Psych Safety
@psychsafety.bsky.social
Building psychologically safe workplaces so teams can thrive. At Psychsafety.com, we blend research-backed evidence with hands-on practice to foster psychological safety, performance and outcomes. 🚀
“Busywork is usually not laziness; more often it’s status-seeking under uncertainty and scarcity.”
ST.R.E.A.M: Status Rules Everything Around Me
psychsafety.com/st-r-e-a-m-s...
ST.R.E.A.M: Status Rules Everything Around Me
psychsafety.com/st-r-e-a-m-s...
ST.R.E.A.M: Status Rules Everything Around Me
ST.R.E.A.M: Status Rules Everything Around Me In the classic hip hop track C.R.E.A.M., the great Wu-Tang tell us “Cash Rules Everything Around Me”. Whilst it might sound like the song is glorifying mo...
psychsafety.com
January 23, 2026 at 10:36 AM
“Busywork is usually not laziness; more often it’s status-seeking under uncertainty and scarcity.”
ST.R.E.A.M: Status Rules Everything Around Me
psychsafety.com/st-r-e-a-m-s...
ST.R.E.A.M: Status Rules Everything Around Me
psychsafety.com/st-r-e-a-m-s...
“Just adopt a growth mindset” can sound positive…
…but when it’s used to push people harder or ignore unsafe systems, it becomes coercive.
A sharp, ethical take from Jade Garratt:
👉 psychsafety.com/growth-mindset
…but when it’s used to push people harder or ignore unsafe systems, it becomes coercive.
A sharp, ethical take from Jade Garratt:
👉 psychsafety.com/growth-mindset
Growth Mindset
Growth Mindset When American psychologist Carol Dweck published her book “Mindset” in 2006 it made waves in the education world and beyond. Drawing on her work developing mindset theory, it offered a ...
psychsafety.com
January 16, 2026 at 11:02 AM
“Just adopt a growth mindset” can sound positive…
…but when it’s used to push people harder or ignore unsafe systems, it becomes coercive.
A sharp, ethical take from Jade Garratt:
👉 psychsafety.com/growth-mindset
…but when it’s used to push people harder or ignore unsafe systems, it becomes coercive.
A sharp, ethical take from Jade Garratt:
👉 psychsafety.com/growth-mindset
We’re not always measuring what matters.
Often, we’re measuring what we can… and making it matter.
The Streetlight Effect in organisations: looking where the light is, not where the truth lives.
psychsafety.com/the-streetli...
Often, we’re measuring what we can… and making it matter.
The Streetlight Effect in organisations: looking where the light is, not where the truth lives.
psychsafety.com/the-streetli...
The Streetlight Effect
The Streetlight Effect Measuring the really important stuff is hard. How do we measure inclusion, or safety, or happiness? We can probably all agree that these things matter, but when it comes to meas...
psychsafety.com
January 9, 2026 at 9:42 AM
We’re not always measuring what matters.
Often, we’re measuring what we can… and making it matter.
The Streetlight Effect in organisations: looking where the light is, not where the truth lives.
psychsafety.com/the-streetli...
Often, we’re measuring what we can… and making it matter.
The Streetlight Effect in organisations: looking where the light is, not where the truth lives.
psychsafety.com/the-streetli...
Our Psych Safety Book List 2025 isn’t a “best of”.
It’s six books that changed how we think about power, systems, people & complexity — many recommended by the community.
Eclectic by design. 📚
psychsafety.com/psych-safety...
It’s six books that changed how we think about power, systems, people & complexity — many recommended by the community.
Eclectic by design. 📚
psychsafety.com/psych-safety...
Psych Safety Book List 2025
Psych Safety Book List 2025 You know we love a good book, and we love sharing them even more, and this year we’ve been treated to some brilliant recommendations from members of the Psych Safety commun...
psychsafety.com
December 19, 2025 at 10:39 AM
Our Psych Safety Book List 2025 isn’t a “best of”.
It’s six books that changed how we think about power, systems, people & complexity — many recommended by the community.
Eclectic by design. 📚
psychsafety.com/psych-safety...
It’s six books that changed how we think about power, systems, people & complexity — many recommended by the community.
Eclectic by design. 📚
psychsafety.com/psych-safety...
“You’ve got to know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em.”
— Kenny Rogers
This week we dive into Plan Continuation Bias - the causes, the impacts and dynamics in different contexts - from mountaineering to product teams - and ways to mitigate it.
psychsafety.com/plan-continu...
— Kenny Rogers
This week we dive into Plan Continuation Bias - the causes, the impacts and dynamics in different contexts - from mountaineering to product teams - and ways to mitigate it.
psychsafety.com/plan-continu...
