Psychological safety enables people to express ideas, ask questions, voice concerns, and make mistakes without fear of punishment or humiliation. It does not remove conflict or discomfort; it makes difficult conversations safe enough to engage. section 5.2.1
Facilitators strengthen psychological safety by:
- Treating participants equally while recognizing their different cultures, perspectives, opinions, and emotions. section 5.2.1
- Listening to views they disagree with without prematurely accepting, rejecting, or solving them. section 5.2.1
- Holding space for different communication styles, including interruption, extended storytelling, emotional expression, or brief contributions. section 5.3.3
- Withholding unsolicited advice, acknowledging feelings, and using clean language or Socratic questioning to help people finish explaining. section 5.3.3
Making disagreement discussable
When participants have different visions, model both ideas, name each model, and ask who shares or challenges each view. Represent additional opinions rather than forcing premature agreement. section 5.3.3
Figure 1.7 Lurking in the group’s shadows, called the unconsciousness of the group, are a lot of social dynamics, such as ranking, cognitive bias, conflicts, and polarities, that can block the flow of a session and stop the group from moving forward and making sustainable design decisions.
Use the figure to notice ranking, cognitive bias, conflict, and polarity as group dynamics that can obstruct discussion and sustainable design decisions. section 1.3.3
