How to Create Psychological Safety at Work Using the 5CS

A Practical Framework for Leaders Who Want People to Speak Up, Learn, and Improve

Psychological safety is not a “nice to have.” It’s the foundation for learning, continuous improvement, and high performance.

In this KaiNexus webinar, Karen Ross and Jessica House introduce the 5 C’s of Psychological Safety—a simple, practical framework leaders can use to create workplaces where people feel safe to ask questions, raise concerns, admit mistakes, and share ideas.

Rather than treating psychological safety as an abstract concept, this session provides concrete behaviors leaders can practice every day to reduce fear, build trust, and strengthen team performance.

View all previous KaiNexus Continuous Improvement Webinars

Why Psychological Safety Comes Before Lean Tools

Many organizations start improvement efforts with tools like 5S, standard work, or problem-solving templates. But without psychological safety, people won’t speak honestly about problems—or participate fully in improvement.

This webinar reframes psychological safety as the true first step in any Lean or continuous improvement journey, positioning it as the foundation beneath respect for people, learning, and innovation.

The 5 C’s of Psychological Safety

Karen and Jessica walk through each element of the 5 C’s framework and explain how leaders can apply them in real work environments:

• Clear Expectations – Making it safe to ask questions, raise concerns, and admit mistakes

• Connection – Building trust through regular, human connection

• Caring Genuinely – Demonstrating empathy and real concern for people as people

• Consistent Kindness – Reducing fear through predictable, respectful leadership behavior

• Co-Regulation – How leaders’ emotional states influence team safety and stress

Each C is grounded in psychology, leadership practice, and real-world organizational experience.

Key Insights You’ll Gain

• Why people stay silent at work—and how leaders unintentionally contribute to it

• How fear blocks learning, problem-solving, and improvement

• What leaders can do in the moment to increase psychological safety

• How kindness, empathy, and emotional awareness drive better results

• Why psychological safety is essential for Lean, not separate from it

Preview the Webinar:

About the Presenters:

Karyn Ross

Karyn is on a mission to Help People Create a Better, Kinder World. An artist, internationally acclaimed speaker, award-winning author, consultant, coach, and practitioner, Karyn travels the globe teaching people her unique system of combining creativity, continuous improvement, and kindness to make a better world. As well as being the owner of KRC (Karyn Ross Consulting) Karyn is one of the Founding Mothers of Women in Lean – Our Table, a global group of more than seven hundred and fifty women lean practitioners. Karyn is also the Founder and President of the Love and Kindness Project Foundation, a registered public charity, and The New School for Kind Leaders. She has created both of these initiatives to help people around the world think, speak, act and lead more kindly.

When not traveling, Karyn spends time designing and sewing her own clothes! Follow Karyn on LinkedIn for a daily inspirational post about creativity, kindness, and/or continuous improvement.

Jessica House

Jessica House is an experienced counselor and coach with a diverse background that includes mental health services, leadership, and lean management. With over a decade of experience in the mental health field, and an unwavering philosophy that every human being wants to do well (and can do well), Jessica’s passion is helping children, parents, and families live their best life. She has a Master’s in Counselling Psychology and spent years working at a children's mental health center in Ottawa where she supported people experiencing a range of emotional, social, and/or behavioral challenges came for help.

By combining both lean and mental health, Jessica started her own business, Lighthouse Counselling and Wellness, where she collaborates with individuals, families, and organizations to set and achieve ambitious goals, improve performance, and enhance their overall wellness. She is one of the co-creators of the 5C’s of psychological safety, a methodology that when practiced, sets the stage for learning, growth, innovation, and improvement.