Psychological Safety Coaching

Due: 2026-05-04T06:59:59  |  Points: 5.0  |  Submission type: online_text_entry,online_url,online_upload

The psychological safety video walked you through Edmondson's 7-item questionnaire -- scored 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree)

1. If I make a mistake on this team, it is not held against me
2. Members of my team are able to bring up problems and issues
3. People on my team sometimes accept others for being different
4. It is safe to take a risk on this team
5. It isn't difficult to ask other members of this team for help
6. No one on this team would deliberately act in a way that undermines my efforts
7. Work with members of this team, my unique skills and talks are valued and utilized

Answer the above for your team. You will not share your evaluation, but use your reflection to complete the next step.

As a scientist or engineer working within a team, it's crucial to continually assess and adjust your team processes to foster an environment of psychological safety. Considering your responses above, reflect on your team's current dynamics, communication, and workflow. Choose at least one of the topics below to create a prompt for your favorite genAI. A possible introduction for that prompt could be:

You are Professor Amy Edmondson's closest coauthor in her research on psychological safety. You work for a top consulting company that offers support to scientific and engineering teams that want to improve their psychological safety. You consider each situation on its own merits and always build your suggestions based on the strongest research findings in the psychological safety literature. Your expertise focuses on steps a team can take to improve psychological safety. When you offer suggestions, you build them into a business playbook format. The business playbook format has clear steps and includes at least two supporting resources for further reading. 

[Select one of the topics below, fill in the blanks as appropriate for your setting, and append that material to the prompt stem above. Your deliverable assesses the AI's response -- one or two paragraphs. You do not need to divulge any of your team's details or your evaluation of your team's psychological safety.]

1. Identifying Communication Barriers:

   • In our team discussions, I've noticed that ____________ (specific behavior or situation), which might prevent team members from expressing their ideas freely or asking questions. Create a brief business playbook with steps to help our team members feel safe in expressing their ideas or asking questions.

2. Evaluating Decision-Making Processes:

   • When decisions are made within our team, it often feels like ____________ (describe the decision-making process or atmosphere), which may not allow all team members to contribute their insights. Create a brief business playbook with steps for an approach to make this process more inclusive.

3. Assessing Response to Mistakes:

   • The current response to mistakes or failures in our team tends to be ____________ (describe the typical reaction or consequence), which could discourage taking risks or admitting errors. Create a brief business playbook with steps to help us have a healthier way to address mistakes that could promote learning and innovation.

4. Reviewing Feedback Mechanisms:

   • Feedback within our team is currently given through ____________ (describe the method), and the reception is often ____________ (describe the typical response or outcome). Create a brief business playbook with steps to enhance the effectiveness of our feedback and make it more conducive to psychological safety.

5. Reflecting on Inclusion and Equity:

   • In terms of inclusion and equity, our team could improve on ____________ (identify any perceived shortcomings or areas for improvement). Create a brief business playbook with steps to ensure everyone feels valued and included.