Rafael Chiusi

One of the most effective ways of assessing psychological safety is to attend a meeting or watch informal group conversation.

I remember one time in a client, I was sitting in the back of a room, just watching a meeting.

It was one of the many team meetings that we had in that organization.

The leader was up front, laying out the big plans, the rollout for the big initiative, and he would constantly stop and say, do you have any questions?

Do you want to say something?

The room was silent.

Dead silent.

45 minutes in, and there was a slide, Q&A.

The room was still silent.

Well, there was one question from one person.

Okay then, if we don't have any questions, can we go?

This particular team had the highest level of resistance to change in the entire organization.

And this is why I was sitting in that meeting in the first place.

Many focus groups later,

And those employees told me they knew better than that.

Even when disagreeing with the boss's plans, they wouldn't dare say anything because he was known to target practice the troublemakers.

So be observant.

And finally, aim for consistency.

After many years helping teams, I've discovered that encouraging open dialogue does not happen overnight.

And it does not happen because you told them to speak up.