So much has been written about psychological safety. This is a different angle—practical, tool-driven, and building toward something new.

Amy Edmondson gave us the concept. Timothy Clark made it practical with four stages. Bernhard walks through all four—and the tools to actually build them—before introducing his own fifth stage next week.

STAGE 1 — INCLUSION SAFETY

Do people feel they belong? It sounds trivial. It isn't.

"At a football match, they separate the fans into zones—because there is no inclusion safety. In leadership trainings, I look at the shoes. Fifty percent wear white sneakers. There's the white sneakers club."

Inclusion shows up in signs, clothing, and above all language. Bernhard describes a dinner where a comment meant to support a female colleague backfired—because it framed her as "female versus us" rather than simply one of the team.

STAGE 2 — LEARNER SAFETY

Can people admit they don't understand?

"I teach at universities, and regularly I find out by accident that people didn't understand the concept—because they didn't dare ask."

In high-charged groups—senior executives, consultants—nobody admits confusion. The leader's job: build a feedback loop so you know whether people actually learned, and make asking a question feel essential rather than embarrassing.

STAGE 3 — CONTRIBUTOR SAFETY

Can people contribute—and are they actually heard?

"From hundreds of coaching sessions: women in male-dominated teams are normally not listened to. The strangest thing? Their feedback says 'you should contribute more.' But they do. Nobody listens."

Two tools:

First, before discussion, give everyone two minutes to think. The fast talkers drown out the careful thinkers otherwise. Set a timer, then go around the table—and as leader, speak last. (John Katzenbach's wisdom of teams: the moment you speak, everyone aligns to you.)

Second, after the first round, each person must build on the previous person's idea—not add their own. It forces real listening and takes the conversation deeper.

STAGE 4 — CHALLENGER SAFETY

Can people challenge you—and you not take it personally?

"When senior executives say 'I welcome the challenge'—boy, they don't. Challenger safety is one of the hardest levels to reach, because so many of us take a challenge personally."

The tool: propose an idea, then go around the table—everyone must challenge it. No exceptions, even if you love it.

For bigger groups, an adapted Disney method: split into visionaries, realists, and pessimists. Each subgroup challenges every idea from their assigned role, regardless of what they personally think. Then rotate. The role gives people permission to challenge—and the idea gets dramatically better.

THE THROUGH-LINE:

"We can't take the four stages for granted. We need tools to build and grow them. Use them—don't assume they're already there."

NEXT WEEK — THE FIFTH STAGE:

"I'll take this a step further to the fifth stage—a concept I came up with over the last couple of weeks."

REFERENCES:

Edmondson, A. The Fearless Organization.Clark, T. R. The 4 Stages of Psychological Safety.Katzenbach, J. & Smith, D. The Wisdom of Teams.

LINKS: bernhardkerres.com | roleplays.ai

#PsychologicalSafety #Leadership #Teams #Coaching #Edmondson