Tools · Psychological Safety

Leader Behaviours for Equitable Psychological Safety

Six practices for leaders whose reactions teach people what is actually safe

A leader's reaction to challenge, bad news, uncertainty, mistakes, disagreement, and feedback teaches people what is actually safe, whatever the values statement says. This companion to the Equitable Psychological Safety Standard sets out six practices for leaders, because people with greater positional or informal power carry greater responsibility for the consequences of speaking up. The goal is not to make every interaction comfortable. It is to make candour, learning, responsible dissent, and accountability possible.

What you get

• Six leader practices, from making voice easier and making fallibility visible to closing the loop and holding voice and accountability together
• A page per practice with what to practise, language to try, and what to watch for
• Guidance for the moments that set the real standard: challenge, bad news, mistakes, and disagreement
• A way to protect voice without exempting behaviour from standards