What is psychological safety?
As you consider how you can improve as a manager, you might have encountered the concept of psychological safety.
What is psychological safety?
It’s not just about creating a cozy, stress-free environment where nothing bad ever happens. Instead, it's about fostering a culture where if something does go wrong, people feel they will still fundamentally be ‘OK.’ They’re safe.
Think of psychological safety like a climber and their safety equipment. The harness, ropes, and anchors don't prevent falls, but they create a sense of security that allows the climber to take on challenging routes. Similarly, psychological safety doesn't guarantee success, but it empowers teams to innovate and grow.
Where did the concept of psychological safety come from?
The concept of psychological safety was first introduced by organizational behavioral scientist Amy Edmondson in her 1999 paper "Psychological Safety and Learning Behaviour in Work Teams." Edmondson defined psychological safety as "a shared belief held by members of a team that the team is safe for interpersonal risk-taking." She argued that when team members feel psychologically safe, they're more likely to speak up, share ideas, and admit mistakes, which in turn leads to more learning, innovation, and better performance.
Go deeper
Amy Edmonson’s book takes a definitive look at this topic. See it on Amazon →
Edmondson's research was influenced by earlier work on organizational learning, such as Chris Argyris' concept of "double-loop learning," which emphasized the importance of open, honest communication for identifying and correcting errors. She also drew on research from psychology and sociology on topics like trust, group dynamics, and interpersonal relationships.
Since Edmondson's initial paper, numerous studies have expanded on the concept of psychological safety and demonstrated its impact on team and organizational outcomes. Google's famous Project Aristotle, which studied the factors that contribute to effective teams, identified psychological safety as the most critical component. Other research has linked psychological safety to increased creativity, faster problem-solving, and better overall performance.
How can psychological safety be improved in the workplace?
‘Things going wrong’ doesn’t necessarily mean a ‘huge catastrophe’ – just a possibly unwelcome outcome that could result from taking any kind of social micro-rsk.
They might include behaviours as simple as:
Asking questions (and admitting you don’t the answer)
Sharing difficulties (and revealing that you aren’t perfect)
Making requests (and showing that you need help)
Offering feedback (and perhaps displeasing the receipient)
Trying something new (and risking that it might go wrong)
Clearly, a low-safety team, where people avoid doing these crucial things, would struggle to perform at a high level.
Psychological safety arises from various sources: an individual's self-esteem, social cues from teammates, and the perceived threat level around them. As a manager, you can boost safety by modelling curiosity, acknowledging your own mistakes, and celebrating thoughtful risk-taking, even when things don’t pan out perfectly.
It's crucial to recognise that safety is experienced differently by each individual. Factors like personality, background, and role all influence how secure someone feels in speaking up. For example, a new hire might hesitate to point out a flaw in a long-standing process, while a veteran employee could feel empowered to raise concerns.
When thinking about diversity & inclusion, it’s note how people might still feel like ‘outsiders’ even while being technically ‘on the inside’, and feel less safe as a result. They might feel they have ‘more to prove’, or that they can’t show the same vulnerability as others.
Four levels of psychological safety
We can think of increasing levels of safety as empowering different sets of behaviours.
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Consider this toy example:
“When Jenna joined the data analytics team at ForInstance Inc., she initially felt uncertain and reserved. In meetings, she hesitated to ask questions, worried about appearing uninformed. However, her manager, Tom, consistently encouraged participation and emphasized that no question was too basic. Gradually, Jenna began to feel more included and accepted by the team (inclusion safety).
As she settled into her role, Jenna started taking on more challenging projects. When she made a mistake in her analysis, rather than hiding it, she openly shared her learnings with the team. To her surprise, her colleagues appreciated her honesty and offered support and guidance (learner safety).
Feeling more confident, Jenna began suggesting new ideas and approaches to data visualization. Her unique perspective was met with enthusiasm, and her contributions were recognized in team meetings (contributor safety).
Finally, when Jenna noticed a potential flaw in the team's data collection process, she felt empowered to raise her concerns directly with Tom. He thanked her for speaking up and invited her to propose solutions. Together, they implemented a new system that improved data accuracy and efficiency (challenger safety).
Developing psychological safety can be a key activity when it comes to getting new hires firing on all cylinders, along with guiding people through the skill/will learning curve as they learn the ropes.
Building psychological safety takes ongoing effort, but the payoff is immense. When people feel secure, they do their best work, take smart risks, and propel the team forward. As a leader, you set the tone. By prioritizing psychological safety, you lay the foundation for a team that innovates, collaborates, and thrives under pressure.
Explore these related frameworks
Safety and belonging are key motivational factors in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
Certainty is a key source of motivation, and certainty can provide a lot of safety too (“I know that even if X happens, then I can still rely on Y.”)
Lencioni’s Five Dysfunctions of a Team also has some parallels here, especially to the levels of psychological safety: in his model, the early challenges are building trust (inclusion safety) and feeling safe enough to disagree, before being able to commit to share goals (contributor safety) and hold each other accountable (challenger safety).
