Psychological Safety in the Workplace: How It Drives Performance and Innovation

Psychological safety is one of the most important, yet often misunderstood, elements in building high-performing teams. It’s not just a buzzword or the latest trend in corporate culture. Instead, it’s a foundational aspect of creating an environment where employees feel safe enough to take risks, voice ideas, and even fail—all without fear of punishment or humiliation. Teams that foster this sense of safety not only perform better but also innovate more effectively. Let's explore why psychological safety is crucial and how you can build it into your workplace.

Is Your Team Really Safe? The Misconceptions of Psychological Safety????????????????????

Psychological safety, as defined by Amy Edmondson, is “a climate where people feel safe enough to take interpersonal risks.” These risks could range from asking a question to sharing a half-formed idea or challenging a decision. Importantly, psychological safety isn’t about being "nice" all the time or avoiding difficult conversations. On the contrary, it allows for constructive conflict—what?Tim Clark?calls "intellectual friction"—without devolving into personal conflict, or "social friction." The goal isn’t to protect people's feelings but to ensure that challenging and sometimes uncomfortable discussions can take place.

It's also essential to understand what psychological safety is not. It’s not about creating a perfect work environment where everyone agrees all the time. In fact, if everyone agrees, that's a red flag. A lack of debate or challenge is often an indicator that psychological safety is missing.

Why Is Psychological Safety Important?

Organizations like Google, through its Project Aristotle, have shown that psychological safety is the most significant factor in high-performing teams. This is because when people feel safe to speak up, innovation, collaboration, and creativity flourish. Conversely, if employees are afraid of being judged, they will withhold ideas, which stifles growth and problem-solving.

Moreover, psychological safety reduces turnover and increases employee engagement. In an environment where mistakes are not punished but viewed as learning opportunities, team members are more willing to experiment, fail, and try again—key components of innovation.

Signs Your Team Has Psychological Safety

If you’re a leader wondering whether your team has psychological safety, here are a few indicators to look for:

1. How Failure Is Handled: Teams with psychological safety treat failure as a learning opportunity. They ask, “What can we learn from this?” rather than focusing on blame.
2. Willingness to Challenge: Are your team members comfortable challenging you as a leader or each other? Teams that avoid disagreement often lack psychological safety. Constructive debate is essential for innovation and high performance.
3. Beyond Job Titles: Do your team members know each other beyond their professional roles? Building "social capital"—personal connections that go beyond work—is a strong indicator of psychological safety.

Stop Talking About Safety and Start Building It – Here’s How

Building psychological safety requires intentional effort and consistent behavior. Here are some practical ways to cultivate it within your team:

1. Set the Stage for Open Dialogue: In every meeting, explicitly invite feedback and dissent. Make it clear that you expect and value differing opinions. One simple but effective technique is to ask everyone to “speak in drafts”—contributing ideas even if they aren’t fully formed.
2. Model the Behavior: As a leader, you set the tone. If you want your team to feel safe taking risks, you must take them as well. Share your own failures and the lessons learned from them. This not only normalizes failure but also demonstrates that vulnerability is acceptable.
3. Create Space for Disagreement: Establishing a culture where healthy conflict is encouraged can be tricky, especially if your team isn’t used to it. One useful exercise is to appoint a “devil’s advocate” in meetings, whose job is to challenge ideas and stimulate debate. This makes dissent a part of the process and not a personal attack.
4. Provide Feedback, Not Criticism: Feedback is essential for growth, but how it’s delivered matters. Instead of focusing on what went wrong, focus on what can be improved. This fosters a growth mindset within the team.

What if Your Boss Doesn’t Care About Psychological Safety? Here’s How You Can Still Lead

One of the common challenges in creating a psychologically safe workplace is when those in leadership don’t model these behaviors themselves. If you find yourself managing "up" in an organization where psychological safety is not a priority, you can still influence your immediate environment. Start by building trust with your peers and direct reports. Sometimes, it only takes a small percentage of the team modeling the desired behavior to create a ripple effect throughout the group.

You can also “call in” rather than “call out” leaders who are not fostering a safe environment. Instead of publicly confronting them, which could activate defensiveness, approach them privately and offer constructive suggestions for improving team dynamics.

Is Psychological Safety the Secret to Outpacing Your Competition?

Psychological safety isn’t a box to be checked or a quick fix. It’s an ongoing process that requires consistent effort from both leaders and team members. However, the rewards are well worth the effort. Teams with psychological safety are more innovative, more resilient, and, ultimately, more successful.

If your organization wants to stay competitive, fostering a psychologically safe environment might just be the key to unlocking your team’s full potential.

Call to Action

If your team or organization is struggling to foster an environment of psychological safety, consider reaching out. Whether you need to navigate the complexities of team dynamics or enhance leadership capabilities, we can help guide the way.

Craig Hess is the Director of Individual, Corporate, and International Training at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT). Jennie Gilbert is a Leadership Development Specialist and Facilitator on SAIT's Corporate and International Training team.

Together they host the?Leading Beyond Any Title?webinar series, and are dedicated to helping individuals, teams, and companies ensure they have the skills needed to succeed in the future of work.

This article was based on an episode of the?Leading Beyond Any Title?webinar that originally aired in October 2023. It, along with resources from that episode, can be viewed [here].