Psychological Safety & Trust

Why This Module?

“Psychological safety is a belief that one will not be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns, or mistakes.” - Amy Edmondson

Google’s Project Aristotle found that psychological safety was the #1 predictor of team success. Not talent, not resources - SAFETY.

Connection from Phase 2A: Motivation matters, but without safety, people can’t access their motivation.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this module, you will:

• Define and measure psychological safety
• Build cultures where people can fail well
• Create high-trust teams
• Give feedback with “radical candor”
• Recognize and fix team dysfunctions

Week 1-2: The Fearless Organization

The Fearless Organization - Amy Edmondson

Rating: Essential | Harvard Research | #1 Management Thinker (Thinkers50)

The Core Idea:

In psychologically safe environments, people can take interpersonal risks - speaking up, asking questions, admitting mistakes - without fear of punishment.

What Psychological Safety IS and ISN’T:

The Fear-Safety Spectrum:

FEAR ←─────────────────────────→ SAFETY

Silence          ←→          Voice
Blame            ←→          Learning
Self-protection  ←→          Collaboration
Playing it safe  ←→          Innovation

Why Teams Fail:

• Smart people stay silent
• Obvious problems go unreported
• Bad ideas don’t get challenged
• Good ideas don’t get shared

The Leader’s Role:

1. Frame the Work - Set expectations for uncertainty and interdependence
2. Invite Participation - Ask questions, genuinely seek input
3. Respond Productively - Thank people for speaking up, even with bad news

Questions Leaders Should Ask:

• “What am I missing?”
• “What could go wrong?”
• “Who disagrees with this?”
• “What do you need from me?”

Case Studies:

• Pixar: Braintrust meetings with radical candor
• Toyota: Andon cord - anyone can stop production
• Google: Project Aristotle findings

Right Kind of Wrong - Amy Edmondson

Rating: Essential | FT Business Book of Year 2023 | 2023

The Core Idea:

Not all failures are equal. We need to distinguish between good failures (intelligent) and bad failures (preventable) - and embrace the right kind.

Three Types of Failure:

The Failure Paradox:

• Organizations that punish all failure get LESS learning
• Organizations that embrace intelligent failure get MORE innovation
• The goal is to fail SMALL and FAST in service of learning

How to Fail Well:

1. Set learning goals - Not just performance goals
2. Create a failure-safe zone - Explicit permission to experiment
3. Analyze failures - Blameless post-mortems
4. Share failures - Make learning public

Questions to Ask After Failure:

• Was this an intelligent failure (hypothesis-testing)?
• What did we learn?
• How can we fail smaller next time?
• Who else should know this?

Week 2-3: Building Trust

The Culture Code - Daniel Coyle

Rating: Essential | Practical | Great audiobook

The Core Idea: Great cultures aren’t accidents. They’re built through specific behaviors repeated consistently.

The 3 Skills of High-Performing Cultures:

Skill 1: Build Safety

• Belonging cues: signals that we’re connected
• Eye contact, physical proximity, attention
• Small moments matter more than big gestures

Safety Cues:

• “We’re in this together”
• “Your voice matters”
• “It’s safe to take risks here”

Skill 2: Share Vulnerability

• Leaders go first
• Vulnerability loops: Person A shares → Person B shares → Trust builds
• “I need help” is strength, not weakness

Skill 3: Establish Purpose

• Simple, clear, repeated
• Stories that illustrate “why we’re here”
• Connect daily work to meaningful goals

Case Studies:

• U.S. Navy SEALs
• Pixar Animation
• San Antonio Spurs
• IDEO Design

Practical Techniques:

• Over-communicate belonging cues
• Embrace “uncomfortable” vulnerability
• Create clear, simple purpose statements

Radical Candor - Kim Scott

Rating: Essential | Practical | Google/Apple experience

Usage Note: Radical Candor is often misapplied as a license to be harsh. Kim Scott emphasizes: “Contempt, arrogance, and character attacks are NOT Radical Candor - they’re Obnoxious Aggression.” The goal is clarity with caring, not cruelty.

The Core Idea:

The best managers Care Personally AND Challenge Directly at the same time.

The Radical Candor Framework:

                CHALLENGE DIRECTLY
                        ↑
                        |
    OBNOXIOUS          |         RADICAL
    AGGRESSION         |         CANDOR
                        |          ★
    ─────────────────────────────────→ CARE PERSONALLY
                        |
    MANIPULATIVE       |         RUINOUS
    INSINCERITY        |         EMPATHY
                        |

The 4 Quadrants:

Key Principles:

1. It’s not mean, it’s clear - Withholding feedback isn’t kindness
2. Criticism is a gift - When delivered with care
3. Praise in public, criticize in private - Usually
4. Get feedback before giving it - “What could I do better?”

The Feedback Formula:

1. Situation: What happened
2. Behavior: What you observed
3. Impact: Effect on you/team/work
4. Question: “What’s your perspective?”

Week 4: Team Dynamics

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team - Patrick Lencioni

Rating: Essential | Practical | Quick read (fable format)

The Core Idea: Teams fail in predictable ways. Fix the foundation to fix the team.

