Most psychological safety training teaches the behaviours associated with safe teams — speaking up, active listening, constructive feedback — to a band of unrelated people who have nothing at stake together. Most of the learning gets lost when those people return to their teams; what remains is performative and therefore experienced as inauthentic. I prioritise coaching executive teams to contract for colleagueship — a relational stance defined by Peter Senge out of which trust (psychological safety) arises organically. This takes the form of an explicit, agreed shift in the team’s relational stance, achieved in parallel with skill-building. The mutual transformation is witnessed by team members, which results in behavioural tools being used, appreciated and understood — there is a real foundation for applying them honestly and authentically.
