Network Meeting – Power, Culture & Psychological Safety

PRESENTATION:  Kristyn Haywood, Leadership Educator, Executive Coach & Founder, People For Success

Topic: Power, Culture & Psychological Safety.

In April 2023, amendments to the Work Health and Safety Regulations 2011 introduced a positive duty for employers to manage psychosocial risks, requiring the same level of diligence as physical hazards.

Yet legislation alone will not protect workers.

Kristyn Haywood, executive coach and leadership educator with over 20 years of experience, will expose the leadership behaviours and cultural dynamics that sit at the heart of many psychological hazards. This keynote goes beyond compliance to address what WHS professionals see daily but may struggle to influence: the role of unchecked power, poor leadership practices, and organisational denial in harming psychological safety.

Attendees will gain insight into:

• The 14 recognised psychosocial hazards and their root causes in leadership behaviour and culture
• The link between power imbalance and harm, including how leaders often become less empathetic, self-aware, and open to feedback
• How common responses such as resilience training or EAPs often shift responsibility to workers instead of addressing the source of harm
• Gaslighting and other subtle but damaging behaviours that contribute to mental injury
• Why superficial wellbeing initiatives do not meet WHS obligations
• Tools WHS professionals can use to advocate for systemic solutions, including:

o   Psychosocial risk assessments

o   Leadership 360 feedback tools

o   Mandatory leadership development frameworks

o   Escalation processes when leaders become the risk

This keynote is a call to action for WHS leaders to partner with HR and executives to create accountable systems, reshape culture, and protect psychological safety at its source.

About the speaker:

Kristyn is a leadership educator, executive coach, and founder of People for Success, with over 20 years of experience designing and facilitating leadership and workplace culture programs across healthcare, government, and corporate sectors. Through her consultancy HealthKind, she helps leaders create psychologically safe, values-led workplaces that support mental well-being, ethical conduct, and courageous communication. 

Kristyn is also the creator of the Respect@Work training series, equipping organisations to meet their positive duty to prevent psychosocial harm. She is starting a conditional PhD exploring the factors that influence women’s decisions to pursue leadership.