our areas of expertise

Psychological Safety

What is Psychological Safety?

Psychological safety refers to our ability to speak up in the workplace about matters of personal and professional importance without fear of reprisal, retribution, and inequities. It is a key factor for creating inclusive, authentic, innovative, high-performing, and engaged workplaces.

Because a lack of psychological safety is disproportionally experienced by equity-seeking professionals, building psychologically safe workplaces is essential for inclusion.

The Connection Between Psychological Safety,
Belonging and Authenticity

Authenticity is a key building block for creating organizational cultures that are rooted in psychological safety and belonging. Leaders who are authentic in how they behave are more likely to create safe, trusting, inclusive, and empowered teams where every team member feels comfortable sharing who they are and how they feel at work.

Why Choose bci for Your Psychological Safety Training

Psychological safety is about creating environments where team members feel safe to ask questions, share their thoughts, disagree with opinions, and be who they are while at work, because they feel respected. We’ve now worked with hundreds of organizations on how to make this happen. Our programming in this area focuses on the nuanced challenges and opportunities of embedding psychological safety within organizations and across teams through the following lenses:

Intersectionality

Highlighting the ways that psychological safety is disproportionally lacking in the workplace for professionals from equity-seeking communities, especially when we apply an intersectional lens

Belonging

Understanding how authentic leadership is connected to psychological safety and why it is essential for building inclusive workplace cultures where everyone can experience belonging

Data-driven Strategies

Learning how to create meaningful connections, hold constructive conversations and gather meaningful feedback in ways that foster psychological safety and honor confidentiality

Did You Know?

Psychological safety increases productivity.

The positive impact of psychological safety can be felt in every facet of an organization, from making employees more engaged in their work to reducing team turnover and even leading to increased productivity.

When team members feel seen, heard and valued in the workplace, this is when magic happens!

All of bci’s psychological safety training can be offered in a webinar or virtual workshop format.

Psychological Safety Resources

VIDEO

Psychological Safety, Trust, Belonging and Authenticity are Critical for Workplace Inclusion

TIP SHEET

How to Create Psychological Safety in the Workplace

BOOK

The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth

by Amy C. Edmondson

ARTICLE

What Psychological Safety Looks Like in a Hybrid Workplace

by Harvard Business Review

Interested in building a more inclusive workplace?

Don’t hesitate to contact us to learn how we can help, or subscribe to our mailing list to get the latest DEI insights in your inbox every month.

Dr. Komal Bhasin, MSW, MHSc, DocSocSci

Komal is bci’s Senior DEI Consultant and Mental Health Expert-in-Residence and an accomplished DEI facilitator, coach, and strategist. Komal has over 20 years of experience in providing strategic and advisory guidance and program development across a range of sectors, with a particular concentration in mental health and racial inclusion. Komal is also the founder of Insayva Inc., a social enterprise focused on providing accessible DEI and health equity support to charities and non-profit organizations.

Komal has extensive experience in creating and delivering programming in a range of DEI areas, including unconscious bias, cultural competence, mental health inclusion, psychological safety, and allyship. She is passionate about driving transformational change in workplaces and has worked closely with bci clients — corporations, professional services firms, health care providers, and educational institutions — to embed cultures of DEI within their organizations.

Komal has provided one-on-one inclusion coaching to hundreds of senior leaders and brings a unique approach that is informed by her background as a therapist. She is able to expertly handle sensitive conversations and situations and works with leaders to develop the knowledge and skills necessary to advance racial/ethnocultural, gender, and mental health-related equity across teams and organizations. Komal also offers a performance coaching program designed specifically for BIPOC leaders. This program aims to help BIPOC leaders harness their place, position, and identity to thrive in the workplace and beyond. Komal is a qualified administrator of the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI).

As bci’s Mental Health Expert-in-Residence, Komal offers tremendous expertise around workplace mental health. As a doctoral trained mental health clinician, certified health executive, and registered social worker, Komal has assisted organizations looking to advance employee mental health inclusion and well-being through offering programming on inclusive dialogue, anti-stigma, burnout prevention, psychological safety, resilience, and self-care. Komal is committed to advancing mental health and wellness across the life course; she currently serves on the board of the Alzheimer’s Society of Ontario and previously served on the board of Children’s Mental Health Ontario and the YMCA of Greater Toronto.

When Komal is not working, you’ll find her painting, cooking or snuggling with her cat.