Is Psychological Safety Being Weaponised at Work?
At Fortem Coaching, I often work with leaders who are navigating tricky team dynamics and the challenges of giving feedback. One topic that keeps coming up? Psychological safety at work. In this article, I (Clare Harris, leadership and career coach) explore how this vital concept is being used, and sometimes misused, in modern workplaces. I dive into what it really means, how to create it, and what to do when it’s used as a defence. If you’re a leader trying to build a culture of trust, open feedback and emotional intelligence, this one’s for you.

At Fortem Coaching, based in Bristol, we empower leaders to unlock their potential through the transformative GRACE framework. GRACE stands for Growth, Respect, Acceptance, Compassion, and Empowerment—key principles that foster self-awareness, build resilient teams, and create a positive workplace culture. Whether you’re striving for career growth, team alignment, or personal development, our leadership coaching programs guide you to lead with confidence and purpose. Start your journey to becoming a more compassionate, effective leader today. Book a free consultation to discover how GRACE can transform your leadership approach.

As a seasoned Leadership and Career Coach, I have spoken to many professionals and leaders who often choose to avoid what they see as conflict, rather than confronting matters that bother them with their superiors. They often feel it would be a difficult conversation, or that they don’t want to hear the wrong response as it could lead to more frustration. I encourage people to speak up about their issues, in a measured and professional way, in order to give leaders a chance to respond. When team members don’t speak up, the problems can grow way out of proportion and escalate internally causing stress and burnout.

As a leader, identifying and understanding what makes your team tick is vital. Here are how you can identify and apply love languages in the workplace to enhance team performance.

In my experience as a Career and Leadership coach I have spoken to many leaders who find it hard to keep up with the constantly changing business landscape and how to keep their team members motivated and feeling supported.  You can train the technical expertise and ever-changing skills of a leader, but empathy, and leading with empathy, is a human trait that not everyone has.  Even people who have a good level of emotional intelligence can find it hard to find the headspace in a busy work environment to always lead in this way. That said, it is crucial to harnessing the real power of your team to perform at their best.

Every workplace is likely to have a leadership structure so that people have a clear understanding of who makes the decisions and sets the goals.  This creates a structural power dynamic that is generally easy to follow. 

There is also an organic power dynamic, often less obvious, usually among people at a similar level who practice power play.  Remember times at school or work when you are split into smaller project work groups and individuals establish their natural roles.  Some will take charge and then the rest of the group responds to the leadership, some may try and take over and some will happily go along and follow instruction from those stronger leader figures.

You have a great job, maybe middle management, you’ve worked towards this for a long time.  You are qualified, capable and your manager has complete faith in you…

 …so why is it that you are terrified of every presentation you make to your team?  You find yourself not speaking up in case you sound like you don’t know what you are talking about…your sleep is suffering, you are snappy and irritable from working longer hours than necessary and you never feel satisfied with your performance.

One of the most important traits of a good leader is providing good feedback to team members to help them improve their skills and work to their best productivity, but it’s one of the hardest roads to navigate and not every leader gets it right.  The differences between the personalities in your team can be huge and not every person likes to receive feedback.  Some may always see it as criticism, and if the deliverer gets it wrong to this type of person, it can be counterproductive and damaging.

It’s a brand new year.  Full of opportunity and hope.  We are all picking our way through a difficult time here in the UK, but it is still important to set yourself some goals to focus on, be it in work, or home or with yourself, to give yourself some sense of achievement when you reach them.  Call them resolutions, call them goals, call them whatever you like. However you wish to frame them, if it’s a new career goal you have or you are at a crossroads in your chosen job and are looking to make a big change, as a Career and Leadership Coach, I’m here to help you make it more achievable.  The advice I can offer could also stretch across other personal goals as it’s all about how to get there and what the journey will look like.

Have you ever found yourself in a drama triangle? Where, in the workplace, blame for a situation is just shifted around. People take on different roles in order to gain control, with no ownership or accountability being taken when things don’t go as planned. I offer career and leadership coaching and can help unpick situations like this. I offer 1-2-1 or team coaching sessions.

As a manager, do you really make the most of the great minds of your team to solve problems and improve the business? Really? It is common for managers to feel it is entirely their job, or the job of leadership team, to make all the important decisions and make the most difference but this is far from the truth.

“Like many people, the stresses of working from home and trying to keep my career on track during the pandemic had taken their toll, but the experience had also strengthened my conviction that if I was to fulfil my career ambitions, I needed to change jobs. I was working for an abusive boss in a toxic work environment and I knew that this was unsustainable, not just for my career but my own personal wellbeing…”

You may have been in the same career for a long time. It was your dream job when you started. The industry, the environment, the progression opportunities, the salary. All of the reasons you started in your chosen career were relevant at the time. So how do you know when it’s time to completely change direction, and what direction do you go in next?

Mindfulness has always been a very important life practice but is especially important in times like today. We are collectively scarred from the pandemic, whilst war is happening around the world and mental health issues are as prevalent as ever before. You may hear the phrase ‘Workplace Mindfulness’ used often and wonder what it really means.

Leadership and career coaching is highly rewarding and can have a huge impact on your professional and personal life. It can help you overcome obstacles that have been holding you back and allow you to move forward to reach your goals. At Fortem, our mission is to make you feel empowered and confident to thrive in your career. But how do you know if you are ready for the challenge?