Two Different Workplaces: A Tale of Contrast

No doubt you’ve experienced both sides of a pyschological safety coin in the workplace. One where you are free to speak up in a thriving workplace and the other side of the coin where everyone fears to speak up, morale is low and so is productivity. Let’s dig a bit deeper by picturing the contrasting workplaces:

Workplace A:
Team members operate in fight-or-flight mode. People keep ideas to themselves, afraid to speak up for fear of ridicule or backlash. Mistakes are held against them even remembered during promotion or project decisions. Over time, this leads to low morale, close-mindedness, dwindling motivation, and poor performance. Basically, creativity dies as turnover rises.

Workplace B:
Psychological safety is actively cultivated. Team members feel valued and respected. They take risks, suggest improvements, challenge existing norms, and admit mistakes without fear. Creativity flourishes and problem-solving becomes solution-oriented and in turn resilience builds. The workplace is energised and this becomes a workplace people genuinely want to be.

The difference is stark. Where would you prefer to lead?

So how does your workplace get to a place of Psychological Safety, well it begins with the Leadership.

Building Psychological Safety: The Leadership Journey

Step 1: Self-Reflection
Leaders must start by looking inward:
Do I model vulnerability? Do I truly listen? Do others feel safe around me?

Step 2: Listen to the Team
Have honest one-to-one conversations. Ask team members if they feel safe to speak openly. If not, find out why and commit to change.

Note:
Psychological safety cannot be mandated. Instead, it must be cultivated from the top down and nurtured daily through consistent actions, not just words paying lip service to a concept.

The simplest, way to make it happen is for you the leader to demonstrate openess and vulnerability. You don’t always have to have the answer. It’s ok to admit mistakes and actively seek feedback. This all builds the trust needed to foster psychological safety in your team and beyond.

The Four Stages of Psychological Safety Summarised

1. Inclusion Safety
   Everyone feels accepted and valued while still being their authentic selves.

• Ask yourself: Does your organisation have clear policies to combat racism, sexism, and all forms of discrimination?

• Belonging must be real,  not performative.

2. Learner Safety
   People feel safe asking questions, experimenting, and making mistakes without fear of judgment.

• Create feedback loops where diverse opinions are welcomed.

• Encourage differences in perspective to drive collective growth, not punishment.

3. Contributor Safety
   Individuals feel empowered to share ideas, knowing their work makes a difference.

• Think JFK’s moon speech: Every person, from janitor to engineer, felt critical to the mission.

• In Japanese, there’s a word “ikigai” meaning “a reason for being”.  This resonates deeply because when people know their contributions matter, they shine.

4. Challenger Safety
   People feel safe to challenge the status quo, raise concerns, and even blow the whistle when necessary.

• Cultures that welcome constructive challenge avoid complacency and stay agile.

Why Psychological Safety Matters More Than Ever

Without it, organisations stagnate as innovation dries up, in turn performance flatlines as turnover speeds up as the talent looks elsewhere. This is key especially for younger generations where ‘psychological safety ‘ or being seen at work is a non-negotiable. Post Covid most employees have reconsidered what matters in life and the work-life balance matters and spending time in a workplace that makes you feel stressed, depressed and under appreciated is not tolerated.  Put simply if leaders don’t cultivate it, top talent will simply leave and the rest will follow.

How Leaders Can Start:

• Recognise the privilege of emotional and financial safety.

• Challenge personal fears of vulnerability as it builds trust, not weakness.

• Foster inclusion so every voice matters.

• Reframe the narrative: call ‘pyschological safety’ something that fits your culture, but hold onto the core principles.

• Invest in personal development: self-reflection, feedback seeking, coaching, and model these leadership behaviours daily.

Twofold benefits:
In conclusion, the benefits of psychological safety are twofold:  as you, the leader grow personally your team follows and becomes stronger, happier, and higher-performing – together driving the organisation forward.

Final Reflection:
Ask yourself honestly:
Do I feel safe at work? Do others?
Am I stressed and guarded — or satisfied and thriving?