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What is psychological safety and why is it important in agile teams

Written by Suzie Mossman-Monk | June 23 2021

Psychological safety is a buzzword, but what does it actually mean and why is it important in organisations?

Join Suzie and Will as they discuss and define psychological safety in the workplace especially in relation to agile teams.

Why listen to them?

Consultant Suzie Mossman-Monk is a chartered psychologist and is currently working to deliver performance psychology internally at Clarasys. Managing Consultant Will Thomas has been at Clarasys for six years and has been involved in delivering lots of agile projects.

The pair start by discussing what psychological safety actually is and why it is important generally and in relation to change.

Will then goes on to define what we mean by agile transformations, offering examples of how they affect people and why psychological safety is key in those environments.

Agile transformations don’t happen overnight, but what happens when the organisation is now determined as “agile”? Will relates foundational values laid out in the agile manifesto, back to psychological safety. Suzie then goes on to offer four key things that can help create psychological safety in an organisation.

To conclude, Will mentions a common mistake made by organisations rolling out agile transformations with a top tip on how to avoid this from happening.

WATCH THE VIDEO HERE

 

For more insights on this topic, check out our thinking on agile.

To find out how we can help you with agile, or to get in touch with Suzie or Will, please contact us.