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Psychological Safety Training

This practical high-impact programme gives managers, HR professionals, and leadership teams the practical tools to build psychologically safe teams where people speak up, challenge constructively, take risks, and learn from mistakes. Grounded in Amy Edmondson's Fearless Organisation framework and extended with an intercultural and EDI lens unique to LIA, the programme moves beyond theory into behaviour change.

Programme Content

Module 01

Understanding Psychological Safety

Learning outcome: Participants can define psychological safety, distinguish it from comfort or niceness, and explain why it drives performance.

Key Topics

  • What psychological safety is — and what it isn't
  • Amy Edmondson's four-stage model: Inclusion Safety → Learner Safety → Contributor Safety → Challenger Safety
  • The difference between psychological safety and employee wellbeing
  • Psychological safety vs. accountability — why you need both
  • Google's Project Aristotle: what makes teams effective
  • Self-assessment: where does your team sit right now?
Module 02

The Business Case

Learning outcome: Participants can articulate the organisational ROI of psychological safety to senior stakeholders.

Key Topics

  • Impact on team performance, innovation, and retention
  • The cost of silence — missed errors, stifled ideas, hidden risk
  • Psychological safety as a UK compliance and duty-of-care issue (HSE psychosocial risk framework)
  • Sector case studies: NHS, financial services, tech, FMCG
  • Linking psychological safety to EDI outcomes and belonging
Module 03

The Intercultural Dimension LIA Unique

Learning outcome: Participants understand how cultural background shapes willingness to speak up — and can adapt their leadership accordingly.

Key Topics

  • How power distance affects voice behaviour across cultures
  • High-context vs. low-context communication and what "silence" really means
  • Why one-size-fits-all speak-up culture can exclude diverse employees
  • Building psychologically safe environments in multicultural and multilingual teams
  • Case examples from EMEA, APAC, and MENA contexts
Module 04

Leader Behaviours That Build or Break Safety

Learning outcome: Participants can identify specific behaviours that increase or undermine psychological safety, and commit to behaviour change.

Key Topics

  • The leader as the biggest variable in team safety
  • Behaviours that signal safety: curiosity, framing, modelling fallibility
  • Behaviours that destroy safety: dismissal, blame, status signalling
  • Practical language: how to invite contribution without pressure
  • The "failure debrief" — turning mistakes into learning moments
  • Live practice: role-play and reflection
Module 05

Building a Speak-Up Culture

Learning outcome: Participants can design and implement team-level practices that sustain psychological safety over time.

Key Topics

  • Structuring meetings for equal voice
  • Psychological safety in hybrid and remote teams
  • How to respond when someone does speak up — the critical moment
  • Escalation pathways: when speaking up requires more than a safe team
  • Anonymous feedback mechanisms and their limits
  • Embedding speak-up culture in team norms and ways of working
Module 06

Measurement and Sustained Change

Learning outcome: Participants can measure psychological safety in their teams and track progress over time.

Key Topics

  • The Edmondson Psychological Safety Survey — how to run it
  • Interpreting results without creating defensiveness
  • Baseline → intervention → review cycle
  • Connecting to existing people metrics: engagement scores, eNPS, exit data
  • Building a 90-day action plan
  • CPD reflection and personal commitment

Delivery Options

Format Duration Best For
Half-Day Workshop 3.5 hours Leadership away-days, awareness introduction
Full-Day Intensive 7 hours Full programme, all six modules
Modular Series 4 × 90 min Embedded learning and behaviour change over time
Train-the-Trainer 2 days Internal L&D teams and HR Business Partners

All formats available in-person across the UK and EMEA and live online. Group size: 8–20 participants. Bespoke cohorts available on request.

What's Included

  • Pre-programme team diagnostic (Edmondson-based survey)
  • Participant workbook
  • Leader behaviour self-assessment toolkit
  • 90-day action planning template
  • CPD certificate of completion
  • Optional post-programme coaching session (60 min)

The Evidence Base

+26%
Higher employee engagement in psychologically safe teams
Gallup, 2021
2.5×
Less likely to leave for employees who feel psychologically safe
Harvard Business Review, 2020
+25%
Better team results following psychological safety training for managers
Google, 2021
−24%
Reduction in workplace stress in high psychological safety environments
APA, 2021

Frequently Asked Questions

Psychological safety training equips managers and employees with the skills to create a workplace where people feel safe to speak up, share ideas, ask questions, and flag mistakes without fear of humiliation or punishment. Based on research by Professor Amy Edmondson of Harvard Business School, psychological safety is consistently identified as the number one factor in team effectiveness. LIA's programme is CPD-accredited and delivered in-person across the UK and EMEA, and live online.
The programme is designed for team leaders, managers, HR and L&D professionals, and senior leadership teams across any sector. It is particularly valuable for organisations undergoing change, scaling diverse teams, or embedding EDI and inclusive leadership strategies. No prior experience is required.
LIA's Psychological Safety Training is available as a half-day workshop (3.5 hours), a full-day intensive (7 hours), or a modular series of four 90-minute sessions delivered over four weeks. A two-day Train-the-Trainer format is also available for internal L&D teams. All formats are available in-person across the UK and EMEA, or live online.
Yes. LIA's Psychological Safety Training is CPD-accredited, and participants receive a CPD certificate of completion. The London Intercultural Academy is a registered CPD provider. The programme counts towards continuing professional development hours for HR, L&D, and management professionals.
Psychological safety is a team-level condition — it describes the shared belief that the group is safe for interpersonal risk-taking, such as speaking up, challenging ideas, or admitting mistakes. Employee wellbeing is an individual measure of mental and physical health. An organisation can have high individual wellbeing scores but low psychological safety, and vice versa. LIA's training addresses the team dynamic and leadership behaviours, not individual resilience alone.
Yes. LIA delivers psychological safety training as bespoke in-house programmes for UK and EMEA organisations. Cohorts of 8 to 20 participants can be accommodated, and the programme can be tailored to your sector, team context, and EDI priorities. Contact LIA to discuss your requirements.
UK organisations face growing regulatory pressure to manage psychosocial risks alongside physical hazards, in line with HSE guidance and evolving duty-of-care obligations. Beyond compliance, research consistently links high psychological safety to stronger team performance, reduced employee turnover, greater innovation, and more effective EDI outcomes. For organisations with diverse, hybrid, or multicultural teams, psychological safety is increasingly a strategic priority.

Bring Psychological Safety Training to Your Organisation

In-person across the UK and EMEA · Live online · Bespoke cohorts available · CPD accredited

Enquire About In-House Delivery