"First we make our habits, then our habits make us."

~John Dryden

"Sow an act, and you reap a habit. Sow a habit, and you reap a character. Sow a character, and you reap a destiny.”

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Psychological safety isn’t a one-time workshop or team-building event—it’s a cultural shift. That shift begins with shared understanding, committed leadership, and structured tools that help people turn insight into sustainable action. That’s where InKNOWnative’s Step-by-Step: Practical Guidance for Integrating Psychological Safety comes in.

Whether you’re an individual seeking to influence your sphere of work or a team ready to change how your organization operates, this self-paced online training provides the language, structure, and confidence to do just that.

Why Psychological Safety Needs a Practical Path

Organizations often embrace psychological safety in theory but lack a grounded, scalable plan to embed it into daily operations. The result? Well-meaning initiatives that fade without lasting impact.

Harvard’s Amy Edmondson defines psychological safety as “a belief that one will not be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns, or mistakes” (The Fearless Organization, 2019). That belief only becomes sustainable when entire systems—not just individuals—reinforce it.

InKNOWnative’s Step-by-Step course is built to close that gap. It’s accessible, research-backed, and immediately applicable.

Who It’s For

• Leaders who want to model safety and drive culture change without needing to be the expert
• Agile Transformation Offices (ATO), Value Management Offices (VMO), Project Management Offices (PMO) ready to integrate culture into transformation
• HR and DE&I partners seeking to align cultural change with organizational strategy
• Anyone invested in building healthier, more human-centered workplaces

Whether you’re working solo or within a transformation team, this course meets you where you are. While HR and DE&I departments are vital collaborators, Change Management Offices are often best positioned to lead. Psychological safety isn’t a policy to enforce—it’s a mindset to cultivate. That makes change-focused offices the most strategic space for this work.

Using the Course as an Individual

If you're ready to lead from wherever you sit:

1. Move through each module at your pace, using the knowledge checks to deepen your reflection—not just test recall.
2. Document your insights—journal, voice notes, or digital reflections—to bring into future conversations.
3. Leverage the provided templates and scripts to start meaningful changes in 1:1s, retrospectives, or daily interactions.
4. Create space for dialogue with trusted peers, mentors, or teammates who want to learn with you.
5. Consider forming a psychological safety working group—even small coalitions can create ripple effects.

You’re not waiting for permission. You’re activating change.

Using the Course as a Team

If you're learning together:

1. Set a shared vision for success. What will your team or organization look like when psychological safety is embedded?
2. Identify Champions—anyone interested in driving this work forward, regardless of role or title.
3. Enroll each Champion in the Step-by-Step course. Let individuals complete lessons independently to ensure personal reflection.
4. Establish a cadence with the Champions. Will you debrief and discuss lessons completed every week? Every other week? Align on a rhythm that sustains momentum. Use the knowledge checks as prompts. Differing answers offer a rich place to explore assumptions and deepen understanding.
5. Create a Community of Practice. Use this space to apply lessons, test new norms, and support each other’s growth.
6. Secure a sustainable budget. The course includes guidance and resources to help you build a compelling case to leadership.
7. Pilot with volunteer teams. For the Fearless Organization Scan, ensure each team has five members who can take the Scan and join a debrief session. Ideally contractors are included.
8. Experiment and adapt. After each section, apply one small change—then reflect, refine, and repeat.

With structure and intention, you’re making psychological safety not just visible—but operational.

Sit Within a Change Management Office

To embed psychological safety into the organization’s DNA, it must align with your existing infrastructure.

Whether in an ATO, VMO, or PMO, this course can:

• Infuse retrospectives, sprint planning, and PI events with psychological safety practices
• Link safety behaviors to OKRs and value delivery outcomes
• Present psychological safety as both a cultural and risk management strategy
• Equip onboarding, program kickoffs, and workshops with clear and repeatable practices
• Pair with the Introductory Course: What Is Psychological Safety & Why Does It Matter?  for new hires and leadership onboarding 

Fund the Work (And Justify the Investment)

Leadership buy-in and funding are often the biggest hurdles.

Use this framing to get traction:

• Strategic ROI – Psychological safety improves retention, engagement, innovation, and delivery speed.
• Risk Mitigation – Low-safety cultures are vulnerable to ethical lapses, burnout, disengagement, and high turnover.
• Cultural KPIs – Safety supports metrics such as customer satisfaction, velocity, psychological wellness, and innovation readiness.

All of this is covered in the Step-by-Step course—including myths, barriers and misunderstandings of psychological safety.

Bring in a Neutral Expert: Certified Fearless Practitioner

External facilitation helps bypass internal politics and deepen trust.

Shari Soroka, founder of InKNOWnative, is a Fearless Organization Certified Practitioner trained in conducting the Fearless Organization Scan.

Why partner with a neutral expert:

• Increases psychological safety in responses
• Encourages truth-telling free from power dynamics
• Brings science-based, validated tools

Shari’s Leader’s Toolkit Workshops help leaders:

• Interpret the Scan results with nuance and humility
• Practice new behaviors and scripts
• Build long-term capability—not reliance

Learn more here: Step-by-Step Course Page

Make It Stick: Tips for Sustainability

• Hold quarterly check-ins to reflect on growth and reset norms.
• Celebrate behavioral shifts, not just wins. Hold regular Failure Parties.
• Build safety into continuous improvement cycles and team reflections.
• Design onboarding for culture, using InKNOWnative’s Intro Course or a custom-built module.
• Re-administer the Fearless Organization Scan 3–4 times annually to track and adapt.

Psychological safety is not a checkbox.

Final Thought

Step-by-Step  doesn’t just explain psychological safety—it builds the habits to lead it.

Whether you’re influencing one team or transforming an enterprise, InKNOWnative equips you with the tools and support to make safety real.

People don’t just need courageous leaders. They need safe ones. With structure, strategy, and support, they can have both.

Citations

• Edmondson, A. C. (2019). The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth. Wiley.
• Center for Creative Leadership. (2021). “Psychological Safety and Performance.”

✨ Brought to you by InKNOWnative 

The spark of innovation & knowledge is native to each of us. Empowering organizations to build fearless, high-performing, learning cultures through psychological safety, inclusion, and innovation.

📩 Contact: https://www.inknownative.com/contact
🌐 Website: www.inknownative.com
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