Joseph Amodeo
This October, I had the privilege of presenting at the CCMC Virtual Symposium on a topic that continues to shape my work as both a practitioner and a researcher: psychological safety. My session, “The Power of Trust: Building Psychological Safety in Case Management,” explored how trust, candor, and communication impact our work as case managers and ultimately the outcomes of the clients we serve.
The Question That Changes Everything
I opened the session by asking attendees to think about the last time they hesitated to ask a question or flag a potential problem at work. Here's what we don't talk about enough: In case management, when someone stays quiet about a concern, there's a direct line to client outcomes. That unasked question might mean a missed referral. That unflagged risk might mean a preventable crisis. That withheld observation might mean a family doesn't get critical information. The stakes in our work are simply too high for silence.
What I've Seen and Why It Matters
I've worked in both psychologically safe and unsafe environments, and I've seen firsthand how dramatically they impact not just our wellbeing as professionals, but the quality of care our clients receive. The research backs this up: Harvard's Amy Edmondson found that the highest-performing teams actually reported the most mistakes, not because they made more errors, but because they felt safe enough to surface them.
In the presentation, I walked through what psychological safety actually is (hint: it's not about being nice or avoiding accountability), why it matters specifically for case management teams, and the four common barriers that keep case managers silent even when they have critical information to share.
The Difference Between Undermining and Fostering
One of the most powerful parts of the session was contrasting two types of supervisory responses to the same situation: a problem being identified.
- Response A: "Who dropped the ball on this?"
- Response B: "Thanks for catching this. Let's figure it out together."
Both take seconds to deliver, but they create entirely different cultures. I shared specific behaviors that either build or erode psychological safety, and attendees reported that they could immediately recognize patterns in their own workplaces.
Four Tools, Immediate Application
The heart of the presentation was four practical tools that case managers and supervisors can implement immediately... not theories, but actual phrases to use, questions to ask, and frameworks to apply. These aren't just "be nicer to each other" platitudes. They're concrete strategies drawn from research in high-stakes fields like healthcare and aviation, adapted specifically for case management contexts.
Attendees left with specific commitments: one action they would take in the coming week to foster psychological safety in their teams. The goal wasn't to transform entire organizations overnight, but to start building the culture we all need to do our best work, one interaction at a time.
Why This Matters Now
Case management is knowledge work. The knowledge is distributed across the team including case managers, supervisors, nurses, social workers, clients, families. The only way the system works is if all of that knowledge is shared. But sharing knowledge requires vulnerability, and vulnerability requires safety.
The Ripple Effect
What happens in your supervisor's office affects what happens in your team meeting, which affects what happens in your client's home. We cannot separate the internal culture of our teams from the quality of care we provide. They are inextricably linked.
The good news? As Amy Edmondson reminds us, "You don't have to be the boss to be a leader." Every person on a team has the power to make it safer or less safe through their daily behaviors. You don't need permission to start creating the culture your team needs.
The question is: will you?
Interested in bringing psychological safety training to your case management team or organization? Lincoln Square Coaching offers customized workshops and coaching for case management professionals and leaders. Contact Joseph Amodeo at joseph@lincolnsqcoaching.com or (212) 320-8973 ext. 2007 to discuss how we can support your team's development.