Deep Dive: Psychological Safety
Let's go beyond the basics.
Psychological safety is the old news.
Organizational researchers and social scientists have made it trendy in the past maybe 10 years. They like pointing their fingers if you are unfamiliar with it.
How dare you!
The truth is psychological safety has been around for a long time.
We will begin with a brief history of your context and then discuss behaviors, situations, communication, and common sense that you should apply instead of fancy theories.
Trust me.
Contents:
What Psychological Safety Is
History Timeline & Notable Works
How To Start Building Psychological Safety at Work
The Influence of Body Language Micro-Behaviors
Psychological Safety ≠ Comfort Zone
The Role of Cognitive Diversity
The Power of Follow-Through
Say It Out Loud
Time & Consistency
How to Be Consistent
Resources to Learn More About the Concept
Wrap Up
1. What Psychological Safety Is
Let's play a reverse game. What isn’t psychological safety?
Guarantee of agreement: No, psychological safety won’t always give you a green light. It’s not about letting others speak only when they agree with you. Sorry, buddy!
Being nice: Hmm. Listening people. Caring about them. Yes, but is always nice? You cannot avoid some conflicts. Disagreements and constructive criticism are actually encouraged, with respect, of c course.
Free from consequences: Safety is not your mistakes will be covered. Harmful actions and lack of accountancy are not tolerated. Common.
Psychological safety is a belief. Teams believe that it is “safe” to take interpersonal risks without fear of being embarrassed, judged, or punished.
Individuals feel comfortable expressing their ideas, asking questions, admitting mistakes, or challenging the status quo without negative consequences.
Psychological safety is a key factor in healthy teams. A leader’s job—whether at the top of an organization or somewhere in the middle—is to create a safe space for people to speak up, make mistakes, and bring their full selves to work. - Amy Edmondson
Safe space to perform, work, feel valued, and be yourself.
If you think of your school years, educational institutions probably didn’t do such a good job of letting you be you. Organizations, however, should do so for you to thrive.
The key part of the psychological safety concept is that it is the responsibility of a leader, and also every single one of us to contribute conditions in which anyone can perform.
Leaders alone can’t be present in every single conversation. But they can guide others towards creating the same conditions as if they were present.
2. History Timeline & Notable Works
Ah, finally, I can talk about some management history. How great, I studied organizational development at Uni.
Okay, as I wrote earlier, psychological safety is the old news. Look at the timeline:
1920s: The Hawthorne Studies
Conducted at Western Electric’s Hawthorne Works in Chicago. THE classic studies. They were led by Elton Mayo and Fritz Roethlisberger. They demonstrated the impact of social and psychological factors on productivity. They suggested that workers perform better when they feel valued, respected, and part of a supportive environment
Hello, early roots of psychological safety.
1943: Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Maslow introduces the Hierarchy of Needs in his paper "A Theory of Human Motivation." He emphasized belongingness and safety needs as critical for higher-level performance and self-actualization.
This framework indirectly underscores the importance of feeling safe in social settings.
1950s: Human Relations Movement
A growing shift from viewing employees as mere resources to recognizing their psychological needs. Pioneers like Douglas McGregor advocate for Theory Y (employees are motivated by growth and self-fulfillment).
This is the groundwork for trust-based work cultures.
1954: Carl Rogers’ Humanistic Psychology
Rogers emphasizes unconditional positive regard and the importance of creating non-judgmental environments for personal growth. He influenced the understanding of safety in interpersonal and organizational contexts.
1960: Douglas McGregor's "The Human Side of Enterprise"
McGregor contrasts Theory X (authoritarian management) with Theory Y (supportive and trust-based leadership). It highlighted the role of managerial attitudes in fostering open, safe environments for employees to thrive.
1964: Kurt Lewin’s Influence on Group Dynamics
Lewin’s research on group behavior and change management (e.g., Force Field Analysis) underscores the importance of psychological safety in encouraging openness to change and learning within teams.
1965: Early Concepts
William Kahn introduces the idea of "personal engagement" and links psychological safety to employee behavior and commitment.
1977: Albert Bandura’s Social Learning Theory
Bandura introduces the concept of self-efficacy—the belief in one’s ability to succeed—which is closely linked to psychological safety. When people feel safe, they are more likely to take risks and engage in learning behaviors.
1978: Ed Schein’s Work on Organizational Culture
Schein's research emphasizes that trust and shared values are fundamental to a healthy organizational culture. His work on process consultation highlights the role of psychological safety in facilitating open dialogue and change.
