The
Psychological

Playbook
is an
invitation
to play

Psychological Safety Playbook book cover with awards
High-performing and thriving teams

Teams with a high degree of psychological safety are the teams with the highest performance and innovation power. They are also the most inclusive teams and the teams that people want to be part of. Leadership development experts Dr. Karolin Helbig and Minette Norman share 25 proven moves to help you increase the psychological safety in your team and to lead more powerfully by being more human. The Psychological Safety Playbook is an invitation to play—to pick one of the specific moves in the book, experiment with it, and discover what best aligns with your context and leadership style. What we know from practice: Introducing even one new move from our playbook will make a huge difference in your team culture!

Now available in English and German

The printed book, audiobook, and eBook versions of The Psychological Safety Playbook are available from your favorite online retailers.

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For purchases of 100+ copies, contact orders@pagetwo.com for discounted volume pricing.

What is psychological safety?

While psychological safety sounds like an academic term, it is, above all, a deeply human experience: when we can ask a naïve question, propose a wild idea, or share our emotions, knowing we will not be embarrassed or marginalized—that’s when we experience psychological safety, and we can be our best and most creative selves.

By contrast, when we don’t dare ask a question, when we hold back our true thoughts, and when we mask our emotions because we are afraid we will not be accepted, and we may well be humiliated—that’s when we experience a lack of psychological safety, and we can’t be at our best.

stick figure thinking
Minette shares a brief explanation of psychological safety in a podcast
Although there is a great deal of academic research about psychological safety, there has been a lack of actionable guidance for cultivating it. Dr. Karolin Helbig and Minette Norman developed The Psychological Safety Playbook to close this gap.
Illustration of stick figure juggling

The Psychological Safety Playbook contains 25 psychological safety moves—usable, real-world skills that every leader can learn and practice. Each move has a description of why to try it with references to the supporting research and step-by-step instructions on how to do it. You can start anywhere in the playbook and pick what you are particularly interested in learning more about. Whether you are an executive, a manager, or anyone who cares about building a healthy culture in which everyone can fully contribute, you will be able to put The Psychological Safety Playbook to immediate use.

Book Awards

2024 International Book Awards Winner- Business: Management & Leadership

International Book Award 2024 Winner

Nonfiction Book Awards Winner

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 Independent Press Awards

Independent Press Award 2024 for Distinguished Favorite

National Indie Excellence Awards

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BEST BOOK AWARDS 2023

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getabstract learning impact award

getabstract book award 2023 winner badge

Nonfiction Book Awards Winner

North American Book Awards Gold Book 2023 badge

NYC 2023 BIG BOOK AWARD

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What our clients are saying

Our team session with Karolin about psychological safety was completely custom-made, creatively designed and absolutely professional in each phase of our collaboration. Karolin put heart and soul into it, combined with cutting-edge science—a great experience!

Chapter Lead, Future Leadership Design, Deutsche Telekom

I just want to express my appreciation for that psychological safety debrief session. Minette did an amazing job of encouraging us, delivering meaning, and all the while moving us along. I can’t think of a better way to spend two hours.

Director of Engineering, Equalize Health

As an experienced coach and expert for change processes, Karolin accompanied us in the reflection and further development of our project and the psychological safety within our team. She supported us effectively using creative methods and insightful knowledge in a target-group specific way.

Board Director, Montagstiftung

Minette was a tremendous keynote speaker at Smartling’s Global Ready Conference. She established a unique bond with our audience despite the virtual format and spoke with authority on the subject matter.

Head of Marketing, Smartling

Karolin is an amazing blend of knowledgeable and sharp mind and empathetic heart. Able to sense what truly matters and find the right words, approaches, science-proven tools for transformative impact from the inside.

Executive Product Lead at Deutsche Telekom Innovation

Thank you for an amazing psychological safety session yesterday. We all learned a lot, and Minette created a very solid foundation for us to build on! I hope this is the first of many engagements.

Head of Engineering Operations, Waymo
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