Where Teams Speak Up & Thrive
Psychological Safety Training Australia – The Fearless Organization Scan
When your team feels safe to speak up, share ideas, and admit mistakes without fear of punishment or humiliation, everything changes. Innovation accelerates. Problems get solved faster. Your best people stay.
The Fearless Organization Scan helps you measure where your team is now. Then it gives you a clear roadmap for building the psychological safety that drives high performance.
What is Psychological Safety?
Psychological safety is the belief that you won’t be punished, humiliated, or dismissed for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns, or mistakes.
Harvard professor Dr Amy Edmondson spent decades researching it, and Google’s Project Aristotle confirmed it: psychological safety is the number one predictor of high-performing teams.
Not talent. Not resources. Not even leadership experience.
Why it matters:
High-performing teams are built on trust and open communication
Innovation requires people to share half-formed ideas without fear
Mistakes get caught early when people feel safe to report them
Your best people stay in environments where they feel valued and heard
Problems get solved faster when everyone contributes their perspective
Google’s Project Aristotle studied 180 teams and found psychological safety was the #1 factor in team success – more important than individual talent or resources.
What Happens When Teams Don't Feel Safe to Speak Up?
The cost of low psychological safety shows up in ways you can measure – and ways you can’t.
When people don’t feel safe to speak up:
Good ideas disappear in people’s heads because they fear looking stupid
Mistakes get hidden until they become crises
Your best people leave for environments where they feel valued
Innovation stalls because playing it safe feels safer than taking risks
Conflict festers underground instead of being resolved openly
Teams waste time second-guessing decisions instead of executing
Problems that could be solved in one conversation take months to surface
You don’t want to get as far as the exit interview before you are having the first honest conversation.
The Fearless Organization Scan
The Fearless Organization Scan is an evidence-based assessment that measures psychological safety across your team or organisation.
Developed from Dr Amy Edmondson’s decades of research at Harvard Business School, it gives you objective data about where your team feels safe to speak up – and where they don’t.
Unlike generic engagement surveys, the Fearless Organization Scan measures the specific behaviours and conditions that create psychological safety. You get benchmarked data, clear insights, and actionable recommendations tailored to your team.
- Speaking up behaviours – Do team members feel comfortable voicing concerns, asking questions, and sharing ideas?
- Learning from failure – Can the team discuss mistakes openly and learn from them without blame?
- Willingness to help – Do people feel safe asking for and offering help?
- Risk-taking and experimentation – Does the team feel safe trying new approaches and challenging existing processes?
- Interpersonal dynamics – Are relationships built on trust and respect, or fear and hierarchy?
Why the Fearless Organization Scan?
Evidence-based methodology developed by leading psychological safety researcher Dr Amy Edmondson
Benchmarked data so you can see how your team compares
Anonymous responses encourage honest feedback
Actionable recommendations, not just data
Facilitated by someone with 25+ years of leadership experience across 13 industries
How It Works
Building psychological safety starts with understanding where you are now. Here’s how the Fearless Organization Scan works:
Step 1: Initial Consultation (30-45 minutes) We discuss your team, what you’re noticing, and what you want to achieve. I’ll explain the process and answer your questions.
Step 2: Survey Deployment (1-2 weeks) Your team completes a confidential online survey. It takes 15-20 minutes and responses are anonymous to encourage honesty.
Step 3: Analysis & Report Preparation (1 week) I analyse the results, identify patterns, and prepare your customised report with benchmarked data and specific recommendations.
Step 4: Results Debrief (60-90 minutes) We walk through your results together. You’ll see where your team is strong, where there are gaps, and what actions will make the biggest impact.
Step 5: Optional Workshop & Coaching Many teams choose to do a workshop with their team to discuss the findings and create an action plan together. Ongoing coaching support is also available to help embed the changes.
Timeline: From initial consultation to results debrief typically takes 3-4 weeks.
What's Included in Your Psychological Safety Assessment?
Your Fearless Organization Scan includes everything you need to assess the current benchmark of psychological safety in your team.
