How to Build and Scale Team Safety
Summary
Without a culture of safety, people literally can't think. We can't collaborate, create, or innovate. That is because as human beings, we are biologically hardwired to belong to a tribe that can protect us from outside threats. Unfortunately, most of us don’t feel a sense of safety in our work tribes. When our work relationships don’t feel safe, we armor up and spend precious energy protecting ourselves from each other instead of learning, collaborating, and well just … working. In this workshop, DesignOps professionals will get practical tools to build and scale the safety of their teams.
Key Insights
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Feeling unsafe lowers a person’s operating IQ from around 100-120 to as low as 50-70, impairing cognitive function.
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The brain processes information bottom-up: first checking physical safety (brainstem), then emotional safety (limbic), before allowing thinking (cortex).
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Team safety is created collectively, while trust is built between individuals.
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Physical, emotional, and psychological safety must be addressed in that order to enable effective thinking and collaboration.
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Structured, regular meetings are the most effective lever to build and scale safety within teams.
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A ‘boundary conversation’ where team members share what feels physically safe or unsafe can help build inclusivity.
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Celebrating mistakes openly creates psychological safety that encourages learning and innovation.
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Remote teams require intentional communication agreements to reduce ambiguity and build safety.
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Safety deficits often exist between leadership and teams, requiring targeted conversations starting within smaller groups without leaders.
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Anonymous surveys and dashboards can help track safety levels objectively and highlight unseen issues.
Notable Quotes
"Without safety, human beings literally can’t think."
"Our brain doesn’t know the difference between a tiger trying to eat us or an angry email from our manager."
"Trust is created between two people. Safety is created in a group of people."
"I feel internally relaxed when I’m in a group and we’re talking with each other and I don’t have to strategize about what I’m going to say."
"Meetings tell us what kind of conversations we are having and what kind of conversations we are not having."
"If our body doesn’t feel safe, or we can’t share emotions, we won’t be able to think or do work effectively."
"Mistake celebration meetings normalize errors and allow teams to get ahead of problems quickly."
"Starting small with relationship-building is key when safety is lacking, especially in large or hierarchical groups."
"Offering anonymity in safety surveys helps people be honest when they don’t feel safe to share openly."
"Deep listening means hearing not just what is said but what isn’t said, especially for people with different language or cultural backgrounds."
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