Psychological Safety Session

A psychological safety session with a single team is a useful format, provided everyone is clear about what one session can do. It can build shared language, surface what the team already knows, and produce a couple of agreed changes. It cannot repair a team where people have concrete reasons not to trust the manager.

A structure that works: open with why this is being discussed now, spend most of the time on what specifically makes it hard to raise things in this team, agree two or three changes with names against them, and finish by scheduling the check-in.

The mistake that makes it counterproductive is asking people to be candid about their manager while the manager watches, then nothing changing. That does more damage than not running the session, because it confirms the belief the session was meant to challenge.

If you suspect that is the situation, gather the input separately first and let the manager respond to themes rather than to people.

Safe Work Australia covers the duty to manage psychosocial hazards, including consultation. This is general information rather than legal advice.

See Sentrient’s free psychological safety webinar and psychological safety training course.