Definition: Psychological safety is an atmosphere of trust in which all team members can contribute openly and honestly - taking risks in the relationship - without fear of being shamed, rejected or otherwise negatively sanctioned. (Edmondson, 2018)

Psychological safety can boost the performance of teams and increase the likelihood of innovation (Edmondsen, 2018). Without psychological safety, people tend to put self-protection first. This can create an unfavourable, team-damaging dynamic.

However, psychological safety is not just about making people feel more comfortable and ensuring that teams and projects do not suffer any damage. According to a four-year study by Google (Rozovsky, 2015), psychological safety is the decisive element that distinguishes high-performance teams from lower-performing teams. Of all the differences, psychological safety is the most important.

Surprisingly, psychological safety does not require the members of a team to "harmonise particularly well", for example. Even in teams that guarantee psychological safety, things can be contradictory and even conflictual. What really counts is that all team members are given an equal voice and speaking time.

In addition to hearing and speaking time, there are other factors. You can use the following indicator to assess the situation in your team/colleague teamwith your colleague. Please read through each of the statements and tick how much they apply to you and your team/colleague from your perspective. If you then share your assessments with each other, this will provide a good basis for further developing the quality of your collaboration.

Psychological safety does not only concern the workplace. It plays a role wherever people learn, live and share responsibility with one another – in families, in schools and universities, in associations, in project groups, or in other forms of collaboration. In all these contexts, it influences whether people feel able to express their thoughts, questions and uncertainties, or whether they hold back due to hesitation or fear of negative reactions.

For this tool to really work, it is important that you answer authentically and genuinely, but also as spontaneously as possible. Experience shows that the longer you think about a question, the more likely you are to tick the box in the middle. However, this behaviour would prevent valuable insights and food for thoughtthought-provoking impulses.

¹ A. C. Edmondson. (2018). The Fearless Organisation. Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth. New Jersey: Wiley
² J. Rozovsky. (2015). The Five Keys to a Successful Google Team. Google re:work.