What does psychological safety actually feel like to a human being?
In this episode, I’m joined by psychological safety expert Tom Geraghty for a fascinating conversation about what sits underneath one of the most widely used terms in today’s workplace.
Tom challenges the idea that psychological safety can simply be measured as an organisation-wide score. We explore why two people in the same team, with the same leader, can experience work completely differently — and how power, past experiences, neurodiversity, socioeconomic background and context can all influence whether we feel safe to take interpersonal risks.
We also explore the relationship between the individual and the system: how do we give people agency without accidentally making them responsible for an unsafe environment?
Tom introduces ideas from Human and Organisational Performance, including local rationality, the sharp end and blunt end, and the gap between work-as-imagined and work-as-done. We discuss why people are often the solution rather than the problem, and why understanding the reality of work matters more than simply asking people to follow the process.
And, importantly for HUMAN LENS®, we explore the relationship between psychological safety and authenticity. Tom shares why there may be more than one authentic version of ourselves, what it means when a workplace forces us to mask or adapt in ways that don’t feel comfortable, and the surprisingly simple thing leaders can do to help:
Slow down.
A thoughtful conversation about voice, needs, power, systems, human behaviour and creating workplaces where people can feel safe to be themselves.
Tom Geraghty / Psych Safety: psychsafety.com
Tom Geraghty’s own site: tomgeraghty.co.uk
Authentic Ewe®: authenticewe.com
HUMAN LENS®: HUMAN LENS®
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