Leaders who always have answers train teams to hide uncertainty.
Phase 4 · Practice it
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One thing you'll do
💬 Go around the group
Name one specific behavior from that list you'll try this week. Make it concrete — when, with whom, in what situation?
⏱ 5 minutes · everyone shares one
Make it stick The research is clear: the behaviors that build safety are small and consistent, not grand gestures. One honest question at the right moment changes a team.
Phase 4 · Practice it
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Closing round
💬 Final reflection
What's one word or phrase for how this conversation landed for you?
⏱ 2 minutes · quick round
Remember Psychological safety isn't built in one conversation. It's built in the small moments — who gets thanked, who gets heard, who gets invited back in.
Based on Edmondson (1999) · Project Aristotle (2016)
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You did it!

Great conversation. What gets talked about gets better. Keep going — one moment at a time.