Self-paced courses
For researchers
Psychological Safety at Work II: Speaking Up, Working with Mistakes, and the Role of the Leader
What you'll learn
Through a recorded webinar and a supporting presentation, you will examine common barriers to speaking up and consider how to respond with curiosity rather than defensiveness. The course introduces a practical four-step approach: Pause → Thank the person → Ask questions → Decide what needs to happen next. It also distinguishes between preventable, complex and learning-related mistakes, exploring how to support learning while maintaining accountability.
A 15-item self-reflection questionnaire invites you to review your habits in three areas: inviting contributions, responding when someone speaks up and working with mistakes. You will identify one specific behaviour to practise in a future conversation.
Designed for research managers, research group leaders and others who lead or support people, this course continues the Psychological Safety at Work series with a focus on responding to challenging information.
Who it´s for
Researchers, Research managers
Course objectives
By the end of this course, learners will be able to:
- Explain why raising concerns, challenging ideas or admitting mistakes may feel like an interpersonal risk.
- Identify leadership responses that encourage openness or reinforce silence.
- Use the Pause → Thank the person → Ask questions → Decide what needs to happen next framework to plan a constructive response to difficult information.
- Distinguish between preventable, complex and learning-related mistakes and describe how responses can support both learning and accountability.
- Select one leadership behaviour to develop, using the self-reflection questionnaire, and formulate a specific behavioural commitment for a future conversation.
Completion & certification
Open access course with no certification.