How to nurture Psychological Safety in coaching

With the goal of building trust, here are a few concrete ideas for incorporating each of the four dimensions of Psychological Safety into a coaching session:

This is a critical topic to explore as a coach. On an individual level, an exploration of the growth mindset is a great starting point. Expanding self-knowledge by discussing a person’s Intrinsic Motivator Report can also be an opportunity to practice non-judgment, first with the client’s results and then by considering how they would respond to seeing their team members’ reports. Address fear of failure head-on, spend time discussing what can be learned from previous failures, and address the negative assumptions that might hold someone back from taking action.

Frameworks like WOOP can set coachees up to practice doing a premortem: identifying potential obstacles and coming up with ideas to overcome them before they happen. Considering the worst-case scenario and realizing that they will survive can inoculate people against the fear of failure, especially if they believe their team will not punish them for it.

When it comes to the group environment, ask questions about how the team responds to failures. For example, is there a stigma around failure that might make people less likely to take intelligent risks? What can be done, as a team, to celebrate brave attempts? What processes and policies does the company have in place that might signal how much risk-taking is tolerable?

Most coaches will already be leveraging powerful questions and person-centered dialogue in their sessions, but it may take some time for coachees to be ready for more difficult conversations. Remember to ask permission before introducing a new tool, which helps build trust and ensure that clients maintain a voice in the process. And beginning the coaching engagement with a clear discussion of confidentiality, ethics, and a designed alliance can go a long way in managing expectations.

From there, it may be helpful to look at the team environment with your coachee. How are sensitive topics usually handled with their manager or colleagues? If you are coaching someone in a leadership role, how frequently do people raise questions or concerns? How often are they asking questions rather than giving advice? If your client wants to be more intentional about inviting these types of conversations, books like The Coaching Habit by Michael Bungay Stanier or Dare to Lead by Brené Brown are good places to start.

Discussing Altruism and what it means to your client is one way to initiate a discussion about their willingness to help others at work. Try to keep an open mind and consider how other top Motivators might also express themselves as help, since Intrinsic Motivation is not the same as behavior.

If your coachee struggles to identify ways that they are helping others, it may reflect their engagement level in addition to the Psychological Safety they are experiencing at work. Consider spending some time exploring the impact they can have on their colleagues, customers, or community. For example: how connected do they feel to the broader goals of their organization? What part can they play in achieving them? Who can they turn to when they need help? What steps do they want to take toward deepening those relationships?

Leaders and managers should also be mindful of systems that inadvertently discourage employees from helping one another. There are many examples of incentives that accidentally pitted people against their colleagues, or even the best interests of their customers, contributing to an environment that was not psychologically safe. Coaches could use a model such as GROW for this conversation, because it creates clarity while also demanding objectivity. This exercise might help leaders identify ways they can better align their team’s reality with its goals.

It is not enough to have employees from various backgrounds and identities; for Psychological Safety to exist, people need to feel welcome to be themselves at work. On an individual level, coaches may find it helpful to focus on overcoming limiting beliefs or helping clients deepen their self-regard. For teams using Attuned, having a workshop where members share their top Motivators, identify blindspots, and brainstorm ways to support each other can also be impactful.

Coaches could consider running a well-structured 360˚ feedback process to help managers understand how included people feel. The debrief sessions can emphasize closing the gap between the current situation and a more inclusive culture that better represents where they want to be. This can require significant changes in both mindset and behavior.

Edmondson speaks to the challenge that some leaders experience when trying to overcome their biases and understand new perspectives—especially when being decisive or “knowing what’s going on” has contributed to their success up to that point. Adam Grant’s book Think Again could be a good resource for clients working on this as it focuses on the humility of considering what we don’t know.

During coaching sessions, encourage managers to look at behavioral patterns, such as who speaks first and last during meetings or how frequently they ask for ideas from their team. What steps can they take to bring more people into the conversation? Where can systems be improved to minimize bias or be more welcoming? Do the habits of team members reflect the values they want to uphold? If not, what can they do to move things in the desired direction?

Whether in a coaching session or at work, growth can feel risky, but cultivating a culture of Psychological Safety empowers teams to increase their performance. Ultimately, for people to be willing to push through the challenging moments, they need to believe that they are safe to be themselves—especially when they are in the messy middle—and that, in the end, it will be worth the effort.