Part 2: Creating psychological safety in teams using behavioural science
This is the second part of Lisa Sutherland’s two-part blog for One Big Thing. Catch up on part one where Lisa sets out the conditions required to help build psychological safety in teams, to allow them to be more innovative and to fail – positively.
How do we improve psychological safety to enhance innovation?
Behavioural science can help us! Social scientists now believe that psychological safety is one of the basic needs of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and a prerequisite for people to be at their best in all aspects of life.

Behavioural science can be used to help apply innovation to our day to day work in the Government Communication Service (GCS), including; translating policy into communication objectives; adopting a test and learn approach; and deploying intervention design and experimentation methodologies. It can also help identify citizen-focused insights (barriers and enablers to change) more broadly, enabling us to design and pilot new ideas, ‘interventions’ and practices. This is a key element of a behavioural science approach, and it is important to embed this into the strategic planning cycle – particularly for communication.
There are several types of behavioural science interventions that can enhance psychological safety at work, particularly for fostering innovation within teams. These techniques can be incorporated into team meetings and practices so that you can collaboratively develop a ‘shared’ belief in the value of psychological safety.
SAFE Mindset – our behaviour change interventions
I have created the ‘SAFE MINDSET’ acronym which includes 11 ‘behavioural-led’ interventions that can help line managers, teams, and colleagues, foster psychological safety in the workplace.
- Structured feedback processes
- Affirmations and micro-affirmations
- Framing and reframing failure
- Empathy through perspective taking exercises
- Mindful decision-making (Choice Architecture)
- Inclusive nudges and default settings
- Nurturing recognition and reward systems
- Demonstrating commitment (via Commitment Devices)
- Social proof interventions
- Eliminating bias (Cognitive Bias Training)
- Thought activation (Psychological Priming)
These interventions could be embedded in team meetings or 1-2-1 conversations with your colleagues in either a formal or informal way. It is up to you to judge the ‘tool’ to use depending on the situation or personalities of your team members.
Below are some examples of how these interventions can be used in practice:
- Structured feedback processes
Implement structured feedback processes that focus on specific behaviours rather than personal attributes. This can help reduce bias and increase the perception of fairness, making people more comfortable with giving and receiving feedback.
- Affirmations and micro-affirmations
Train leaders and team members in the use of micro-affirmations, which are small gestures of inclusion and appreciation that can build psychological safety over time.
- Framing and reframing failure
Use language interventions to reframe failure as a learning opportunity. For instance, introduce the concept of ‘intelligent failures’ or ‘productive mistakes’ in team discussions and performance reviews to reduce the fear associated with taking risks.
- Empathy through perspective-taking exercises
Implement regular perspective-taking exercises to increase empathy and understanding among team members, which can contribute to a more psychologically safe environment.
- Mindful decision making (Choice Architecture)
Design decision-making processes that encourage participation from all team members. For example, using round-robin techniques in meetings or ‘anonymous’ idea submission to ensure all voices are heard.
- Inclusive nudges and default settings
Set default practices that promote inclusion and psychological safety. For instance encourage ‘cameras on’ for a human connection in virtual meetings, or set the default meeting structure to include a round of input from all participants. Whilst recognising more reflective individuals might prefer to participate in a different way; it is important to give everyone an equal share of voice.
- Nurturing recognition and reward systems
Design recognition systems that reward not just successful outcomes, but also innovative thinking, risk-taking, and learning from failures. This could include public acknowledgement of team members who contribute novel ideas or show vulnerability by sharing mistakes.
- Demonstrating commitment (via Commitment Devices)
Introduce commitment devices where leaders publicly pledge to create a psychologically safe environment. This could involve signing a charter or making regular public statements about the importance of psychological safety, and how this is being achieved.
- Social proof interventions
Share stories and examples of successful innovation within the organisation, particularly those that resulted from open communication and risk-taking. This can create social proof that such behaviours are valued and rewarded.
- Eliminating bias (Cognitive Bias Training)
Provide training on common cognitive biases that can hinder psychological safety, such as confirmation bias or the fundamental attribution error. Understanding these biases can help team members be more mindful in their interactions.
- Thought activation (Psychological Priming)
Use priming techniques before brainstorming sessions or team meetings to activate innovative thinking. This could involve short exercises that encourage creative thinking or remind participants of times they felt psychologically safe.
Creating a safe environment for innovation
As One Big Thing comes to a close next month, I encourage you as GCS members to consider how you might develop your own innovation cultures, processes and practices to promote psychological safety within your teams.
It’s important to note that psychological safety doesn’t mean an absence of high standards or accountability. Rather, it creates an environment where people feel safe to take risks, innovate, and perform at their best because they know their contributions will be valued and any failures will be treated as learning opportunities. By implementing these processes and structures, organisations can create a psychologically safe environment that fosters various types of innovation while adhering to ethical standards and good practice.
The GCS Framework for Ethical Innovation provides a step-by-step approach to assess innovative new approaches while adhering to ethical standards. It can help create a safe environment for innovation by ensuring that new ideas are evaluated fairly and systematically. Following clear ethical guidelines for innovation, such as those outlined in the GCS framework, will help ensure that innovative practices align with organisational values and legal requirements. Ethics, consent, and the underlying principles, are critical for ensuring change is positive for all concerned.
Finally, creating a continuous learning culture is also key for encouraging employees to explore new ideas and technologies. This should be led from the top and includes the provision of learning and development opportunities, and adequate resources and time.
In my previous blog, I referenced the Beckett Group (candid conversations about positive failure).The group meets regularly and is open to all. To find out more, please refer to the 16 January 2025 edition of the GCS newsletter.
References
O’Donovan, R., & McAuliffe, E. (2020). A systematic review exploring the content and outcomes of interventions to improve psychological safety, speaking up and voice behaviour. BMC health services research, 20, 1-11.
Hammond, M. M., Neff, N. L., Farr, J. L., Schwall, A. R., & Zhao, X. (2011). Predictors of individual-level innovation at work: A meta-analysis. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 5(1), 90–105.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs: Does It Apply In A Collectivist Culture, Journal of Applied Management and Entrepreneurship.
Susan Alegre, Freedom of Thought.
Lisa Sutherland, a qualified Behavioural Scientist, has over 25 years experience working within policy design, strategic behaviour change, digital comms planning and innovation. She started her career working in creative, media and digital agencies and moved to Boston, USA, as Research Director for tech consultancy – Forrester, whose client was the US Senate. Whilst studying her MSc she worked part-time at the Psychology Directorate within the NHS, managing patient safety pilot projects (ergonomics/human factors), and then as a Senior Policy Advisor in Digital Health and Social Care at Scottish Government. More recently she was Head of Behavioural Science in Public Affairs for global research agency Ipsos.
- Image credits:
- Lightbulb head https://unsplash.com/photos/imagination-human-with-light-bulb-and-glowing-tree-head-imagination-creative-concept-painting-illustration-happiness-surreal-art-zIZdyx3nRiQ (1)
- Maslow Hierarchy https://www.canva.com/design/DAGc0DXVUBo/xseknQkAnauOaphukOAjBg/edit (2)