Plan Continuation Bias
Plan Continuation Bias, or “Get-There-Itis” I got pretty sick this week. I was wiped out with a nasty bout of tonsillitis – high temperature, exhausted and felt awful. The doctor put me on strong anti...
psychsafety.com
December 12, 2025 at 11:42 AM
“You’ve got to know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em.”
— Kenny Rogers
This week we dive into Plan Continuation Bias - the causes, the impacts and dynamics in different contexts - from mountaineering to product teams - and ways to mitigate it.
psychsafety.com/plan-continu...
— Kenny Rogers
This week we dive into Plan Continuation Bias - the causes, the impacts and dynamics in different contexts - from mountaineering to product teams - and ways to mitigate it.
psychsafety.com/plan-continu...
“From a psychological safety perspective, whistleblowing is a symptom of system failure, not success.”
psychsafety.com/whistleblowi...
psychsafety.com/whistleblowi...
Whistleblowing and Psychological Safety
Whistleblowing and Psychological Safety: Not the Same Thing By Jade Garratt When we explain our work to people who’ve never heard of psychological safety, they sometimes say, “Oh, like whistleblowing?...
psychsafety.com
December 5, 2025 at 11:19 AM
“From a psychological safety perspective, whistleblowing is a symptom of system failure, not success.”
psychsafety.com/whistleblowi...
psychsafety.com/whistleblowi...
People who grew up with less financial security often carry a higher perceived cost of risk into their careers.
Our latest research shows how SES influences psychological safety and opportunity-taking — especially early on.
Read more 👇
psychsafety.com/childhood-se...
Our latest research shows how SES influences psychological safety and opportunity-taking — especially early on.
Read more 👇
psychsafety.com/childhood-se...
November 28, 2025 at 11:03 AM
People who grew up with less financial security often carry a higher perceived cost of risk into their careers.
Our latest research shows how SES influences psychological safety and opportunity-taking — especially early on.
Read more 👇
psychsafety.com/childhood-se...
Our latest research shows how SES influences psychological safety and opportunity-taking — especially early on.
Read more 👇
psychsafety.com/childhood-se...
Psychological safety ≠ psychosocial safety.
One is about interpersonal risk-taking, the other is about protection from harm.
Confusing them creates dangerous blind spots.
psychsafety.com/psychosocial...
One is about interpersonal risk-taking, the other is about protection from harm.
Confusing them creates dangerous blind spots.
psychsafety.com/psychosocial...
Psychosocial Safety vs Psychological Safety
Psychological Safety vs Psychosocial Safety You’ve probably heard of psychological safety, and you may also have heard of “psychosocial safety”. In this piece, we’re exploring what psychosocial safety...
psychsafety.com
November 21, 2025 at 11:48 AM
Psychological safety ≠ psychosocial safety.
One is about interpersonal risk-taking, the other is about protection from harm.
Confusing them creates dangerous blind spots.
psychsafety.com/psychosocial...
One is about interpersonal risk-taking, the other is about protection from harm.
Confusing them creates dangerous blind spots.
psychsafety.com/psychosocial...
“As information traverses an organisational hierarchy, it gets diluted and distorted.”
👉 Read the full piece on vertical and horizontal psychological safety: psychsafety.com/the-watermel...
👉 Read the full piece on vertical and horizontal psychological safety: psychsafety.com/the-watermel...
The Watermelon Effect and "Greenwashing"
Vertical and horizontal psychological safety Psychological safety means feeling safe (note: not necessarily comfortable) to take interpersonal risks. To foster it, we need to consider the dynamics of ...
psychsafety.com
November 7, 2025 at 11:14 AM
“As information traverses an organisational hierarchy, it gets diluted and distorted.”
👉 Read the full piece on vertical and horizontal psychological safety: psychsafety.com/the-watermel...
👉 Read the full piece on vertical and horizontal psychological safety: psychsafety.com/the-watermel...
“When systems don’t change, the call for individual resilience becomes a kind of gaslighting.”
psychsafety.com/individual-r...
psychsafety.com/individual-r...
Individual Resilience
Individual Resilience, or “Grit” You won’t find many articles on psychsafety.com about individual resilience. Organisational resilience, certainly, but rarely the individual kind. We tend not to find ...
psychsafety.com
October 31, 2025 at 12:06 PM
“When systems don’t change, the call for individual resilience becomes a kind of gaslighting.”
psychsafety.com/individual-r...
psychsafety.com/individual-r...
“If my grandmother had wheels, she’d be a bicycle.”
Counterfactuals: tidy, satisfying, and entirely imaginary.
