The Blog

The Biggest Myth About Psychological Safety: It's Not About Removing All Risk

Jul 15, 2024

One of the buzzwords that’s everywhere in corporate lingo these days is psychological safety. Leaders are increasingly recognising the importance of creating environments where employees feel safe to express their ideas, take risks, and be themselves without fear of repercussion.

But let’s bust a common myth: psychological safety is not about eliminating all risk from the workplace. True psychological safety is built on connection, not the absence of risk.

The Misconception: Risk-Free Environments

Many leaders believe that creating a psychologically safe workplace means eliminating all forms of risk. The assumption is that by avoiding conflict, preventing mistakes, and minimising uncertainty, employees will feel more comfortable. But this approach is fundamentally flawed.

A risk-free environment often leads to stagnation, complacency, and a lack of innovation. When employees are shielded from risk, they are also deprived of opportunities for growth, learning, and creative problem-solving.

The Reality: Embracing Constructive Risk

Psychological safety isn’t about removing risk—it’s about creating a culture where constructive risk is encouraged and supported. It’s about ensuring employees feel confident to speak up, share ideas, and take bold steps without fear of being punished or humiliated. This kind of environment sparks creativity, fuels innovation, and makes organisations more dynamic and successful.

The Key Ingredient: Connection

The foundation of psychological safety isn’t risk elimination—it’s connection. When employees feel deeply connected to each other and their leaders, they trust that their contributions are valued and that mistakes will be met with understanding rather than judgment.

Here’s how you can foster connection and create a truly psychologically safe workplace:

1. Foster Open Communication

Encourage transparency at all levels of the organisation. Leaders should model this by openly sharing their own mistakes, uncertainties, and learning moments. People sense when you’re being real—so be as open and honest as possible. Regularly solicit feedback and actively listen to employees’ concerns and ideas.

2. Build Trust

Trust is the heartbeat of psychological safety. Build it through consistent opportunities for genuine connection, and by demonstrating integrity, reliability, and fairness in your leadership.

3. Promote Inclusivity

Create a workplace where every voice is heard and valued. Use inclusive conversation tools and practices (like Circle and facilitated dialogue) to encourage diverse perspectives. A culture of belonging strengthens community and fosters deeper engagement.

4. Check In Regularly

Make space for human-to-human connection. Regular check-ins—where team members share what’s alive for them inside and outside of work—build care and trust. Try incorporating this into your weekly team meetings.

5. Encourage Collaboration & Community

Psychological safety thrives in environments where teamwork is celebrated. Create opportunities for cross-functional collaboration, and foster a sense of shared purpose by organising check-ins and facilitated discussions.

6. Reframe Failure as Learning

Failure isn’t the enemy—avoidance of learning is. Shift the perspective on failure from a negative outcome to a valuable growth opportunity. As a leader, model imperfection by sharing your own learning moments. Encourage employees to reflect on and share lessons from their mistakes. The more failure is normalised, the more risks people will take—and the more innovation will follow.

Creating a Culture of Psychological Safety

The biggest myth about psychological safety is that it’s about removing all risk. In reality, it thrives in environments where constructive risk-taking is encouraged and where team members feel deeply connected.

By focusing on trust, open communication, inclusivity, collaboration, and reframing failure as a learning opportunity, leaders can build cultures of courage, creativity, and belonging.

It’s not rocket safety!

Curious about how to cultivate a safe and vibrant culture in your team? Let’s chat.

📩 Email Nele at [email protected] to set up a discovery call.