The question nobody asks
The project meeting has been running for twenty minutes. The project manager presents the schedule and everyone nods. An engineer in the team knows that a supplier has not replied for days and that the deadline can hardly be met. She says nothing. The last time she raised a risk, the response was: “Bring solutions, not problems.”
Three weeks later the deadline is missed. In the debrief, the head of division asks why nobody said anything sooner.
The answer lies in a concept that has received a great deal of attention in recent years: psychological safety. In this article you will find out what psychological safety means, how to recognise it in your team and what you can do as a leader so that people speak openly.
What psychological safety means
Harvard professor Amy Edmondson coined the term in 1999. She describes psychological safety as a shared belief within a team that it is safe to take interpersonal risks without being punished or humiliated.
Interpersonal risks are everyday things: asking a question that might seem naive. Admitting a mistake. Contradicting a superior. Putting forward an unfinished idea. In a psychologically safe team, people do these things because they know it is appreciated.
Psychological safety sits well with clear expectations and open criticism. Edmondson stresses that the highest-performing teams combine high standards with high psychological safety. Only there do problems become visible early and ideas get discussed openly.
Why psychological safety determines performance
Some years ago Google set out to discover what makes teams successful in a large internal study, Project Aristotle. The result surprised many: psychological safety mattered more than talent, experience or the composition of the team. It came first among five success factors.
The reason is simple. In complex tasks nobody knows everything alone. Teams are only as good as the information that is shared. Where people stay silent, exactly the clues that would prevent mistakes or enable innovation are lost.
The consequences of a lack of psychological safety show in many places:
- Mistakes are hidden until they are big and expensive.
- Good ideas go unsaid because the risk seems too great.
- Decisions get worse because objections never reach the table.
- Committed people withdraw or leave the company.
Error culture: the visible side
Closely linked to psychological safety is a company’s error culture. How a company deals with mistakes is the clearest signal of how safe people feel.
In a culture of blame, employees quickly learn to hide mistakes. In a learning-oriented error culture, mistakes are reported early, examined together and used for improvement. What makes the difference is how the leader reacts at the moment a mistake comes to light.
How to recognise psychological safety in your team
Psychological safety cannot be observed directly. There are, however, clear signals that show you where your team stands.
Signs of high psychological safety:
- It is not always the same people who speak in meetings.
- Employees report problems early, even when they are uncomfortable.
- People ask when something is unclear.
- Mistakes are discussed openly without anyone looking for someone to blame.
- Even the boss is contradicted.
Signs of low psychological safety:
- The important conversations take place in the corridor after the meeting.
- Bad news reaches you late or by roundabout routes.
- New team members hardly ask any questions.
- Everyone agrees, and yet nothing changes.
You can read more about the courage to address difficult things in the article The Leadership Fear Trap: When leaders lose the courage to be honest.
Seven things you can do as a leader
Psychological safety develops in many small moments in which your team sees how you react. These seven steps have proved themselves in practice:
1. Set the frame
At the start of a project, explain that this is a complex task to which nobody has all the answers. People who know that uncertainty is part of it are more willing to ask questions.
2. Show your own mistakes
Talk about a mistake of your own and what you learned from it. When the leader shows fallibility, everyone else is allowed to as well.
3. Actively ask for objections
In meetings, ask “What are we overlooking?” or “What could go wrong?”. These questions explicitly invite disagreement.
4. Respond to bad news with appreciation
The most important moment is when someone reports a problem. A “Thank you for raising this” has a stronger effect than any mission statement. Only then does the conversation turn to the solution.
5. Include quiet voices
In many meetings a few people talk a lot. A short round in which everyone shares their view in turn also gives the quieter team members space.
6. Learn from mistakes together
After a mistake, first ask what happened and what the team can learn from it. The question of who comes later, if at all.
7. Stay consistent
Psychological safety grows slowly and can be lost quickly. A single dismissive reaction in front of the team has a long-lasting effect. So pay particular attention to your reactions when you are under pressure.
A pattern from practice
In team coaching we often encounter the same situation: an executive board is convinced it has an open culture. The door is always open, they say. In conversation with the team a different picture emerges. Employees value their leadership but do not dare to voice concerns, because at some point in the past someone was passed over after raising a critical objection.
The turning point usually comes when the leader addresses this gap themselves and asks the team what it needs in order to speak more openly. This question alone often changes a great deal, because it shows that openness is wanted.
Psychological safety in hybrid teams
Since many teams began working partly from home, psychological safety has become more demanding. Video calls lack the small signals by which people recognise whether an objection is welcome: a nod, a smile, brief eye contact. People in the room speak more often than those joining remotely.
Three habits help to create an open atmosphere in a hybrid setting too:
- Remote participants first. In discussions, give the floor first to those taking part online.
- Use written channels consciously. Some people find it easier to voice concerns in the chat than in front of the camera. Read these contributions out and take them up.
- Short one-to-one conversations. A regular conversation in private gives room for topics that find no place in the group.
Three questions for your next team meeting
Psychological safety can be invited. You can use these three questions in your very next meeting:
- “What is on your mind about this project that we have not talked about yet?”
- “If this initiative had failed six months from now, what would be the most likely reason?”
- “What do I need from you and what do you need from me so that we can talk openly about risks?”
Pay attention to how you respond to the answers. Genuine interest in what is said is the best invitation for next time.
Psychological safety in the executive board
Leadership teams need psychological safety too. At the top in particular, there is often little disagreement, because a lot is at stake and every statement carries weight. When an executive board learns to settle differences of opinion openly and respectfully, this carries over to the whole company. The culture at the top shapes the culture throughout the organisation.
The same applies to the board of directors. A board that asks the executive team open questions, listens attentively and receives bad news with interest obtains earlier and more complete information. This makes psychological safety a question of good corporate governance as well.
Support from Living Sense Executive
Psychological safety develops within the team and begins with leadership. Living Sense Executive supports both levels. Team Coaching helps leadership teams and teams to address tensions and align their collaboration with a shared goal. The Cert. Communication Expert deepens the communication skills that make psychological safety possible in everyday work. You can read how to recognise the effect of communication training in the article Communication Training for Leaders.
Conclusion: safety is the foundation for performance
Psychological safety is a prerequisite for teams that learn, spot mistakes early and make good decisions. It develops through the behaviour of the leader, above all in the moments when someone reports a mistake or disagrees. Leaders who respond with appreciation here and actively ask for other perspectives lay the foundation for a team in which everyone contributes their best.
Frequently asked questions about psychological safety
What is psychological safety?
Psychological safety is a shared belief within a team that you can ask questions, admit mistakes and disagree without being punished or humiliated. The term comes from Harvard professor Amy Edmondson.
Why is psychological safety important?
Teams with high psychological safety share more information, spot mistakes earlier and develop more new ideas. In Google’s Project Aristotle it was the most important success factor for teams.
Does psychological safety mean everyone is nice to each other?
Psychological safety actually allows open criticism and high standards. It ensures that uncomfortable truths can be spoken.
How can a leader foster psychological safety?
By showing their own mistakes, actively asking for objections, responding to bad news with appreciation, including quiet voices and learning from mistakes together with the team.
What does error culture have to do with psychological safety?
Error culture is the visible side of psychological safety. How a team reacts to mistakes shows everyone whether it is safe to raise problems openly.
