The Leader's Guide to

Creating a Safe and

Supportive Work Environment
By Dr. Sarah Sarkis, Licensed
Psychologist, Certified Executive
Coach & Sr. Director of
Performance Psychology

The Growing Need for Safety & Support

The modern workplace is full of challenges — many of which may feel out of our control. But there
is a key ingredient in high-performing teams that also helps to prevent burnout, retain top talent,
and establish a thriving work community: an environment of belonging, also known to
psychologists as psychological safety.

But the inverse is also true. According to McKinsey, 78% of employees intending to leave a
company cite toxic work environments as the reason. So, prioritizing a supportive culture should
be a critical part of any leadership strategy, and thankfully, it isn’t as complicated as it sounds.

How to Establish a Sense of Safety & Support

1 Actively Listen — This is a lost art. Most people listen with an agenda. Actively listening requires
curiosity, asking lots of open-ended questions, and listening to the answer. In order for people to
feel a sense of belonging, they need to feel seen and heard. Active listening is the skill that
allows us to convey and (unconsciously) cue our effort to understand their needs, wants & POV.

2 Be Transparent & Vulnerable — When possible, talk about work and company processes with
transparency and honest vulnerability. Acknowledge your shortcomings and mistakes (within
reason, of course). When you are transparent and vulnerable, you model to others that it is okay
to be fully human in this space. Modeling is one of the most potent forms of influencing human
behavior we have available to us.

3 Seek Out Dissent — When we have a deep sense of belonging, we are not afraid of the social
consequences of expressing minority views, opinions, etc. This, it turns out, is critical to high-
performing teams. We need the safety of belonging to create environments of high intellectual
friction and low social friction. The presence of healthy dissent inside your teams is (possibly) a
good indication that teammates have a strong sense of belonging, enough, in fact, to challenge
the status quo and not jeopardize their social standing in the community. That’s no small
accomplishment.

Leader's Guide to Safety & Support 2023