At a glance

Helen Sanderson MBE has released a new book, "Psychological Safety in Practice," which offers practical guidance for creating environments where team members feel safe to speak up and contribute. The book outlines fifteen practices that teams can adopt collectively to foster psychological safety, emphasising the importance of everyday interactions and shared routines in building supportive workplace cultures. This approach is particularly relevant for team leaders, HR professionals, and managers in health and social care, aiming to enhance individual and team development amidst current global challenges.

Psychological safety is built in the everyday work of a team: how a new person is welcomed, how feedback is given, how disagreement is handled, and how mistakes are discussed. Amongst increasing pressure and workloads, emerging technologies, and global uncertainty, these moments have never been more important. Team leaders have a crucial opportunity to embed practical, supportive, and humanistic ways to help people thrive.

This is the call-to-action of Psychological Safety in Practice: An evidence-based guide for HR Professionals (Kogan Page), the new book by international consultant and pioneer of person-centred approaches in health, social care and education, Helen Sanderson MBE. The founder of Helen Sanderson Associates and creator of Wellbeing Teams - self-managing teams in home-care services - Sanderson is globally recognised for building cultures that combine kindness and high performance.

Much of the writing on psychological safety treats it as something leaders create through their behaviour. Sanderson’s book takes a different view. It sets out fifteen practices that a whole team owns and uses together, so the conditions for speaking up are built into how a team meets, decides and reviews its work. Team leaders shape the conversations where psychological safety is formed and HR leaders shape the systems around them. Because the practices are shared, any member of a team can begin them and they continue working when a leader changes.

While psychological safety is commonly discussed, it is not always understood or translated into consistent daily practice. Central to her approach are the Five Foundations for psychological safety, and each one asks a question anybody would recognise: Mattering, ‘do I matter here?’; Clarity, ‘do I understand what is expected of me and how I contribute to decisions?’; Voice, ‘can I speak up and will it be taken seriously?’; Connection, ‘do we know what is expected in how we behave together?’; Learning, ‘do we use experience to improve how we work?’ Fifteen practices answer those questions.

Workplace relationships are fundamental, with Sanderson reminding readers that psychological safety is not only strengthened - or undermined - by processes, the everyday interactions between colleagues, and the shared routines of team life, especially day-to-day meetings. To embed these practices as daily habits, Sanderson summarises rigorous research, real-world examples, and reflective exercises for readers to explore with their own teams. Amongst the resources are one-page profiles, which set out what people appreciate about somebody, what matters to them and how best to support them.

For team leaders, HR and OD professionals, and managers in health and social care, Psychological Safety in Practice provides an immediately actionable process to consistently model psychological safety and build the conditions and systems needed to support individual and team development. It isn’t a one-size-fits-all or tick-box exercise; it is about recognising and reflecting the different strengths and working styles of individuals to create a culture where people feel safe to contribute, learn and grow.

When psychological safety is a continuous thread built into everyday work, it becomes lived experience, not an aspiration.

Psychological Safety in Practice: An evidence-based guide for HR Professionals (Kogan Page), by Helen Sanderson MBE, is available to buy on Amazon and in all good bookshops from 3rd October 2026.

Editorial insight

Psychological safety has become a widely cited concept in management and HR circles, but practical guidance on embedding it into daily team routines remains in short supply. With workplace pressures and organisational change at the forefront for many employers, Sanderson’s new book arrives at a time when leaders in health, social care, and other people-focused sectors are seeking actionable strategies to support staff wellbeing and performance.

The focus on team-owned practices, rather than leader-only behaviours, may resonate with HR professionals looking for approaches that are sustainable beyond individual leadership styles. As organisations continue to prioritise retention, engagement, and adaptability, tools that help teams create consistently supportive environments could be of particular interest to those managing change or overseeing distributed workforces.

Story ideas and journalist angles

Human interest

The Role of Psychological Safety in Health and Social Care Teams

Helen Sanderson's new book focuses on the application of psychological safety in health and social care, an area where team dynamics are crucial. This angle explores the specific challenges and benefits of implementing these practices in such sensitive fields.

Target audience health-science Story potential 8/10 Industry trend

Exploring Psychological Safety in the Workplace

The concept of psychological safety in the workplace is gaining traction, with Helen Sanderson's new book offering actionable practices for HR professionals. This story examines how businesses are integrating these ideas to improve team performance and employee well-being.

Target audience business-finance, trade-industry Story potential 7/10