The context
One Breath partnered with Stoiximan to design and deliver “Innovating Through Trust: Building Safe and Creative Workplaces,” an interactive leadership workshop for managers focused on psychological safety, trust and innovation.
Led by Myrto Legaki, Leadership Consultant and Founder of One Breath, the session helped managers examine how everyday leadership behaviors influence whether people contribute ideas, challenge assumptions, raise concerns and participate openly in team discussions.
The methodology
The workshop combined research, practical tools, reflection and experiential learning. Participants worked on:
Psychological safety: Drawing on the research of Harvard Business School professor Amy Edmondson, participants explored how psychological safety supports speaking up, learning, collaboration and experimentation within teams
Leading with Questions: Managers practiced opening conversations with genuine questions before offering their own perspective, creating more space for independent thinking and diverse ideas
Inclusive participation: Participants explored practical techniques such as round-robin discussion, targeted questions and deliberate invitations to bring more voices into the conversation
Constructive disagreement: Managers examined how to encourage challenge, different perspectives and healthy debate while maintaining clarity, trust and accountability
Learning from mistakes: Participants explored how leaders can respond to mistakes and unsuccessful experiments in ways that encourage reflection and learning while maintaining performance expectations
Role plays: Managers practiced realistic workplace conversations and experimented with different ways of responding to ideas, disagreement, concerns and mistakes
Reflection and application: Participants identified specific behaviors they could apply immediately in meetings, one-to-one conversations and team decision-making
The role plays then gave participants the opportunity to apply these principles in realistic situations, observe how different responses affected the conversation, and refine their own approach.
The impact
The workshop gave Stoiximan managers a practical framework for creating the conditions in which people are more willing to speak openly, contribute ideas and challenge established thinking.
Participants developed concrete approaches to:
Encourage earlier sharing of ideas and concerns
Increase participation across the team
Ask questions that stimulate independent thinking
Facilitate constructive disagreement
Respond more effectively to mistakes and experimentation
Balance openness with accountability and performance expectations
The session also reinforced the role of managers in shaping team dynamics through everyday interactions. Small choices in how meetings are facilitated, how questions are asked, and how disagreement is received can significantly influence whether employees continue to contribute openly.
For more insights on workshops like this check out our corporate Learning & Development Programs