Reading the Room: Behavioral Signals Leaders Can Use to Foster Psychological Safety

Psychological safety is defined as a shared belief that it is safe to take interpersonal risks within a team (Edmondson, 1999). Teams with higher levels of psychological safety report increased engagement, creativity, and task performance (Frazier et al., 2017). Despite its importance, psychological safety often remains implicit and taken for granted. By focusing on conversations within their team, leaders can gain insights into the signals of psychological safety present within their teams. Understanding these signals can help leaders and team members better identify and reflect on the signals they may be sending, whether consciously or inadvertently. By selecting and practicing intentional signals, leaders can model and reinforce the desired level of psychological safety within their team. Our review identified 4 behavioral categories related to psychological safety: learning behaviors, voice, openness, and integrating behaviors. These categories are not mutually exclusive and thus may overlap, reinforcing the complex nature of team interactions. For instance, a single behavior may align with both openness and learning behaviors. To aid the practical application of our framework, we also developed a checklist of prototypical signals that can make these categories more intuitive and concrete for leaders and team members as they implement new behaviors. We offer 4 key recommendations for leaders: leverage your outsized role, focus on individual team members’ unique signals, encourage team members to be on the lookout for these signals themselves, and recognize that psychological safety is dynamic and subject to change. By implementing these strategies, leaders can foster an environment in which team members feel safe to express themselves and take risks, which ultimately enhances team effectiveness.