Leona was a senior executive at a large tech company, managing a critical function. During a regular one-to-one with the CEO, she was asked for feedback on employees’ overall morale and motivation. Over the past six months, several people had left the company, and Frank, the CEO, was concerned. Leona decided to be honest and open. She told Frank that her general impression was that the senior leadership team was perceived as misaligned and divided, often sending conflicting messages. She added that, in her view, he was responsible for addressing the situation. Frank thanked Leona for her candour and promised to address the issue with the senior leadership team.
Over the following months, Leona noticed changes, but not the ones she hoped for. She was left out of important meetings she had previously been asked to attend, excluded from decisions she was typically consulted on, and received far less communication from several members of the leadership team. Someone she trusted on the leadership team also told her she was being referred to as “spreading negativity” throughout the company.
This story, while fictitious, is not uncommon. While the organisation projected a psychologically safe culture, when push came to shove, it punished people for speaking up. In recent years, the term Psychological Safety, coined by Harvard Business School professor Amy Edmondson, has come to refer to an organisational culture and environment where people feel safe speaking up, being candid, and expecting accountability without fear of punishment, humiliation, or being sidelined. The findings of the multi-year internal research study, known as Project Aristotle, singled out Psychological Safety as the strongest predictor of high-performing teams. A solid body of research now supports the notion that Psychological Safety is a must-have for organisations, and that leaders need to know how to instil it across all employee levels.
Recently, however, Psychological Safety has been getting some bad press. One criticism is that leaders are expected to treat employees with gloves and to avoid giving them negative feedback. Leaders and managers are also expected to avoid challenging employees, stretching their competencies, holding them to high standards, or asking them to go the extra mile.
The myth is the misinterpretation of what Psychological Safety really means, not Psychological Safety itself. Edmondson’s original concept was crystal clear: a belief that one will not be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns, or mistakes. In other words, she meant employees’ ability to take interpersonal risks without negative consequences. This is critical for leaders who want important information to surface early, new ideas to be generated, experimentation with innovation, and honest feedback. These factors are essential if teams are to perform at their best. They are also key to mental health and wellbeing in the workplace.
For leaders to foster a truly psychologically safe environment and a speak-up culture in their organisations, they need to:
1. Lead by example. They need to be open to feedback from their staff and establish feedback mechanisms that encourage employees to be open and honest.
2. Frame genuine mistakes as learning opportunities arising from interest and initiative, rather than as grounds for punishment.
3. Include employees in decisions that affect the business, especially in their areas of work, and encourage input and participation.
4. Act on the feedback they receive to give the message that “your feedback is important and is taken seriously”
5. Make expectations clear and hold people accountable for meeting them. This sends a clear message that underperformance is not acceptable, while employees will receive the support they need to perform well.
6. Provide employees with regular learning opportunities, training, and coaching as needed.
7. Praise and recognise people for their good work, and appreciate discretionary effort so employees feel seen and validated.
8. Show vulnerability by asking for help and not pretending to have all the answers. Adopt a coaching approach to managing people.
With these simple yet impactful leadership practices, you can create a psychologically safe organisational culture that attracts talent, engages employees, and supports high employee retention.
Patrick Psaila is the founder and director of PsyPotential. He is a psychologist and training consultant. He specialises in bringing practical psychology to organisations, especially in supporting leaders through coaching, professional development, psychometric assessments, team building, and corporate wellness programmes. He can be reached at info@psypotential.com