Realistic situations that build or erode safety.
Participants explore real-life situations that highlight psychological safety in the workplace, or the absence of it, and identify the behaviours and actions that build or erode it within teams.
We set up breakout group discussions using scenarios like this:
1. During a team brainstorming session for a new project, a junior team member proposes an innovative idea. The team leader quickly dismisses the idea, saying it's unrealistic and doesn't align with the project's goals. The junior team member feels embarrassed and hesitates to share more ideas in the future.
2. A team member makes a mistake that leads to a delay in the project timeline. Instead of blaming the individual, the team comes together to discuss what happened, identify the root cause, and implement a solution. They also explore how to prevent similar mistakes in the future.
3. Two team members have a disagreement about the best approach to a specific task. Rather than discussing their perspectives openly, they start criticising each other's competence and become defensive. The conflict remains unresolved, and the team's overall progress is hindered.
4. A new team member is struggling with a task they haven't encountered before. They reach out to a more experienced colleague for assistance. The colleague takes the time to explain the process and answer any questions, ensuring the new team member feels supported and more confident in their abilities.
In their groups, participants discuss a scenario, identify psychologically safe or unsafe behaviours, and consider how they would handle the situation.
Participants see how psychological safety plays out in realistic situations, making the concepts more relevant and easier to apply back in the workplace.
After a brief setup, put people into breakout groups to work through realistic situations and draw out what builds or erodes psychological safety.
In breakout groups, people work through realistic situations that show psychological safety present or absent, identifying the behaviours that build or erode it and how they would handle each one.
Use Safety Scenarios when a group knows psychological safety in theory and you want them to recognise it in the moment. Working through realistic workplace situations, people learn to name the behaviours that build safety and the ones that erode it.
Using this tool with a skilled facilitator means that discussions are focused, time is used efficiently, and the group moves toward consensus, making the session productive and impactful.
