“Do we get the best from each other?” is a foundational question for every high performing team.
But getting the best from each other takes more than just trust. It requires psychological safety - the belief that your team members will support, not judge you when you take a risk or make a mistake. When psychological safety is strong, collaboration, innovation, and resilience flourish. But without it, teams struggle, performance dips, and misunderstandings thrive.
🔍 Did you know?
65% of employees report that they don’t trust their leadership.
Teams with higher psychological safety are 20% more likely to be innovative and 10% more likely to perform at a higher level.
Lack of trust leads to 47% higher levels of conflict and 40% lower collaboration.
Amy Edmondson, Professor of Leadership at Harvard Business School and a leading voice on psychological safety, explains:
"Trust is about giving others the benefit of the doubt, and psychological safety is about believing others will do the same for you."
When psychological safety is strong, collaboration thrives, mistakes become learning opportunities, and team members feel empowered to speak up with bold ideas.
✅ So how do you create psychological safety and build trust in your team?
1️⃣ Create clarity in roles: When everyone knows their role and feels their contributions are valued, teams collaborate better. Unclear expectations lead to frustration and mistrust.
2️⃣ Cultivate openness: Teams perform best when members feel safe to admit mistakes, share concerns, and offer ideas without fear of judgement.
3️⃣ Encourage mutual accountability: Psychological safety isn’t about being “nice”. Teams thrive when members feel comfortable giving and receiving constructive feedback. Mutual accountability fosters growth and trust.
When teams focus on these actions, trust becomes a multiplier - boosting collaboration, innovation, and resilience.
What steps have you taken to create a culture of psychological safety in your team?
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