8 Influencers of Psychological Safety

This list of influencers was adapted from a book called The 4 Stages of Psychological Safety by Timothy Clark. 

• Presence - Your presence has an impact on the tone and tenor of the interactions in the room. When you enter the room, does your influence warm or chill the air?
• Collaboration - When you collaborate with your peers, does your influence accelerate or decelerate the speed of discovery and innovation?
• Feedback - Fear breaks the feedback loop. If there’s pervasive fear, people filter or withhold feedback. Does your influence increase or restrict the flow of feedback?
• Inquiry - Telling has a tendency to shut people down, whereas asking has a tendency to draw people out. Does your influence draw people our or shut them down?
• Dissent - Healthy disagreement is critical to making good decisions by enabling careful thinking about potential courses of action. Do you encourage and reward dissent or discourage and punish dissent?

• Mistakes - Mistakes are clinical material for learning and progress. How do you react to mistakes – your own and others? Do you discuss lessons learned nonjudgmentally or do you openly criticize those who make them? Do you frame the work through the lens of learning? 
• Delivering Truth with Care - The truth can be difficult to hear when it’s unflattering or feels problematic. And yet we need to hear it or suffer the consequences of blind spots. Most people can only hear and fully digest the truth when it’s delivered with care. How well do you deliver truth with care?
• Receving Truth - How well do you receive truthful feedback even when it’s hard to hear? Do you shut down, get defensive or discharge blame? Or are you able to stay open and learn?