Effective leaders can drive workplace performance and innovation by fostering a company culture built on open communication, support, and trust.
Ensuring psychological safety has emerged as a best practice in modern organizational cultures, especially for companies embracing opportunities in fast-growth global markets. Employees experience psychological safety when they feel free and comfortable sharing their thoughts and ideas without fear of negative repercussions, such as embarrassment or criticism. A lack of psychological safety therefore hinders participation and stifles creativity.
Research indicates that a high-trust work environment fosters open communication, enabling employees to contribute free from worry. This, in turn, enhances both employee engagement and creativity, as well as overall company performance. It’s a cultural value that organizations seeking significant growth and innovation should aim to uphold.
As a former founder and C-level leader in Silicon Valley, who is now consulting in Taiwan and Southeast Asia, I’ve seen the effects of putting these principles into practice. By diving into the research and sharing use cases, leaders and their teams can leverage psychological safety to connect, grow, and thrive.
The concept may be new for some leaders, but the research is decades in the making. Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at Harvard Business School, Amy C. Edmondson – a leading authority on the subject – notes that teams with high psychological safety have employees who feel safe to take risks, ask questions, and admit mistakes without the fear of judgment or punishment. This reduced stress and anxiety advances problem-solving, decision-making, and team-building soft skills, which often leads these teams to outperform others.
Edmondson’s research started with an analysis of the relationship between error-making and teamwork in hospitals during her PhD studies in the 1990s. Originally, she expected to find that more effective teams made fewer mistakes. Instead, she realized that teams who reported better teamwork seemed to experience more errors. After taking a closer look, she found that better teams were more willing to report their mistakes because they felt safe doing so, which helped teams collectively learn from the mistakes and avoid repeated errors.
In Taiwan, the United States, and Southeast Asia, many tech startups are adopting progressive leadership styles that prioritize psychological safety. Leaders in these organizations recognize that when team members fear negative consequences for speaking up, they may withhold valuable insights, resulting in a toxic work culture that hurts people and profits. By dismantling hierarchical barriers and encouraging open dialogue, they create a culture where employees feel valued and heard, enhancing both mental health and job satisfaction.
Putting psychological safety into practice
I recently facilitated a leadership development training session with a group of 28 managers and leaders in San Francisco, introducing effective ways to add psychological safety to their management practice. One example that resonated with participants was the “ask, then pause and listen” model.
I emphasized the importance of checking for understanding during meetings by asking the group if the goals presented were clear. Ask, then pause and listen. Straightforward questions encourage team members to share their thoughts and concerns, opening the door for valuable feedback and dialogue.
To reinforce this culture of openness, I suggested inviting a staff member who exudes the principles of psychological safety to contribute their insights during discussions. Doing so not only models the behavior we want to encourage, but also shows that feedback is welcome and valued.
I refer to this practice as “cultural diplomacy” because finding common ground and being flexible builds trust among team members and reduces future conflict. While the leader may initiate a movement or idea, it’s the first follower who shows others how to engage and follow. This act of followership is critical – it transforms an individual’s action into a group dynamic.
Bozoma Saint John, renowned for her leadership roles at Netflix, Apple, and Pepsi, has repeatedly emphasized that culture-building isn’t driven by grand, top-down initiatives but rather through daily, grassroots-level interactions.
She explains that fostering psychological safety within teams starts with simple, consistent behaviors – like recognizing contributions, encouraging open dialogue, and addressing challenges without assigning blame. By cultivating trust and vulnerability in everyday conversations, leaders can create an environment where team members feel comfortable expressing ideas and taking risks.
American multinational pharmaceutical Pfizer also emphasizes the importance of open dialogue. “At Pfizer, we believe that breakthroughs start with courage and open dialogue – clear expressions of psychological safety,” says Cellina Yeh, Taiwan country manager of Pfizer. “We cultivate a culture where every voice is seen, heard, and cared for, enhancing our mission to change patients’ lives.”
Another prominent leader is Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, who has long championed the importance of psychological safety in fostering innovation. His advocacy is closely tied to Google’s Project Aristotle, a comprehensive internal study conducted to determine what makes teams successful. The study found that psychological safety was the most critical factor in high-performing teams. Under Pichai’s leadership, psychological safety became a cornerstone of Google’s organizational culture, emphasizing that employees should feel comfortable sharing bold, even unconventional, ideas.
In my experience working with Silicon Valley startups, adopting a “test-and-learn” approach – where failure is a source of learning – helps create the conditions for psychological safety and innovation. Leaders can foster this by modeling vulnerability, sharing their mistakes openly to make risk-taking acceptable, and using feedback sessions to create space for diverse voices to be heard. Recognizing contributions ensures that all perspectives are valued, and this inclusive environment promotes ongoing engagement.
To realize the benefits of psychological safety within their organization, leaders might consider four key best practices:
1. Encourage open dialogue: Create opportunities for team members to share their thoughts and concerns through regular check-ins and feedback sessions.
2. Model vulnerability: Leaders should share their own mistakes and learning experiences to foster an environment of safety.
3. Recognize contributions: Acknowledge and reward employees for their input, reinforcing the value of speaking up.
4. Foster inclusivity: Embrace diverse perspectives and communication styles to ensure all team members feel valued and heard.
