By Genevieve Menzies
In psychologically safe learning environments, participants feel safe to take risks, express ideas, and learn from mistakes without fear. Neuroscience research suggests that fear can hijack our ability to absorb new information and think clearly. As learning professionals, our challenge is to unlock the full potential of our learners, allowing them to engage deeply with the material and each other.
What is Psychological Safety?
Popularised by Amy Edmonson from the Harvard Business School, psychological safety is the belief that you won't be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns, or even mistakes. In a psychologically safe training environment, participants feel comfortable being themselves and contributing fully.
Why Does it Matter in Training?
- Encourages Participation and Engagement: When people feel safe, they're more likely to participate actively, ask questions, and share their perspectives.
- Promotes Learning: Fear of judgment hinders learning. Psychological safety allows participants to experiment, make mistakes, and learn from them without fear of negative consequences ultimately leading to deeper learning.
- Boosts Innovation: Participants are more likely to share creative ideas when they feel psychologically safe
- Improves Retention: Participants are more likely to remember and apply what they've learned when they're engaged and feel a sense of ownership over the learning process.
Practical Strategies for Fostering Psychological Safety
Here are actionable steps you can take to create a psychologically safe environment in your training programs.
Set the Stage
Begin your training by establishing ground rules and expectations:
- Clearly communicate the learning objectives and agenda.
- Establish a shared definition of acceptable behaviour and interaction. This can be brainstormed at the beginning of the session and displayed via “Our Ways of Working”.
- Use a “Parking Lot" approach to temporarily put aside topics and questions that are not relevant to current discussion and come back to them without disrupting the flow of the training.
Model Vulnerability
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- Share your own experiences of learning and growth. As a presenter, be open about your own learning experiences and mistakes. Show participants that it's okay to not be perfect.
- Admit when you don't know something or make a mistake. Be willing to say, “I don't know, but I'll find out” (it's important for your credibility that you then make sure to find out).
- Demonstrate openness to feedback and new ideas (we can often learn in our own sessions).
Ask Good Questions
- Ask open-ended questions: Frame questions in a way that encourages thoughtful responses and diverse perspectives. Such as “Can anyone give us an example?” and “Who has a different perspective?”.
- Focus on learning: Ask questions that help participants reflect on their experiences and draw connections to the content. Provide opportunities for reflection.
- Solicit feedback: Regularly ask for feedback on the training itself. This demonstrates that you value participant input and are committed to continuous improvement. Ask “Does that resonate with you?”.
Respond Constructively
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- Listen actively: Demonstrate active listening and show genuine interest in participants' ideas and contributions, both verbally and nonverbally.
- Acknowledge participation: Thank participants for sharing their thoughts and ideas, even if you don't agree with them. Use names: “Thanks Maria for sharing that insight”.
- Frame challenges as learning opportunities: Use mistakes as learning opportunities rather than points of criticism.
Create Inclusive Environments
Ensure all participants feel valued and respected:
- Use inclusive language and examples in your training materials
- Address behaviours such as microaggressions or exclusionary behaviour promptly and respectfully.
- Incorporate diverse perspectives and experiences into the training content. Use multicultural imagery and names.
Use Anonymous Feedback Mechanisms
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- Implement surveys: Allow people to provide honest feedback without fear of retribution. There are a number of online tools that can assist to gather feedback during and after the training. Think about adding a Slido or Mentimeter poll during the session in addition to asking for feedback and evaluation at the end.
- Use feedback to improve: Act on the feedback in future sessions, so participants know they are being heard. Let them know you have made the change. Sent a post session email. “Thanks for making me aware of XYZ I have incorporated…” This also builds credibility.
Build Self-Awareness
Help participants understand their own behaviours and biases:
- Incorporate self-reflection exercises into the training: A “Traffic Light’ reflection at the end of a session can help learners identify what things they might stop, start or continue doing.
- Encourage participants to share their experiences and perspectives: Create opportunities to share in pairs, in groups and with the whole class. Activities like ‘Turn to the person beside you and share your thoughts on X' stimulate trust and build confidence in sharing safely.
Encourage Contribution
Create opportunities for all participants to contribute:
- Use diverse discussion formats (e.g. small groups, pairs, whole group): Consider the 1-2-4-All technique. Participants reflect on the topic or question individually jotting down their thoughts, then share with a partner and then join with another pair to summarise key points. This can then be shared with the wider group.
- Implement anonymous question submission tools for sensitive topics: Online tools like Padlet work well or even a piece of butcher paper on the wall that can be added to throughout the day.
- Actively invite quieter participants to share their thoughts: Gently ask them by name. For example, “Sayed, I’d love to hear your perspective on this.” Or “I’m curious to hear from someone who hasn’t spoken yet.”
- Be intentional with group selection: Pair introverts with extroverts, experts with novices etc. Mix it up so that the group get to know each other throughout the day.
Spread Positivity and Have Fun
- Acknowledge and build on participants input: When people contribute, affirm their ideas: “That’s an interesting point, Suni. Can you expand on that?” or paraphrase and integrate their response into the discussion to reinforce its value.
- Game based activities provide opportunities for having fun which allows for more risk taking and makes learning more memorable. Think quizzes and other activities. Kahoot does this really well. It provides instant feedback, friendly competition and checks learning retention.
- Play upbeat background music before the session or during breaks.
- Give out small prizes at the end of a quiz or for an activity. The mini Smarty boxes are ideal.
Build A Community and Belonging
- Use story telling to connect and keep it real.
- Provide opportunities for you and students to learn each others' names. Model using people’s names.
- Remember facts about the learners especially if you are seeing them over a period of time. Ask how the project went, how their child is coping with school and so on.
What About Virtual Learning Environments?
Creating psychological safety in virtual environments requires extra effort. Use interactive tools, encourage video participation, and create opportunities for connection. Start slowly. Invite participations to post in the chat, then use breakout rooms and then invite general discussion. It can be done!
Conclusion
Psychological safety is not just a "nice-to-have" in training; it's a important ingredient for creating effective learning experiences. By introducing these practical strategies, you can create training environments where participants feel safe to be themselves, take risks, and learn from mistakes. This will lead to increased engagement, improved learning outcomes, and a more innovative and resilient workforce.
About the Author: Genevieve Menzies
