Skip to content
    GuruNowGuruNow
    All momentsMoment category · Adaptive

    Proactive Psychological Safety Creation

    You do not wait for it to be safe. You go first, and that is what makes it safe. Every other programme in the catalogue asks the learner to say the real thing; this is the one that builds the room where the real thing can be said.

    Someone on your team is bringing you bad news. Your first response decides whether there is a second thing.

    Try this moment freeCreate a free account
    15Skill
    Signals
    Research Prevalence
    No. 9

    14.9%

    of the 11,359 leadership cases in our research

    Report 01, draft

    Why it's hard

    Psychological safety doesn't appear on its own. Somebody has to go first, and when you lead the team, that's usually you.

    It's easy to play it safe instead: keep your real judgement to yourself, put off the awkward conversation, and quietly decide some people will "never get it".

    Making it safe isn't the same as making it comfortable. It means saying the honest thing in a way people can hear, and making room for the voice that disagrees with you.

    What we look for

    Here is an example of some of the Skill Signals that we teach you how to implement and then test for as you progress with this skill

    Skill Signal Groups
    • Responding to disclosure
    • Inviting more
    • Airtime and invitation
    • What happens next
    Some sample Skill Signals

    1. Your first turn after the disclosure was not evaluative

    2. You thanked or acknowledged the raising of it

    3. You asked an open question about what else

    A sample of 15 Skill Signals. The assessment also looks for behaviours we don’t list.

    Try it without anyone watching

    One four-minute conversation from Proactive Psychological Safety Creation. See your initial feedback straight away, then save your results with a free account.

    Try this moment freeCreate a free account

    No account to start. No card. Your employer can't see how you did.

    How your practice stays private

    Questions about this moment.

    Individual contributor: Moderate; First-line manager: Core; Mid-level leader: Core; Executive: Core. Low relevance means the moment is not offered at that level.

    It appears in 14.9% of 11,359 real leadership cases in draft Research Report 01.

    The assessment uses 15 observational markers across 4 groups. This page shows only a small sample, because held-out assessment depends on some behaviours remaining unseen.