We don’t learn from the world-that-didn’t-happen.
#HumanFactors #HOP #ComplexSystems
psychsafety.com/counterfactu...
Counterfactuals: tidy, satisfying, and entirely imaginary.
We don’t learn from the world-that-didn’t-happen.
#HumanFactors #HOP #ComplexSystems
psychsafety.com/counterfactu...
Counterfactuals
Counterfactuals If, like me, you grew up during the Friends era, you might remember the scene where Ross is upset because he has to tell Rachel that Emily insists they can’t be friends. Ross: “I don’t...
psychsafety.com
October 24, 2025 at 10:36 AM
“If my grandmother had wheels, she’d be a bicycle.”
Counterfactuals: tidy, satisfying, and entirely imaginary.
We don’t learn from the world-that-didn’t-happen.
#HumanFactors #HOP #ComplexSystems
psychsafety.com/counterfactu...
Counterfactuals: tidy, satisfying, and entirely imaginary.
We don’t learn from the world-that-didn’t-happen.
#HumanFactors #HOP #ComplexSystems
psychsafety.com/counterfactu...
“Space, trust and curiosity can do far more than proving cleverness ever will.”
— Jade Garratt
Beautiful piece on how coaching builds psychological safety through humility, listening, and letting go of control.
#PsychSafety #Coaching #Leadership
psychsafety.com/coaching-and...
— Jade Garratt
Beautiful piece on how coaching builds psychological safety through humility, listening, and letting go of control.
#PsychSafety #Coaching #Leadership
psychsafety.com/coaching-and...
Coaching and Psychological Safety: listening, trust and letting go of control
Coaching and Psychological Safety: listening, trust and letting go of control By Jade Garratt When I first trained as a coach, I realised there were two things I wasn’t very good at: I meant well, bu...
psychsafety.com
October 17, 2025 at 9:43 AM
“Space, trust and curiosity can do far more than proving cleverness ever will.”
— Jade Garratt
Beautiful piece on how coaching builds psychological safety through humility, listening, and letting go of control.
#PsychSafety #Coaching #Leadership
psychsafety.com/coaching-and...
— Jade Garratt
Beautiful piece on how coaching builds psychological safety through humility, listening, and letting go of control.
#PsychSafety #Coaching #Leadership
psychsafety.com/coaching-and...
Reposted by Psych Safety
but in thinking and researching this question, i came across this article which i think presents the problems around measuring social outcomes very well
psychsafety.com/goodharts-la...
psychsafety.com/goodharts-la...
Goodhart’s Law, Campbell’s Law, and the Cobra Effect.
Goodhart’s Law, Campbell’s Law, and the Cobra Effect. We’ve mentioned Goodhart’s Law a few times in previous newsletters about measuring psychological safety, alongside its siblings, Campbell’s Law an...
psychsafety.com
October 11, 2025 at 1:02 AM
but in thinking and researching this question, i came across this article which i think presents the problems around measuring social outcomes very well
psychsafety.com/goodharts-la...
psychsafety.com/goodharts-la...
We're exploring socioeconomic background and age in relation to interpersonal risk appetite in the workplace.
There are only 4 questions, and you can remain anonymous. Respond at the link in the comments, and you can provide your own qualitative insights too!
psychsafety.com/the-psycholo...
There are only 4 questions, and you can remain anonymous. Respond at the link in the comments, and you can provide your own qualitative insights too!
psychsafety.com/the-psycholo...
The Psychological Safety Research Pulse
The Psychological Safety Research Pulse Psychological Safety Research Pulse Our global community of over 11,000 people across a range of industries, cultures and fields regularly contribute to the Psy...
psychsafety.com
October 13, 2025 at 3:08 PM
We're exploring socioeconomic background and age in relation to interpersonal risk appetite in the workplace.
There are only 4 questions, and you can remain anonymous. Respond at the link in the comments, and you can provide your own qualitative insights too!
psychsafety.com/the-psycholo...
There are only 4 questions, and you can remain anonymous. Respond at the link in the comments, and you can provide your own qualitative insights too!
psychsafety.com/the-psycholo...
Organisations are ecosystems.
✨ Emergence
🌾 Substrate
🌳 Succession
🪲 Indicator species
🌊 Ecotones
Five ecological ideas that can transform how we think about change: psychsafety.com/five-ecologi...
✨ Emergence
🌾 Substrate
🌳 Succession
🪲 Indicator species
🌊 Ecotones
Five ecological ideas that can transform how we think about change: psychsafety.com/five-ecologi...
