To prevent and reduce inappropriate or transgressive behaviour, it is important to make this topic discussable within your organisation, within teams, and with partners you collaborate with. As a manager or leader, you can initiate the conversation about inappropriate behaviour yourself, for example by putting it on the agenda of a production meeting or team meeting. You can also ask your organisation’s confidential counsellor to facilitate this conversation as part of training or awareness-raising on a safe working environment. In addition, various organisations offer team sessions or programmes aimed at making discussions about inappropriate behaviour more accessible.

Psychological safety

A prerequisite for having these conversations is that people are not afraid to speak up, that there is a culture in which people can hold each other accountable, and in which mistakes are seen as opportunities to learn. This is known as psychological safety. Professor of Leadership and Management Amy Edmondson describes in her book The Fearless Organization (2018) how leaders can increase psychological safety within their teams.

In summary:

• As a leader, you have the responsibility to actively promote the importance of psychological safety. A psychologically safe working environment leads to better team performance. Make it clear to your team members that it is important for the organisation to be able to make mistakes, so they can be addressed and prevented, and to hear different perspectives.
• Invite all employees to take part in the conversation. Demonstrate situational humility yourself by showing where you have doubts or what you do not know. Ask the right questions and listen carefully to your team members. Structure meetings in a way that allows space for multiple perspectives.
• Respond constructively to input from your team and express appreciation for their contributions. Evaluate outcomes and ensure that learning together and from one another remains ongoing. Set clear boundaries when someone violates agreements or codes of conduct.

Organisational scientist Elmira Nijhuis wrote a doctoral dissertation on psychological safety and gave a lecture on this topic at the Mores event From Signal to Recovery in 2024. The dissertation is available in Dutch and can be found here.

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