Starbuck Academy · Grow
Psychological Safety in Teams
Building teams where people speak up, learn and perform
A practical online programme for managers and team leaders who want to build a team where people speak up, share ideas, admit mistakes and challenge each other well. Ten short video lessons, each with a practical tool and a workplace task, so your learning turns into action.
Why psychological safety matters
Research by Professor Amy Edmondson and Google’s Project Aristotle shows that how a team works together matters more than who is on it, and psychological safety sits at the heart of it. When people feel safe to speak up, problems surface early, ideas flow and mistakes become learning. This programme gives you practical ways to read the climate in your team, understand your own impact and build the everyday habits that make it safe to speak up, while keeping standards high.
Who it is for
Managers and team leaders at any level, from new managers to experienced leaders who want a more open, engaged and higher-performing team. It suits leaders of office-based, frontline, hybrid and remote teams.
What you will be able to do
By the end of this programme you will be able to:
- Explain what psychological safety is, what it is not, and why it matters for team performance
- Assess the current level of psychological safety in your own team
- Recognise how your own words and behaviour raise or lower safety in the moment
- Set expectations and invite participation so every voice is heard
- Respond to questions, concerns and bad news in ways that encourage people to speak up again
- Treat failure as learning while keeping high standards and clear accountability
Ten lessons
What psychological safety really is
A shared belief about interpersonal risk, what it is not, and the learning zone.
Why it matters
What Google found, early warning of problems, learning, wellbeing and the cost of silence.
Reading your team
Signs of low and high safety, and running an anonymous team pulse check.
Your impact as a leader
The signals you send, modelling fallibility, curiosity and managing your reactions.
Setting the stage
Framing the work, connecting voice to purpose, team norms and clarity.
Inviting participation
Better questions, hearing every voice, useful structures and hybrid teams.
Responding productively
Thanking the messenger, responding to ideas and bad news, and closing the loop.
Learning from failure
Types of failure, fair responses, blame-free reviews and going first.
Safety and high standards
Accountability, candid feedback, healthy conflict and difficult conversations.
Making it last
Routines, measuring progress, growing it in others and looking after yourself.
What is included
Ten short video lessons you can watch on any device, workbook pages and a practical tool for every lesson, the full Psychological Safety in Teams workbook and toolkit to download, a five-question knowledge check per lesson, a certificate of completion showing 6 estimated learning hours, and 12 months’ access.
How your learning time adds up
Your 6 estimated learning hours are made up across ten lessons of about 36 minutes each:
- Watching the ten short lesson videos: about 30 minutes (about 3 minutes each)
- Reading the lesson notes and workbook pages: about 1 hour 40 minutes (10 minutes each)
- Working through the practical tool for each lesson: about 1 hour 40 minutes (10 minutes each)
- Planning and carrying out each workplace task: about 1 hour 40 minutes (10 minutes each)
- Completing the five-question knowledge check after each lesson: about 30 minutes (3 minutes each)
Total: 6 estimated learning hours.
Knowledge checks: every lesson or module ends with a short multiple choice knowledge check. The pass mark is 80% and you can retake a knowledge check as many times as you need.
Who designed it
This programme was designed by ICF credentialed coaches at Starbuck & Associates, led by Paul Starbuck, our Founder and CEO and an ICF Master Certified Coach (MCC). Every lesson draws on our coaching and leadership development work with organisations in the UK, Europe and around the world, and each programme is reviewed regularly to keep it current.
Before you start
This programme is general learning and development content and is not professional advice. Always follow your own organisation’s policies, and take specialist advice on legal, financial or HR matters.