Five Ecological Concepts for Working in Organisational Change
Emergence, substrate, succession, indicator species & ecotones. I started my career in ecology, as an experimentalist working in a research station’s wonderfully named “Weed Science” department – a ti...
psychsafety.com
October 10, 2025 at 10:02 AM
Organisations are ecosystems.
✨ Emergence
🌾 Substrate
🌳 Succession
🪲 Indicator species
🌊 Ecotones
Five ecological ideas that can transform how we think about change: psychsafety.com/five-ecologi...
✨ Emergence
🌾 Substrate
🌳 Succession
🪲 Indicator species
🌊 Ecotones
Five ecological ideas that can transform how we think about change: psychsafety.com/five-ecologi...
Teachers work at the sharp end.
Leaders & policymakers at the blunt end.
The danger is the gap between them.
✏️ psychsafety.com/the-sharp-en...
Leaders & policymakers at the blunt end.
The danger is the gap between them.
✏️ psychsafety.com/the-sharp-en...
Psychological Safety: Workplace Training, Online Workshops and Consultancy
Our team of experts around the world will help you make psychological safety real. We are psychological safety. Training Online Workshops Resources Organisational Safety and Performance Psychological ...
psychsafety.com
October 3, 2025 at 11:45 AM
Teachers work at the sharp end.
Leaders & policymakers at the blunt end.
The danger is the gap between them.
✏️ psychsafety.com/the-sharp-en...
Leaders & policymakers at the blunt end.
The danger is the gap between them.
✏️ psychsafety.com/the-sharp-en...
Disclosure costs more to some than others.
Marginalised colleagues often pay the highest price for “team-bonding” vulnerability rituals.
psychsafety.com/forced-vulne...
Marginalised colleagues often pay the highest price for “team-bonding” vulnerability rituals.
psychsafety.com/forced-vulne...
Forced Vulnerability
Forced Vulnerability One of the most persistent patterns in organisational change and dynamics is the search for a shortcut: the belief that if we can just find the right lever to pull, the right acti...
psychsafety.com
September 26, 2025 at 10:50 AM
Disclosure costs more to some than others.
Marginalised colleagues often pay the highest price for “team-bonding” vulnerability rituals.
psychsafety.com/forced-vulne...
Marginalised colleagues often pay the highest price for “team-bonding” vulnerability rituals.
psychsafety.com/forced-vulne...
“Our collective task ahead is to keep psychological safety porous and evolving, to resist its commodification, and to build organisations where everyone can be heard.”
psychsafety.com/reflections-...
psychsafety.com/reflections-...
Reflections - Part Four: A Rights-Based Approach
In part one we explored the benefits and risks in naming psychological safety. In part two, we explored power and diversity. In part three we dived into dissent, non-determinism, and the seductive dan...
psychsafety.com
September 19, 2025 at 9:28 AM
“Our collective task ahead is to keep psychological safety porous and evolving, to resist its commodification, and to build organisations where everyone can be heard.”
psychsafety.com/reflections-...
psychsafety.com/reflections-...
This week is the third instalment in our 4-part #psychologicalsafety series, "Reflections", and explores deviance and dissent, non-determinism and non-linearity, and resisting KPIs, metrics and targets.
Read it here: psychsafety.com/reflections-...
Read it here: psychsafety.com/reflections-...
Reflections - Part Three
Part 3: The Safety to Dissent In part one we discussed the power and danger in naming psychological safety. In part two, we explored power and diversity. This week we’re continuing our series of refle...
psychsafety.com
September 12, 2025 at 9:08 AM
This week is the third instalment in our 4-part #psychologicalsafety series, "Reflections", and explores deviance and dissent, non-determinism and non-linearity, and resisting KPIs, metrics and targets.
Read it here: psychsafety.com/reflections-...
Read it here: psychsafety.com/reflections-...
🚀 Launch! The Psychological Safety Trainer Toolkit is here.
11 videos, slide deck, templates + resources — everything you need to run powerful psych safety sessions.
10% off this September with code LAUNCH10 🎉
👉 psychsafety.com/psychologica...
11 videos, slide deck, templates + resources — everything you need to run powerful psych safety sessions.
10% off this September with code LAUNCH10 🎉
👉 psychsafety.com/psychologica...
Psychological Safety Trainer Toolkit
The Psychological Safety Trainer Toolkit For consultants, trainers and facilitators who want to deliver high impact psychological safety workshops and training This is the only complete guide to deliv...
psychsafety.com
September 5, 2025 at 1:26 PM
🚀 Launch! The Psychological Safety Trainer Toolkit is here.
11 videos, slide deck, templates + resources — everything you need to run powerful psych safety sessions.
10% off this September with code LAUNCH10 🎉
👉 psychsafety.com/psychologica...