1980s: Team Development Research
Various studies focus on group dynamics, trust-building, and team performance. Researchers begin to connect psychological safety with team learning and innovation, though the term isn’t always explicitly used.
1985: Richard Hackman’s Model of Team Effectiveness
Hackman identifies supportive team environments as critical for success. His work underscores that interpersonal safety encourages constructive feedback and collaboration, laying a foundation for future research on psychological safety.
1988: Chris Argyris and Donald Schön's "Organizational Learning"
They explore defensive behaviors in organizations and emphasize the importance of trust and open communication for double-loop learning—where teams challenge underlying assumptions and improve collectively.
1990: Foundational Research by William Kahn
In his paper "Psychological Conditions of Personal Engagement and Disengagement at Work," Kahn formally defines psychological safety as feeling safe to express oneself without fear of negative consequences.
1999: Amy Edmondson's Groundbreaking Study
Edmondson publishes "Psychological Safety and Learning Behavior in Work Teams" in the Administrative Science Quarterly, defining psychological safety as a team-level phenomenon and linking it to team learning and performance.
2012: Project Aristotle by Google
Google conducted an extensive internal study revealing that psychological safety is the most critical factor in high-performing teams. It highlights its role in innovation and productivity.
2014: Edmondson’s Book: "Teaming"
Amy Edmondson expands on her research in "Teaming: How Organizations Learn, Innovate, and Compete in the Knowledge Economy." She emphasizes psychological safety's role in adaptive, fast-paced work environments.
2019: Widespread Recognition and Adoption
Edmondson’s book "The Fearless Organization" solidifies psychological safety as a mainstream leadership concept. It is now LinkedIn’s pet for providing frameworks for creating safe environments in organizations.
2020s: Growing Importance in Hybrid Work Environments
Increased focus on psychological safety as organizations navigate remote and hybrid work, emphasizing trust, open communication, and inclusion.
There has always been a broader understanding of psychological safety. Yet, only when Amy Edmondson published her book, it has become a mainstream model. I recommend watching one of her TED Talks.
She has done a really good job on her research and books.
3. How To Start Building Psychological Safety at Work
Every good concept makes you nod. Psychological safety is one of them. Yet, this question comes inevitably to your mind:
“How do we do it?”
How do we make people trust us? How to make them believe?
Can we effectively encourage a culture in which people hold each other accountable, share their ideas, ask questions, admit and apologize for their mistakes, and challenge each other without making it an act of revenge?
It is a complex topic.
Like any relationship, you perhaps encounter these two situations:
You trust someone immediately.
You trust someone with time.
It might be weird to realize but trust is both rational and irrational or emotional if you wish.
For rational trust, you would look for time and also:
Evidence: trust is built on observable behavior, experience, or competencies. For instance, if your boss consistently delivers on commitments, it’s rational to trust them in similar situations.
Risks: rational trust arises when the potential benefits of trusting someone outweigh the perceived risks.
Contracts: trust in systems, organizations, or legal agreements is rational.
For irrational/emotional trust, you often have short moments that decide:
Relationships and intuition: Sometimes, you click and connect immediately with someone. There is no logical justification, it happens like that. Like you trust your friends or go to visit a stranger you’ve met online.
Vulnerability: emotional trust is built when people show vulnerability and find it respected or protected, creating bonds that go beyond rational calculation. Like in the episode of Dr. House when his patient insists on being her doctor.
At work, we often think about “strategies” and effectiveness. Yet, we tend to also overengineer every single step and worry too much about things that can happen naturally.
Well, naturally, you need time and some consistency.
a. The Influence of Body Language Micro-Behaviors
Communication is 55% nonverbal, 38% vocal, and 7% words. If the majority is non-verbal, do you know how you communicate?
How do you use your body language to create psychological safety in your team?
Body language is often unconscious. You do something without deciding about doing it. You send a signal.
Think how do you do with:
Eye contact during meetings.
Interrupting.
Nodding or shrugging shoulders.
Open/close hands.
Leaning toward or outside.
Non-verbal cues play a critical role in building psychological safety. Open postures, leaning slightly forward when someone is speaking, and uncrossed arms indicate approachability.
Empathy can look like a warm smile or a concerned look that validates the speaker’s emotions. Micro-behaviors like these create a subconscious sense of alignment and understanding.
It’s beautiful how your body language can make people feel comfortable.
So, step no.1 is to realize what you communicate with your body before you engineer supportive words.
Write down your answer: “What signals are you sending?”
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to leadink to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.