Included in your assessment:
Comprehensive psychological safety survey deployed to your team
Anonymous response collection to encourage honest feedback
Benchmarked results report showing how your team compares to others
Clear identification of strengths and gaps across key dimensions
Specific, actionable recommendations tailored to your team and industry
60-90 minute results debrief session to walk through findings
Written report you can reference and share with leadership
Optional add-ons:
Team workshop to discuss findings and create an action plan together (2-3 hours)
Follow-up pulse checks to track progress over time
One-on-one coaching for leaders to implement recommendations
Ongoing support to embed psychological safety practices
Investment:
From $3,500 + GST depending on team size and scope.
Is This Right for Your Team?
The Fearless Organization Scan is ideal for teams and organisations who want to build high-performing, innovative cultures where people feel safe to speak up.
This assessment is ideal if you’re:
- Experiencing higher turnover than you’d like
- Noticing that good ideas aren’t being shared in meetings
- Seeing mistakes get hidden instead of reported early
- Going through a merger, restructure, or significant change
- Building a new team and want to establish psychological safety from the start
- Wanting objective data about team health and culture
- Ready to take action based on what you learn
Industries I work with:
I’ve worked with teams across 13 industries including IT and technology, construction and engineering, professional services, healthcare, retail, advertising, and more.
My 30+ years of executive leadership experience means I understand the unique challenges and dynamics of different sectors – and can tailor recommendations to what actually works in your industry.
Team size: The Fearless Organization Scan works for teams of any size, from 5 people to 500+. Pricing is customised based on your team size and needs.
Why Work With Me?
I’m Julia Ridout, and I’ve spent 30+ years in leadership roles across 13 industries – from senior management to board executive and chair positions. I know what it’s like to lead teams through change, navigate difficult conversations, and build cultures where people thrive.
My background:
- Accredited Fearless Organization Scan facilitator trained in Dr Amy Edmondson’s evidence-based methodology
- Certified Dare to Lead™ facilitator trained by Dr Brené Brown
- 30+ years of executive leadership experience across 13 industries
- Former Lifeline counsellor (6 years) trained in active listening and creating safe spaces
- Bachelor’s in Behavioural Science (Psychology major)
- Master’s Certificate in Project Management
My approach:
I don’t just hand you a report and walk away. I help you understand what the data means, why it matters, and what specific actions will make the biggest difference in your team and your industry.
I’ve seen psychological safety work – and fail – in organisations from 10 people to 500+. I know what creates it, what destroys it, and how to build it in a way that sticks.
You’re not getting academic theory. You’re getting practical, actionable guidance from someone who’s led teams, made mistakes, and learned what actually works.
Frequently Asked Questions
From initial consultation to results debrief typically takes 3-4 weeks. The survey itself takes your team members 15-20 minutes to complete. The overall timeframe is dependent on your team’s availability to connect to the intial context and any communications ahead of completing the survey.
Yes. Responses are confidential and anonymous to encourage honest feedback. You’ll see aggregate data and patterns, not individual responses. The aggregate data aligns with the quadrants identified by Amy Edmondson and insights can be shared from that point.
The assessment works for teams of most sizes. For small teams (under 7), we recommend discussing whether the anonymous survey or facilitated conversation is the better approach.
Once I receive the report, we’ll schedule a 60-90 minute debrief session to walk through the findings together. From there, you can choose to implement recommendations on your own, do a team workshop, or engage ongoing coaching support.
Most engagement surveys measure satisfaction or happiness. The Fearless Organization Scan specifically measures psychological safety – the conditions that allow people to speak up, take risks, and innovate. It’s based on decades of research by Dr Amy Edmondson and measures the specific behaviours that may predict team performance.
Yes. Many teams do an initial assessment, implement recommendations, and then do a pulse check 6-12 months later to review. [Note: you’re not necessarily aiming for a ‘high’ score. This can be discussed in the briefing but high scores are not necessarily a ‘good’ result. Similarly, low scores aren’t a failure; they’re a starting point. You’ll get specific, actionable recommendations for what to do next.]
Ready to Build a Psychologically Safe Team?
Psychological safety isn’t built overnight. But it starts with understanding where you are now.
The Fearless Organization Scan provides you with the data, insights, and roadmap you need to create a team where people feel safe speaking up, taking risks, and doing their best work.