Summary
The highest-performing teams have one thing in common: psychological safety — the shared belief that no one on the team will embarrass or punish anyone else for admitting a mistake, asking a question, or offering a new idea. Studies show that psychological safety allows for moderate risk-taking, speaking your mind, creativity, and collaboration — just the types of behavior that lead to successful products and services. Creating psychological safety in a workplace - although at times a challenge - can be done. This interactive talk will present the key action steps that DesignOps professionals can immediately take to boost psychological safety in their design teams and create psychological safety between cross-functional teams.
Key Insights
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Safety is a neurobiological state governed by the autonomic nervous system, not just a social feeling.
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The autonomic nervous system has three states: safe, mobilized (fight/flight), and immobilized (shutdown).
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Humans constantly move up and down these states throughout the day based on internal and external triggers.
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Trust is relational and situational, requiring prior safety but distinct from feeling safe.
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Psychological safety is the strongest predictor of team effectiveness according to Google’s Project Aristotle.
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When the nervous system is mobilized or immobilized, rational thinking, problem-solving, and collaboration sharply decline.
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Connection—feeling seen, heard, and valued—is essential to creating and restoring safety within teams.
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Leadership changes greatly impact psychological safety, either eroding or building team trust and safety.
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Remote or hybrid work affects psychological safety variably depending on company culture and how connected employees feel.
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Psychological safety fosters vulnerability, openness, innovation, lower attrition, and better business outcomes.
Notable Quotes
"Safety is a state of our nervous system."
"Our autonomic nervous system is our personal surveillance system, always checking if we feel safe."
"The nervous system doesn’t know the difference between a tiger and an angry email from a manager."
"You can’t have trust if you don’t have some connection with that person."
"Team effectiveness was not at all related to individual traits but to psychological safety."
"If I make a mistake on our team, it’s not going to be held against me."
"Connection is the energy that exists between people when they feel seen, heard, and valued."
"When people don’t feel safe, their IQ drops by half and their vision narrows."
"Leadership heavily influences whether psychological safety is built or eroded in teams."
"Creating psychological safety means creating connection—this can happen quickly and effectively."
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