Unlocking team potential with the power of Psychological Safety at work
Creating a successful team at work is a complex task. Employers carefully evaluate people’s skills, experiences, backgrounds, passions, and motivations when selecting candidates for their team. And they are right to do so; each person brings unique perspectives and skills that, in the right environment, can be leveraged for the benefit of the company. However, many teams don’t have the environment that allows people to show their full potential.
Studies have shown that psychological safety is one of the best predictors of team success. Not only that, but employees report better productivity, job satisfaction, and relationships with colleagues in teams that score high on the psychological safety scale.
What is psychological safety?
The concept of psychological safety was first introduced by organizational behavioural scientist Amy Edmondson, who defines it as "a shared belief held by members of a team that the team is safe for interpersonal risk-taking." This means creating an environment where employees can share ideas, critique work, and admit to mistakes without fear of consequences from their peers or higher-ups.
For example, in a psychologically unsafe team, a member might not challenge their manager's suggestion out of fear of looking difficult or a desire to avoid conflict. Conversely, in a psychologically safe environment, the team would not be afraid to express their ideas, knowing that whether they are highlighting a problem or suggesting a new/untested approach, it would be welcomed.
To evaluate whether a workplace is psychologically unsafe, here are few signs to look out for:
· If an employee makes a mistake it is held against them
· Employees avoid bringing up problems and tough issues
· Employees feel uncomfortable asking for help
· Employees sometimes reject others for being different
· Employees sometimes act in a way that deliberately undermines the efforts of others
Psychologically safe workplaces can benefit teams in multiple ways…
Fostering risk-free communication
The need for social acceptance is deeply rooted in our brains. For our ancestors, being part of a group meant being safe from predation. Today, where half of our waking hours are spent at work, it means being a valued and respected member of the team. Everyone wants to feel like they belong on their teams, and in turn, they will avoid behaviours that might put their position in jeopardy. In a team without psychological safety, the threshold for behaviours that can put them at risk is low. Team members might feel their ideas could be dismissed or ridiculed, or if they say something that doesn't align with the team's sentiment, it will portray them in a bad light. In contrast, psychological safety ensures that team members feel they can express themselves without risk and that, in fact, their different ideas and perspectives are desired.
A company that truly knows the value of diversity of opinion is Pixar. After concerns that employees were not sharing honest opinions about work, the company created a special meeting, called the ‘Brain Trust’, with an agenda to evaluate and critique projects. By making the work the focus of the discussion, not the creator, and by treating everyone as equal contributors, the team removed the social risk from sharing feedback. The ‘Brain Trust’ meetings often led to significant direction shifts for films that ultimately became major hits.
Valuing mistakes
"When you declare that failure is off limits, you should expect to be kept in the dark" - Amy Edmondson
It is human to make mistakes. If we expect employees not to make mistakes, we are deluding ourselves about their humanity. Mistakes will happen at work – the question is how to deal with them. Creating an environment that doesn't punish people for admitting small mistakes will ensure that problems can be fixed in real-time, rather than waiting until those small mistakes accumulate into a major failure in the future.
This principle of embracing and learning from mistakes is perfectly demonstrated by companies like Toyota. One of the world’s largest car manufacturers owes its success not only to its technical advancements but also to its company culture. Their production line functions under the principle of Jidoka: ‘automation with a human touch’, where each employee is encouraged to flag any issues and sometimes even stop a production line if they find any problems, such as malfunctions or safety concerns. The team spends the time to fix the issue and learn from it, so it won’t come up again.
“Toyota believes people must feel psychologically and physically safe. They must believe any concerns they have will be taken seriously.” — Toyota Culture, by Jeffrey K. Liker and Michael Hoseus."
As demonstrated by Toyota, mistakes and failures can be a good sign. Mistakes create opportunities to learn. Teams that try new ideas and explore untested territories are more likely to experience setbacks than those who never question the status quo. In turn, these teams learn and improve at a much higher rate.
Protecting the brain
Beyond the impact on the team, psychological safety can be beneficial on an individual level. People who work in psychologically unsafe environments experience a heightened sense of threat. They perceive stress not just from the work itself, but also from team social dynamics. Stress, especially for a prolonged period, can significantly impair decision-making and problem-solving abilities. Not only that, but it can contribute to mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression, and burnout. A survey by the American Psychological Association revealed that people working in psychologically safe environments reported that their work had less negative impact on their mental health compared to those in unsafe ones.
How can employers create psychologically safe environments?
For leaders, it’s about showing humility to the team. By admitting mistakes, leaders can show that they are not a source of infinite knowledge and expertise and can invite others to help solve problems. They can also create a space where people can contribute by directly asking members of the team to share their opinions and ideas. Asking thoughtful questions and being truly interested in the answers will make people feel that their input is valued.
Positive reinforcement when people raise issues and highlight mistakes is also important. This underlines that the team values improvement, and those who support that goal are true team players.
What can employees do to cultivate psychological safety?
Employers aren't the only ones who can make an impact. It only takes a couple of people setting a good example to change the whole team dynamic.
Employees can start with active listening. By genuinely engaging with the ideas or concerns of team members, whether professional or personal, individuals will feel seen and begin to develop a stronger sense of belonging within the team. Asking for help and offering support is another great way to demonstrate that it’s okay for people to not know everything and to ask for help.
Finally, the way feedback is given and received serves as a good indicator of psychological safety. Embracing feedback and giving it constructively demonstrates that the aim of the feedback is improvement, and it’s never to be used to shame or undermine anyone.
Psychological safety at work is not just a ‘nice to have’ distant ideal, only reserved for industry giants like Pixar or Toyota, but it’s something all of us can start cultivating today. It could be a key component that drives innovation, growth, and success for a company.
For more information on psychological safety and guidance for creating a psychologically safe environment, visit the course here.
Written by Tamar Pepanasvili
Tamar Pepanasvili's LinkedIn Profile
Sources:
American Psychological Association. 2024 WORK IN AMERICA™ SURVEY Psychological Safety in the Changing Workplace. Available at: https://www.apa.org/pubs/reports/work-in-america/2024/2024-work-in-america-report.pdf. Accessed: September 2025.
American Psychological Association. What is psychological safety at work? Here’s how to start creating it. Available at: https://www.apa.org/topics/healthy-workplaces/psychological-safety. Accessed: September 2025. Amy Edmondson: Creating Psychological Safety at Work. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkFohYhIaSQ. Accessed: September 2025
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