Psychological Safety, Stage by Stage: A Path ICs Can Actually Walk
- kendriatg
- Oct 29
- 2 min read
Psychological Safety, Stage by Stage: A Path ICs Can Actually Walk
Even capable individual contributors hesitate to manage when it feels unsafe to make mistakes, ask questions, or disagree up the chain. We frame growth through the four stages of psychological safety: (1) Inclusion Safety—you’re accepted and respected here; (2) Learner Safety—you can ask, experiment, and stumble; (3) Contributor Safety—your ideas are welcomed and used; (4) Challenger Safety—you can question the status quo without retaliation. ICs step into leadership when they’ve experienced these stages and know how to create them for others. TG8 trains the behaviors behind each stage.
Stage 1: Inclusion Safety — “You belong here.”
Open meetings with quick round-robins; send pre-reads and ask, “What’s one idea or question you want in the room?” This is also a great place to do what we call, “Welcome Wisdom”
Stage 2: Learner Safety — “You can ask, try, and stumble.”
In my opinion, this is a great place to use reflective feedback practices. This is also a great place to ask your IC’s for feedback on the process or even their leaders’ leadership skills.
Stage 3: Contributor Safety — “Your work and ideas matter.”
This is a great place to use empathetic listening, try listening for three minutes and without stopping to ask questions, just reflect back what you think you heard. This is why it is the first stage in design thinking.
Stage 4: Challenger Safety — “You can question the status quo.”
While I believe this stage should be earned, this should not be a heavy task if you are engaging your IC in a meaningful way in the other stages. This is a great stage to also use levels of reflective questions, like Miracle questions that are designed to highlight a hypothetical solution.
Why training matters
Safety is built on visible micro-behaviors. Training gives teams a shared language and hands-on practice that is enjoyable, adaptive to each group’s dynamics, and immediately applicable—so ICs feel confident designing conditions where others can excel. TG8 sessions are fun, adaptive, and ruthlessly focused on impact: every rep ends with one next experiment, one owner, and one date.
Three key training goals
1. Create a community of learners who feel safe to learn, grow and challenge the status quo with newfound information.
2. Practice inclusion, learning, contribution, and challenge behaviors until they become team habits.
3. Take the time to understand how your IC’s learn, and figure out how to appeal to each of those learning styles
TG8 course pairings (quick picks)
Stage 1 (Inclusion Safety): Communication Assessment; Leader Labs – Foundations; The Curious Mindset: Cultivating Critical Thinking, Reflection & Collaboration.
Stage 2 (Learner Safety): Design Thinking (3-day); The Curious Mindset; Learning Awareness Assessment.
Stage 3 (Contributor Safety): Delivering & Receiving Feedback; Conflict Resolution; Leader Labs – Execution.
Stage 4 (Challenger Safety): Leader Labs – Challenge & Decision; Feedback Coaching (Manager Pods); High Potentials Program.
Explore details and scheduling in the TG8 Training Catalog. https://heyzine.com/flip-book/99b51bede1.html?utm
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