By Marie Louise Halvgaard Møller, Business Psychologist and Advisor at CfL, August 2022
What goes wrong when smart and talented people are put together, yet the outcome is a failure? We have seen this occur in several political contexts – most recently in the case of the mink issue, where no one seemed to truly understand how the decision to cull all the minks was made before any legal authority existed.
The same applies in the business world. One example is the Volkswagen scandal, where the world’s largest car manufacturer cheated on environmental standards and sent the company on a catastrophic course.
Of course, many factors come into play, but according to the pioneer in psychological safety, Harvard Professor Amy C. Edmondson, one theme stands out.
Contrary to what many might think, it is not about the individuals involved or the composition of the group, but about the culture – more precisely, about the presence or absence of psychological safety.
When there is a lack of psychological safety, a culture is created in which people do not dare to speak their minds, ask critical or probing questions, or admit any mistakes.
Edmondson defines psychological safety as “an individual’s perception of the consequences of taking interpersonal risks in a specific context.”
Interpersonal risks are the “price” we perceive for speaking our minds, offering ideas, and contributing input. It is, essentially, a constant weighing of the consequences when we participate in groups.
When we judge that there are too many interpersonal risks associated with an action, we often exhibit self-protective behavior. This means we stop voicing our opinions, agree even when we disagree, and keep critical thoughts to ourselves.
These interpersonal risks are the evaluated consequences of acting in the social world. They can range from someone simply not liking you, to being excluded from the group or even being publicly criticized.
We are continuously assessing these interpersonal risks in social settings, and you are likely familiar with the feeling of holding back if your opinion differs from the majority.
Thoughts like “the others will think less of me if I say X” or “everyone else probably knows the answer, so I won’t ask” can lead us, both consciously and unconsciously, to refrain from speaking up.
Harvard professor Amy C. Edmondson is one of the world’s leading and most influential management thinkers. In 2021, she was ranked number one on the Thinkers50 list, largely due to her pioneering work on psychological safety – a field she has been engaged in for more than 20 years.
In 2018, she published the book The Fearless Organization, which has since been translated into 11 languages. It was released in Danish in 2020 by Djøf Publishing.
The thoughts and actions described above might seem like personal challenges related to courage, but on the contrary – they are about group dynamics!
Humans are social creatures, evolutionarily wired to fit in and be accepted by a group. In the past, social exclusion was a matter of life and death, and to some extent it still is. It has always been essential for survival to adapt to the group, but this also means that we sometimes react inappropriately in situations where we do not feel psychologically safe.
In other words, our ability to read a situation and choose the least dangerous course of action can have dire consequences.
If no one dares to speak critically or challenge the status quo, a group dynamic can develop that stifles creativity and innovation and, worst of all, paves the way for poor decision-making.
When a group lacks psychological safety, people often spend more time analyzing interpersonal risks and engaging in self-protective behavior than on solving the actual task.
Beyond the aforementioned dangers and challenges, studies – including Google’s famous “Project Aristotle” – have shown that the most crucial factor for well-functioning and effective teams is psychological safety.
Psychological safety affects performance for several reasons, but most importantly, it allows team members to take interpersonal risks without fearing exclusion—both in concrete and abstract terms.
This ensures that no one withholds critical details or creative ideas that could benefit the outcome. Additionally, energy is directed toward accomplishing the task rather than self-protection.
Research shows that teams with high levels of psychological safety create:
Teams with high psychological safety are more likely to share information openly, experiment with new ideas, and provide constructive feedback. These behaviors are critical for innovation and creativity.
If you want to build high performance teams, focusing on psychological safety is key.
The foundation for innovation, efficiency, and high-performing teams is psychological safety. This course will help you build that foundation.
Psychological safety is a group phenomenon, meaning it is created by the entire group and all its members. It therefore requires effort from everyone.
That said, it is the leader’s responsibility. Psychological safety depends on the leader stepping up and setting the framework.
Edmondson outlines three steps you as a leader can use to create psychological safety. At CfL, we agree that these three steps work, and we incorporate them into our course "How to Create Psychological Safety." The three steps are:
Setting the framework and inviting participation involves defining the working conditions so that psychological safety is established from the start. For example, you might say, "It is important that we all contribute our ideas," or agree that someone will play the role of devil’s advocate so that everyone knows that input is expected—even when there are disagreements.
Once that is in place, it is, of course, essential to respond to input so that people feel encouraged to speak up again. This is best done by showing appreciation, de-stigmatizing mistakes, and, of course, addressing unacceptable behavior.
A common misconception about psychological safety is that everything—including rule-breaking and abusive behavior—should be condoned and that everything is “OK.” On the contrary, an important element of psychological safety is that there are clear boundaries regarding what is acceptable and what is not. This helps create calm and clear rules.
Psychological safety is crucial for teams to function effectively. By fostering open communication and serving as a role model for the behavior you wish to see, you as a leader can create a psychologically safe environment for your team.
Clark, T. (2020). 4 Stages of Psychological safety. San Fransisco: Berrett-Koehler
Duhigg, C. (2016). What Google learned from its quest to build the perfect team. The New York Times Magazine, 26, 2016.
Edmondson, A. (1999). Psychological Safety and Learning Behavior in Work Teams Administrative Science Quarterly Vol. 44, No. 2, p. 350-383
Edmondson, A., & Lei, Z. (2014). Psychological Safety: The History, Renaissance, and Future of an Interpersonal Construct. Annual Review Of Organizational Psychology And Organizational Behavior, 1(1), 23-43. doi: 10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-031413-091305
Edmondson, A. (2019). The fearless organization. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons
Listen to the episode of Ledelsesrummet, where Strategic Leadership Consultant Pernille Grove explores why psychological safety is such a relevant topic—and how it can be implemented.
You'll get concrete advice on how to create a workplace where psychological safety is not just an abstract concept, but a fundamental part of the culture.
In the How to Build Psychological Safety course, you’ll gain the tools needed to assess, build, and foster psychological safety within your team.
Learn how to lead and facilitate one or more teams towards better performance in a motivating and effective way. Foster motivation, improve collaboration, and boost performance.
Gain insight into your personal leadership and gain company as a leader
