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 * Speaking Up: Cultivating Psychological Safety in Virtual Training
   
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SPEAKING UP: CULTIVATING PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY IN VIRTUAL TRAINING

By Diana L. Howles
Monday, April 18, 2022
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In an ideal situation, everyone would join live online training as themselves
and not worry about putting on a “work face,” right? Welcoming the freedom to
raise concerns or doubts without repercussions, learners would offer new ideas
free from criticism and feel comfortable asking potentially difficult questions.
With the support of the group, they’d feel empowered to take interpersonal risks
such as asking for help. Amy Edmondson calls this collective group dynamic
psychological safety.




WHAT IS PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY?

First coined in 1999 by Edmondson, the term psychological safety was later
popularized by Google’s Project Aristotle, where this quality was determined to
be the most important characteristic among high-performing teams. According to
Edmondson, “Psychological safety describes a climate where people feel safe
enough to take interpersonal risks by speaking up and sharing concerns,
questions, or ideas.”



Given that we now live in a virtual world, how might we apply psychological
safety to virtual training programs and hybrid classrooms? Although virtual
training may feel different than in-person collaboration, it still has a group
dynamic. Open sharing among learners and good questions asked by participants
are important to active learning. So, how we can help virtual participants feel
comfortable speaking up during virtual training programs?




THE ICEBERG METAPHOR: THE SEEN AND UNSEEN

Using an iceberg as a metaphor, think about virtual learning environments
holistically. More than than labeling the session interactive or pausing for
questions occasionally, nurture a virtual learning environment in which you as
the leader or facilitator shape unseen conditions of support, acknowledgment,
and appreciation. Model psychological safety yourself, and reward learners for
interpersonal risk taking. Once the conditions are in place, speaking up will
occur organically.



APPRECIATION: WHAT GETS REWARDED GETS REPEATED

To reap participation, we need to sow appreciation. Positive reinforcement goes
a long way. A “thanks for that” or “thanks for sharing” or “anyone else?”
response has its place but can also come across flat, especially when overused.
An authentic response that points out the highlights in a learner’s observations
communicates more meaningfully. Even encouragement like “Love how you’re
thinking about that. Tell us more,” communicates that the learner’s
input—whether verbal or typed—is valued.



Reward virtual learners who take interpersonal risks like expressing a concern,
raising a question, offering a solution, sharing a mistake, or respectfully
disagreeing and explaining why. Remember: How you say what you say as
facilitator makes a difference. Your words and tone must be in sync. If you say,
“That’s a great point,” learners need to hear that expressed in your tone, too.

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KEEP BREAKOUTS AND CLASS SIZES SMALL

Dividing participants into smaller groups is a fantastic way to make learners
feel more comfortable sharing. Ideally, place three to four participants in a
breakout session. This way the small group is larger than a dyad but small
enough that no one feels overwhelmed. Even keeping the entire class size small
with 15 learners or fewer can help lead to greater engagement.






ANONYMITY AS A TOOL

Another tip for fostering greater psychological safety in virtual training is to
leverage learner anonymity through platform tools. Anonymity can elicit greater
participation and honest responses. For example, if the whiteboard on your
virtual training platform enables anonymous contributions, use it for deeper
sharing activities.



Advertisement

Polling (and third-party apps like Mentimeter) allows learners to voice opinions
anonymously. In “How to Foster Psychological Safety in Virtual Meetings,”
Edmondson and Gene Daley explain, “Anonymous polls make it easy to express an
opinion without fear of being singled out.” These initial anonymous activities
can trigger richer and more candid discussions afterward. Although chat is not
necessarily anonymous, it also provides a venue for participation that feels
safer because it doesn’t cast a single spotlight on the learner.

Additionally, avoiding session recording encourages participants to speak freely
without worrying that their comments will live on for all posterity.




CREATE PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY THROUGH CULTIVATION

As you facilitate virtual training programs, remember first to nurture the
conditions below the surface. Cultivate virtual training environments where the
free exchange of ideas and opinions is supported—even when comments run
upstream. Psychologically safe environments are shaped by the things
facilitators do and don’t do, say and don’t say. Nurture virtual environments of
transparency, respectful disagreement, support, and appreciation, so that
speaking up surfaces naturally.



To learn more about psychological safety in virtual training, attend the session
The Top 5 Virtual Training Tips to Advance Your Facilitation at ATD’s
International Conference & EXPO in Orlando this May. You can also pre-order her
new book entitled Next Level Virtual Training, which is available on Amazon.



About the Author
Diana L. Howles

Diana L. Howles, MA, is an award-winning speaker, global virtual facilitator,
and master trainer who brings 25 years of experience in the talent development
industry. A virtual training expert, Howles has designed and facilitated live
online and blended learning programs for clients since 2000. As a world-class
online facilitator, she has trained organizations on a variety of professional
business skills in more than a dozen countries including Fortune 100 and 500
companies, government agencies, and educational institutions. Howles is CEO and
co-founder of Howles Associates, LLC, a multimedia company that specializes in
live online learning, and provides consulting, coaching, courses, and critiques
to help professionals improve their effectiveness with virtual training
programs, virtual meetings, and virtual presentations.

8 Comments
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Warren Wellons
May 12, 2022 10:53 AM
Very insightful and it makes sense when facilitating others, to consider the
psychological safety within the learning environment.

Diana L Howles
May 12, 2022 11:34 AM
Exactly, Warren . . . thank you for your comment! What we do and don't do as
facilitators, say and don't say, our energy, our attitude, and more all shape
the shared virtual space where learners, ideally, can be themselves and thrive.


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Dianna Kujawski
May 10, 2022 02:01 PM
Great information, thanks

Diana L Howles
May 12, 2022 11:30 AM
You're very welcome, Dianna!


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Kathy Pifferetti
April 26, 2022 07:49 AM
Insightful and practical. Thank you!

Diana L Howles
April 26, 2022 07:46 PM
Thank you for your feedback, Kathy! It's important we continue to nurture online
environments that positively shape learner behavior...


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