Overview
A public sector client operating in a complex environment — one requiring technical expertise, regulatory accountability and collaboration — identified the need to strengthen psychological safety awareness, particularly in response to evolving psychosocial risk obligations.
Objectives
The objective was to deliver a short, high-impact 60-minute session to:
- Build a shared understanding of psychological safety
- Clarify the distinction between psychological and psychosocial safety
- Surface current team experiences
- Introduce practical, evidence-based strategies
- Begin broader capability uplift aligned to legislative expectations
The session needed to be practical, engaging and tailored to a technical workforce, while enabling honest reflection and discussion.
What we delivered
Holan designed and facilitated a focused, interactive session that balanced conceptual clarity with practical application.
Establishing foundations. We established a shared understanding of psychological safety — what it is and why it matters for team performance, the distinction between team climate and psychosocial risk obligations, links to performance, learning and risk management, and common contributors to and misconceptions about low psychological safety. This positioned psychological safety as both a regulatory and operational priority.
Taking the temperature. An interactive live pulse check explored participation, learning behaviour, engagement, inclusivity and responses to failure — providing an anonymised snapshot of current team experience and helping participants recognise differing perspectives.
Practical approaches. Drawing on Google’s Project Aristotle and organisational psychology research, we introduced practical strategies: inviting equal participation, responding constructively, normalising learning from mistakes, and demonstrating situational humility — framed to support better decision-making, risk awareness and team effectiveness.
Embedding within the team. A final reflection explored practical behaviours to support psychological safety, individual preferences for speaking up, and each participant’s own speak-up conditions — establishing a shared language and initial expectations for the team.
Outcome
The session built shared understanding of psychological safety, linked it to compliance and performance, and provided practical strategies to strengthen inclusion, learning and decision-making. This improved team effectiveness and supported more confident, risk-informed outcomes, while creating momentum for ongoing capability uplift.
Frequently asked questions
What is psychological safety and why does it matter?
Psychological safety is a shared belief that it is safe to speak up, ask questions, admit mistakes and offer ideas without fear of negative consequences. It is strongly linked to team performance, learning, innovation and effective risk management.
How is psychological safety different from psychosocial safety?
Psychological safety relates to team climate and behaviour, while psychosocial safety relates to managing workplace hazards that may impact mental health under WHS legislation. Both are connected but operate at different levels.
Can psychological safety be improved in a short session?
A short session can build awareness, create shared language and introduce practical behaviours. Sustained improvement requires ongoing reinforcement, leadership commitment and integration into team practices.
What role do leaders play in psychological safety?
Leaders set the tone through how they invite input, respond to feedback, handle mistakes and model openness. Small day-to-day behaviours have a significant impact on team climate.
How do you measure psychological safety in a team?
Pulse checks, surveys and facilitated discussions can assess dimensions such as participation, inclusivity, learning behaviour and comfort speaking up, providing a baseline for improvement.
