Practice : Psychological Safety Surveys
Purpose and Strategic Importance
Psychological Safety Surveys measure whether team members feel safe to speak up, share ideas, and take risks. They provide leading indicators of team health and performance.
Without measurement, safety issues remain hidden, eroding trust and collaboration.
Description of the Practice
- Surveys ask questions on trust, risk-taking, and inclusivity.
- Results are shared transparently and discussed in teams.
- Outcomes feed into team health and improvement actions.
How to Practise It (Playbook)
1. Getting Started
- Run a lightweight anonymous survey.
- Share results openly and discuss as a team.
- Identify small, safe actions to improve.
2. Scaling and Maturing
- Standardise surveys across teams quarterly.
- Benchmark results across portfolio.
- Link safety scores to learning and improvement metrics.
3. Team Behaviours to Encourage
- Openness and vulnerability.
- Courage to share dissenting views.
- Respectful listening.
4. Watch Out For…
- Surveys conducted but not acted on.
- Fear of retaliation undermining honesty.
- Over-focusing on scores instead of conversations.
5. Signals of Success
- Qualitative: Teams openly discuss safety and inclusion.
- Quantitative: Improvement in survey scores over time.