11 videos, slide deck, templates + resources — everything you need to run powerful psych safety sessions.
10% off this September with code LAUNCH10 🎉
👉 psychsafety.com/psychologica...
Talk time ≠ safety.
Eye contact ≠ trust.
Stammering ≠ fear.
If we want psychological safety, we need to fix systems, not people.
psychsafety.com/reflections-...
Eye contact ≠ trust.
Stammering ≠ fear.
If we want psychological safety, we need to fix systems, not people.
psychsafety.com/reflections-...
Reflections - Part Two
Part 2: Different people, different safety Continuing our reflections on the last five years. In part one, we explored the name psychological safety itself, and here in part two, we get into diversity...
psychsafety.com
September 5, 2025 at 8:51 AM
Talk time ≠ safety.
Eye contact ≠ trust.
Stammering ≠ fear.
If we want psychological safety, we need to fix systems, not people.
psychsafety.com/reflections-...
Eye contact ≠ trust.
Stammering ≠ fear.
If we want psychological safety, we need to fix systems, not people.
psychsafety.com/reflections-...
The next five years should be less about awareness and more about depth.
Psychological safety must stay porous, inclusive, and evolving – or it risks becoming just another management fad.
psychsafety.com/reflections-...
Psychological safety must stay porous, inclusive, and evolving – or it risks becoming just another management fad.
psychsafety.com/reflections-...
Reflections on Psychological Safety: Five Years of Learning
Part 1: The Power and Peril of Naming Over the past five years of our work in psychological safety, it has transformed from a little-known term, understood and explicitly practised by only a small gro...
psychsafety.com
August 29, 2025 at 10:54 AM
The next five years should be less about awareness and more about depth.
Psychological safety must stay porous, inclusive, and evolving – or it risks becoming just another management fad.
psychsafety.com/reflections-...
Psychological safety must stay porous, inclusive, and evolving – or it risks becoming just another management fad.
psychsafety.com/reflections-...
“Look at me while I’m talking to you.”
Psychological safety isn’t built with “hacks.” Eye contact may help some people feel safe — for others, it feels like surveillance, dominance, or a demand to mask. One-size-fits-all advice risks harm.
psychsafety.com/not-feeling-...
Psychological safety isn’t built with “hacks.” Eye contact may help some people feel safe — for others, it feels like surveillance, dominance, or a demand to mask. One-size-fits-all advice risks harm.
psychsafety.com/not-feeling-...
Psychological Safety: Workplace Training, Online Workshops and Consultancy
Our team of experts around the world will help you make psychological safety real. We are psychological safety. Training Online Workshops Resources Organisational Safety and Performance Psychological ...
psychsafety.com
August 22, 2025 at 9:09 AM
“Look at me while I’m talking to you.”
Psychological safety isn’t built with “hacks.” Eye contact may help some people feel safe — for others, it feels like surveillance, dominance, or a demand to mask. One-size-fits-all advice risks harm.
psychsafety.com/not-feeling-...
Psychological safety isn’t built with “hacks.” Eye contact may help some people feel safe — for others, it feels like surveillance, dominance, or a demand to mask. One-size-fits-all advice risks harm.
psychsafety.com/not-feeling-...
“That trade-off – cost and convenience over risk mitigation – speaks volumes about what the organisation truly valued – and it wasn’t safety.”
psychsafety.com/the-amagasak...
psychsafety.com/the-amagasak...
The Amagasaki Disaster
The Amagasaki Derailment In our workshops and training, we often use real-world stories as a way to explore the dynamics of both failure and success. Stories are a powerful tool to help us reflect on ...
psychsafety.com
August 8, 2025 at 1:18 PM
“That trade-off – cost and convenience over risk mitigation – speaks volumes about what the organisation truly valued – and it wasn’t safety.”
psychsafety.com/the-amagasak...
psychsafety.com/the-amagasak...
Reposted by Psych Safety
That reminds me of (modern, secular) attempts to create concrete systems to enable speaking up in safety-critical highly-hierarchical systems, eg:
#ParshaChat
psychsafety.com/pace-graded-...
#ParshaChat
psychsafety.com/pace-graded-...
PACE: Graded Assertiveness
Psychological safety is about creating a climate in which we feel able to take interpersonal risks in order to communicate our ideas, concerns and issues – and we want to be able to speak up in a way ...
psychsafety.com
August 2, 2025 at 8:00 PM
That reminds me of (modern, secular) attempts to create concrete systems to enable speaking up in safety-critical highly-hierarchical systems, eg:
#ParshaChat
psychsafety.com/pace-graded-...
#ParshaChat
psychsafety.com/pace-graded-...