Psychological safety is more than a concept. It’s the foundation of high-performing, inclusive teams. In this timely conversation, Jenn Graham, founder and CEO of Inclusivv, sits down with Rosan Petrillo, Senior Manager of Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity at Kaiser Permanente Georgia, to discuss how to create psychological safety in the workplace and build a culture of trust, belonging, and innovation.
Jenn began the webinar by emphasizing the urgency of this work.
“Psychological safety is not just a nice-to-have. It’s absolutely critical. It’s the foundation for resilience, innovation, and truly meaningful conversations.”
In an increasingly diverse workforce that spans five generations, psychological safety plays a key role in how well people work together. Without it, diverse voices may remain unheard, and collaboration can fall flat.
“It’s our capacity for psychological safety that unlocks the power of diversity,” Jenn said.
When psychological safety is missing, team members tend to protect themselves. They hide mistakes, avoid risks, and remain silent even when they have valuable input. As Jenn described:
“People avoid speaking up. They hide mistakes. They play it safe. Not in a good way.”
With high psychological safety, teams become open and collaborative. People are more likely to speak up, share their ideas, learn from mistakes, and contribute to problem-solving.
“That’s when the magic happens,” Jenn said. “You start to see better ideas surface and a stronger culture of creativity emerge.”
Jenn referenced research by Harvard’s Amy Edmondson and Google’s Project Aristotle, both of which highlight the direct connection between psychological safety and team performance.
“Diverse teams with psychological safety outperform homogenous teams,” Jenn noted.
Google found that psychological safety was the number one factor in effective teams. More important than talent, intelligence, or experience, the ability to speak up without fear was what set great teams apart.
“Employees want this more than free snacks, ping pong tables, or even flexibility,” Jenn explained. “They want to feel safe to be real, to speak up, and to make mistakes without being judged.”
Jenn introduced the Four Stages of Psychological Safety by Dr. Timothy R. Clark, a model that shows how safety develops in organizations:
Each stage builds on the last. Leaders must be intentional about helping their teams progress through all four.
Jenn shared several strategies for creating psychological safety at work:
“Even introverts have powerful ideas. They just need to be invited in,” she said.
These simple tactics create the conditions for people to show up, speak up, and feel safe being themselves at work.
Inclusivv calls the practice of psychological safety in action a “brave space.” These are structured conversations that allow people to share their lived experiences, ideas, and perspectives in a respectful, open format.
“Every conversation is a chance to build trust and psychological safety,” Jenn said.
The format is simple. One host, a small group, three big questions, and equal speaking time. It’s designed to surface deep insights and foster meaningful connections across lines of difference.
The key is in setting ground rules:
Jenn invited Rosan Petrillo to share how Kaiser Permanente Georgia implemented Inclusivv’s peer-to-peer dialogue model to build psychological safety across teams.
“Once leaders experienced it, they were all in,” Rosan said.
By aligning Inclusivv conversation topics with Kaiser’s core values, the initiative supported goals related to reducing bias, cultivating belonging, and creating respectful workplaces.
“We didn’t need to create anything new. We just repurposed existing content and added dialogue to bring it to life,” Rosan explained.
They trained facilitators, created host kits, and made it easy for teams to request a session. Facilitators received just 90 minutes of training, and conversations started immediately afterward.
One standout example involved a team that had been struggling for months. Leadership training and one-on-one coaching hadn’t worked. But when the team participated in a structured peer dialogue, things changed.
“What made the difference was just letting them talk,” Rosan shared.
In a two-hour session, the team was able to share openly, identify barriers, and commit to new habits. Since then, they’ve requested additional sessions and are functioning more effectively as a team.
“They left with real, tangible action items. And most importantly, they started trusting each other again,” she said.
Kaiser has now embedded this model into team development and credentialing. Peer dialogue is used as a project for unit-based teams to build trust, communication, and accountability.
Teams begin with a survey to assess psychological safety, engage in several dialogue sessions, and then complete a follow-up survey to track progress.
“This allows new teams or those going through change to build stronger connections,” Rosan explained. “We’re using this model as a method to bring them together.”
When asked what advice she’d give to those exploring peer-to-peer dialogue, Rosan said:
“Start by listening. Understand what your teams are experiencing. Then offer this as a safe space to be real and honest.”
She also emphasized the importance of trust.
“You need to build relationships before you introduce a new model. But once people experience it, they see the value immediately.”
Jenn added that piloting is often the best first step.
“You don’t need to convince everyone. Just try it with one team. The experience speaks for itself.”
Creating a culture of psychological safety doesn’t happen overnight. But it starts with a conversation. Inclusivv provides everything you need to launch peer-to-peer dialogue in your organization, from strategy to facilitation tools to proven conversation guides.
“When people feel safe, they don’t just show up. They thrive,” Jenn said.
Contact jenn@inclusivv.co or visit www.inclusivv.co to learn more.