Everyone should feel safe to speak their mind and to make mistakes without fear of repercussions.
This leads to healthy risk-taking, greater transparency, deeper learnings, more well-rounded debates, better truth-seeking, a stronger feeling of comfort in the workplace, and many other benefits.
✅ Psychological safety means…
- Feeling like you can be yourself at work.
- Feeling comfortable asking questions when you don't know something.
- Feeling comfortable admitting mistakes and learning from them.
- Feeling comfortable sharing ideas, even if they're unfinished or unconventional.
- Feeling comfortable speaking up when you disagree or have concerns.
- Feeling comfortable challenging assumptions.
- Feeling comfortable giving and receiving candid feedback.
- Trusting that disagreements will be worked through respectfully.
- Feeling encouraged to take thoughtful risks and experiment.
- Believing your perspective will be heard and considered, even if others ultimately disagree.
🙅♀️ Psychological safety does NOT mean…
- Avoiding conflict. We expect healthy debate, respectful disagreement, and honest conversations.
- Always being right. Ideas are challenged on their merits, regardless of who they come from.
- Freedom from accountability. Mistakes are opportunities to learn, but we still take responsibility for our decisions and commitments.
- Disregarding the impact of your words. Candor should always be paired with respect, professionalism, and good judgment.
- Consensus. Being heard doesn't guarantee agreement. Good decisions sometimes mean disagreeing and committing.
- Comfort at all costs. Growth involves difficult conversations, candid feedback, and stretching beyond your comfort zone.