The 5 Dysfunctions Pyramid:

                    5. INATTENTION TO RESULTS
                           Focus on ego/status
                               ↑
                    4. AVOIDANCE OF ACCOUNTABILITY
                           Not holding each other accountable
                               ↑
                    3. LACK OF COMMITMENT
                           Ambiguity, no buy-in
                               ↑
                    2. FEAR OF CONFLICT
                           Artificial harmony
                               ↑
                    1. ABSENCE OF TRUST ← FOUNDATION
                           Invulnerability, hiding weaknesses

Fix Them Bottom-Up:

Trust = Vulnerability:

• Share personal stories
• Admit mistakes openly
• Ask for help
• Acknowledge weaknesses

TED Talks

Interactive Tools

Team Assessment Tools

Trust & Culture Diagnostics

Feedback Practice Tools

Documentaries & Video Content

YouTube Deep Dives

Netflix / Streaming

Case Study Videos

Newsletters

Recommended Podcasts

Free Resources

Link: https://rework.withgoogle.com/guides/understanding-team-effectiveness/

AI Learning Integration

For Edmondson

"Give me 5 scenarios where someone might stay silent instead of speaking up.
For each scenario, ask me: What would create more safety?
Challenge my answers."

For Radical Candor

"I need to give feedback to someone about [situation].
Help me prepare using the Radical Candor framework.
Ask me clarifying questions, then help me script it."

For Team Dysfunctions

"I'll describe my team dynamics.
Help me diagnose which of the 5 dysfunctions we're experiencing.
What questions should I ask to verify?"

Phase 2B Checklist

Week 1

• Read “The Fearless Organization”
• Watched Amy Edmondson TED Talk
• Assessed: How safe is my environment for speaking up?
• Started “Right Kind of Wrong”

Week 2

• Finished “Right Kind of Wrong”
• Identified failure types in your experience
• Read “The Culture Code”
• Listed 5 belonging cues you can use

Week 3

• Finished “The Culture Code”
• Read “Radical Candor”
• Practiced one candid conversation
• Explored Google re:Work

Week 4

• Read “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team”
• Diagnosed dysfunction in a team you know
• Watched Margaret Heffernan TED Talk
• Completed reflection questions

Reflection Questions

1. How safe is your environment for speaking up? Rate 1-10. What would increase it?

2. Think of a recent failure. Was it Basic, Complex, or Intelligent? What did you learn?

3. Map yourself on the Radical Candor grid. Where do you tend to fall? What pulls you toward Ruinous Empathy?

4. Which of the 5 Dysfunctions do you see most often? In teams you’ve been part of?

Connection to Phase 2C

Phase 2B taught you how to create SAFE environments. Phase 2C teaches you how to INFLUENCE within those environments - ethically.

Safety is the foundation. Influence is the tool you use once safety exists.

I'm studying Psychological Safety & Trust (Phase 02B of my MBA program).

Act as a Socratic tutor - don't give me direct answers. Instead, ask me questions to help me discover insights about these concepts: Creating Psychological Safety, Building Trust, Giving Feedback, Team Dynamics.

Start by asking what I already know about one of these topics, then guide me deeper with follow-up questions. Challenge my assumptions when appropriate.

After each of my responses, either:
1. Ask a deeper follow-up question
2. Point out a gap in my reasoning
3. Connect my answer to another concept

Let's begin.

Quiz me on Psychological Safety & Trust. Ask 10 questions covering: Creating Psychological Safety, Building Trust, Giving Feedback, Team Dynamics.

Rules:
- Mix question types (multiple choice, short answer, scenario-based)
- Start easier, get progressively harder
- After each answer, tell me if I'm right or wrong and explain why
- Keep a running score
- At the end, summarize what I know well vs. need to review

Ask the first question now.

Help me apply Psychological Safety Model (Edmondson), Three Types of Failure, Culture Code 3 Skills, Radical Candor 2x2 Grid, Five Dysfunctions Pyramid to a real situation in my life or work.

First, ask me to describe a recent challenge or decision I faced.

Then guide me through analyzing it using these frameworks:
- Which framework applies best?
- What would each framework reveal about the situation?
- What would I do differently knowing this?

Don't lecture - ask questions that help me discover the insights myself.

I want to practice case analysis for Psychological Safety & Trust.

Give me a short business scenario (2-3 paragraphs) involving Creating Psychological Safety, Building Trust, Giving Feedback, Team Dynamics.

Then ask me:
1. What's the core problem?
2. Which frameworks from Psychological Safety & Trust apply?
3. What biases might cloud judgment here?
4. What would you recommend?

After each answer, push back on my reasoning before moving to the next question.

I'm studying Psychological Safety & Trust and need to understand these concepts deeply: Creating Psychological Safety, Building Trust, Giving Feedback, Team Dynamics.

For each concept, ask me to explain it in simple terms (as if to a child).

If my explanation is unclear or wrong, don't correct me directly. Instead:
1. Ask clarifying questions
2. Give me a scenario that tests my understanding
3. Help me refine my explanation

The Feynman technique says if you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough.