Unlock Potential with Psychological Safety

Welcome to the 12th edition of my newsletter.

This month, I’m talking about psychological safety; what it means, why it matters, and how it’s linked to the way we work and lead.

I’ve also got a story to share about a time when I didn’t feel safe to speak up, and the impact that had on my wellbeing and performance.

So grab a brew, get comfy and allow yourself 5 minutes.....

When I Didn’t Feel Safe to Ask for Help

A long time ago when I was just starting out in my career as a trainer, I was responsible for delivering 4 week inductions to sales staff at a well known financial institution.

I was suffering with delayed bereavement after my mum had passed (5 years earlier), which being so young I didn't realise that was what it was, and I was struggling to keep my head above water at work and in my personal life.

I didn't speak up as I didn't feel it was OK to ask for help. I felt I would be judged for not coping and that asking for help would be seen as a weakness and I would be talked about by the 'more competent' trainers.

I felt completely alone.

On the outside I put up a facade, I portrayed a person who was happy and loving life but on the inside I was overwhelmed and burning out.

This is what happens when psychological safety is missing in a workplace

People don’t share what they’re struggling with. They don’t speak up. And the weight gets heavier.

It took a breakdown at work for me to get help, so now, I work with teams and individuals to make sure that doesn’t happen. And take it from me, when people feel safe, they perform better, communicate more openly, and bring their whole selves to work.

How is your workplace for psychological safety ?

Insights Discovery Tips for Building Psychological Safety

🔵🟢🟡🔴

🔴 Fiery Red – Respect different voices. Give others time to speak, especially if they’re slower to jump in.

🟡 Sunshine Yellow – Use your natural warmth to encourage open conversation and spark ideas.

🟢 Earth Green – Gently check in with others; you’re great at sensing when something’s off.

🔵 Cool Blue – Provide clear expectations and space for reflection. Psychological safety loves clarity.

👉 Not sure what your dominant colour energy is?

Take my free e-learning course →

So, what have I been up to in March?

In the same month that Astronomers announce the discovery of 128 new moons orbiting the planet Saturn, bringing the planet's total to 274 moons and Computing's top prize, the Turing Award is given to American researchers Andrew Barto and Richard Sutton for their work on reinforcement learning, a cornerstone of AI technology.....

I’ve been:

✔️Creating a company survey for one of my Gold Package clients to understand their workforce better to create a plan to improve their culture.

✔️Delivering Sales Effectiveness for another client, helping the team to understand the different behavioural styles and how their individual preferences can have an impact on their sales calls without them even knowing.

✔️Creating a podcast with the lovely Tara Ryder of Mindset and Body Therapy around behavioural styles and the link to wellbeing - if you would like a listen - click here

✔️Delivering Team Effectiveness to intact teams helping them to work better together

✔️Working with a business owner who took my Business Owner Package to help her understand her own behavioural style and how that impacts her interactions with her direct reports and teams.

✔️Delivering a light touch team building activity centred around the behavioural styles and helping people to understand how they show up at work and the impact that can have on interactions with others.

✔️And creating various linked In posts on communication, psychological safety, the joys of networking and more...

Want to see more?

Follow me on LinkedIn →

Interested in finding out more?

If you're thinking about how psychological safety shows up in your team or organisation, I’d love to hear from you.

📞 Book a free 30-minute discovery call to explore how I can help.

Schedule your call here →

I offer:

➡️ 1:1 packages for business owners

➡️ Ad hoc Insights Discovery Sessions like Team Effectiveness and Leadership Effectiveness

➡️ Consultancy for businesses who want to create healthy workplace culture

Final Thought

Have you ever held back from asking for help at work ?

What difference would it have made if you’d felt safe to speak up?

Hit reply, I’d love to hear your experience.

Take care out there,

Philippa

If you would like to subscribe to my monthly newsletter then please use the link to sign up here ➡️