What's the big idea? Psychological safety

What's the Big Idea? Psychological Safety is the second in our series of insights themed around the topics of the new ABE Level 5 Diploma in Business Management and Leadership from ABE Global and The Institute of Leadership. 

Psychological safety

The term Psychological Safety was coined by Dr Amy Edmondson, a professor at Harvard Business School who defined it as a shared belief that the team is safe for interpersonal risk-taking.  This means people feel comfortable speaking up, asking questions, and sharing ideas without fear of embarrassment, rejection, or punishment.

Psychological safety isn’t just about being "nice" to each other. It’s about creating an environment where everyone feels empowered to be candid, ask for help, and openly discuss mistakes or concerns. 

Why psychological safety is important

Psychological safety drives innovation. If team members feel safe to voice unconventional ideas or challenge the status quo, they’re far more likely to contribute creative solutions. In an environment where you’re afraid of being ridiculed or ignored, you’re not going to put forward that big, bold idea.

Second, it improves learning and growth. In a psychologically safe team, people feel comfortable admitting mistakes or knowledge gaps, which leads to open discussions and faster learning. Instead of sweeping issues under the rug, they’re addressed directly, and that’s vital for continuous improvement.

And finally, psychological safety is essential for well-being. People who feel safe to express themselves are less stressed, more engaged, and more connected to their team. This isn’t just a productivity boost—it also helps reduce burnout and build trust within the team. 

This was demonstrated by Google’s corporate research into what makes teams successful.  Google did a deep dive into team dynamics – called Project Aristotle. The project aimed to identify patterns and behaviours within teams that led to high performance. Google spent two years studying 250 attributes of their 180 teams. Initially, they thought the recipe for a successful team would be the usual markers such as money, resources, high performers, an experienced manager, but they were wrong. What emerged was that psychological safety was the single most important factor across high-performing teams. 

Steps to implement psychological safety

The first step is to model vulnerability. Leaders especially play a key role here, but it’s something everyone can contribute to.  When leaders admit their own mistakes or share moments of uncertainty, it normalises vulnerability for everyone. 

I tried this the first time I was put in charge of running a company. Not long after joining, I was with the management team – all serious, professional, talented, people, and there was a business problem.  I remember the team sketching out the issues and looking at me for the solution. I said something like “I’m really not sure about what approach we should take on this - what do you all think?”. It was a powerful moment, instantly the team started sharing their ideas and solutions without fear. I guess they were used to top-down management.

I’ve tried to maintain that approach ever since. Something as simple as making it clear that all opinions are valued, even dissenting opinions if they are constructive, is a powerful first step in psychological safety!

Be authentic but  professional 

We should be our true self at work, to be authentic and express who we are in terms of our values, beliefs, and identities without fear of judgement or discrimination. However, in my view, we should still bring our ‘professional self’ to work. 

You are in a work setting with people who you don’t know well, so filter your personal opinions on sensitive issues. People may not understand your sense of humour, and how you talk to your friends and family may not be appropriate for the workplace. 

Bringing your true self to work isn’t an excuse for leaving your boundaries behind. People who view the world through the lens of their own opinions lack self-awareness – having boundaries and respect for other viewpoints is really important to psychological safety. As in other aspects of workplace health and safety, this is the responsibility of everyone not just leaders. But it’s the leaders' job to intervene when harmony and cohesion are disrupted.  

Individuals can integrate their unique perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences into their professional lives, and shouldn’t feel the need to hide or "edit" parts of their identity to fit in, but a psychologically safe environment is also an environment that has boundaries and respectfulness.

Don't just celebrate success

As with authentic leadership (see previous blog here), developing psychological safety is about learning from mistakes and recognising effort and commitment not just results.  A great example is in the autobiography of Phil Knight the founder of Nike. The book tells of how a rising star in the marketing department had a great idea for a campaign. The company gave him a team, a budget, and resources to deliver the project. Unfortunately, the campaign was a flop, it didn’t work.  However, the management took the guy and his whole team out to get pizza and celebrated the fact that it was a good idea and he took a risk. I think that’s a wonderful attitude. 

Create a culture for innovation

When teams focus solely on outcomes, people may feel pressured to hide mistakes or take fewer risks. But when you recognise the effort, experimentation, and learning involved in projects—even if they don’t yield immediate success—it reinforces a culture where trying new things is valued.

An example of how this supports innovation is Disney Pixar, the animation studio, which is known for its psychologically safe work culture. One of their practices is the "Braintrust" meeting, where anyone on the team can give candid feedback on a project. It’s not about hierarchy - everyone’s input is considered equally, from new animators to senior directors. This open, constructive dialogue allows them to continually improve and innovate, which is part of why they’ve been able to produce so many groundbreaking films.

Another example of a company that has embraced a culture of psychological safety is Microsoft under CEO Satya Nadella, who is known for shifting company culture towards one of learning and openness. By fostering an environment where team members feel safe to share ideas and feedback, Microsoft has become a more agile, innovative company.

The role of leadership

If you’re a leader, your influence is critical. Model vulnerability, invite open dialogue, celebrate effort, and respond thoughtfully to feedback. And if you’re a team member, know that you can contribute by being supportive and respectful of others’ input.

Psychological safety isn’t built overnight - it’s a continual practice of small actions and sometimes it may go off track and you have to go back and work out what went wrong and rebuild, and that’s fine – that makes the culture stronger. At ABE we’ve worked hard to identify the company values that are important to our teams and we’ve codified this in The ABE Way, which you can read here.

Psychological Safety is a theme in the module Leading a Safe and Healthy Work Environment, an elective unit in the ABE Level 5 Diploma in Business Management and Leadership. Click here if you are interested in learning more about this qualification or enquire at your nearest ABE centre.