The Psychological Safety Lie that Costs You Big Money
Sep 14, 2025
Have you ever watched a team meeting where everyone nodded in agreement, then complained in the hallway afterward?
Were you in a room where the "wrong" person's idea got shot down immediately, but the boss's identical suggestion was praised?
Ever felt the energy drain from a room the moment someone asked, "Are there any questions?"
Welcome to the psychological safety crisis that's masquerading as collaboration while secretly destroying innovation and bleeding talent from your organization.
There is a significant difference between when your team is psychologically safe and psychologically compliant.
The Safety Theater that's Sabotaging Success
"We say we want honesty, but we punish honest feedback," explains Kate McKinnon, former Head of Human Resources at Playfly Sports, whom I featured on the Work Positive Podcast. Think about how deeply fake safety infiltrates our work environments:
- We ask for feedback but get defensive when we receive it.
- We say "failure is learning" but still punish mistakes.
- We encourage questions but rush through Q&A sessions.
- We promote "open communication" but shoot messengers.
- We claim to value different perspectives but reward conformity.
This performance of safety dates back to command-and-control structures where dissent was dangerous. While we've evolved our language, we often haven't evolved our reactions to disagreement, uncertainty, or failure. Yet we continue wondering why innovation is low and problems surface too late.
Transform Compliance to Courage
The traditional approach to team dynamics said, "Don't rock the boat."
True psychological safety says: "Rock the boat before it hits the iceberg."
False safety operates from fear management, but authentic psychological safety today embraces productive conflict. Teams know that challenging ideas strengthens them rather than threatening them.
Google's Project Aristotle research shows psychological safety is the number one factor in team effectiveness, outweighing talent, resources, and even strategy. But as Dr. Amy Edmondson emphasizes, "Psychological safety is not about being nice. It's about creating conditions for honest dialogue."
True transformation requires more than open-door policies. It requires a fundamental step from "Don't bring me problems" to "Bring me problems early and often."
What exactly does psychological safety look like in practice? As Julia Rozovsky's research at Google demonstrated, it's a team climate where "people feel safe to take risks and make mistakes in front of each other."
In a psychologically safe culture:
- People disagree respectfully with leadership.
- Team members admit mistakes without fear of punishment.
- Questions are welcomed, not just tolerated.
- Failure becomes data for improvement.
- Different perspectives are actively sought, not just accepted.
Such a culture of engagement drives measurable business outcomes.
Teams with high psychological safety experience:
- 27% reduction in turnover.
- 12% increase in performance.
- 40% reduction in safety incidents.
- 67% increase in innovative solutions.
"Psychological safety doesn't mean avoiding difficult conversations," notes Pam Gass from One Florida Bank, highlighting a common misconception that safety means softness.
The solution? Absolute clarity about productive conflict. Psychological safety enables harder conversations, not easier ones.
The key to building real psychological safety is distinguishing between personal safety (not being attacked) and idea safety (ideas being challenged).
In psychologically safe environments:
- Personal respect: "We respect each person's dignity and value."
- Intellectual rigor: "We challenge ideas to make them stronger."
- Learning orientation: "We treat mistakes as learning opportunities."
- Collaborative spirit: "We succeed together or learn together."
Your Psychological Safety Challenge
Ready to break through and create authentic conditions for team courage? Try these three safety-building actions this week:
- Practice the "Tell Me More" Response: For one week, when someone raises a concern or idea, respond with "Tell me more about that" before offering your perspective.
- Share a Personal Learning Moment: Tell your team about a recent mistake you made and what you learned, demonstrating that failure is truly safe.
- Transform One "Failure" Policy: Convert one punishment-based approach into a learning-based system.
The Work Positive Bottom Line
The best teams today don't avoid conflict; they navigate it productively.
When you create genuine psychological safety, you get stronger solutions.
Stop managing harmony. Start building courage.
What's your question about creating psychological safety in your team? Ask Dr. Joey here.
Taken from Dr. Joey's newest book, Redefine Work: E.N.G.A.G.E. People and Grow Profits.
Subscribe to the Work Positive Newsletter
Get the latest blog, podcast, and other resources weekly that help you Work Positive.
We detest SPAM and guard your information carefully. Unsubscribe any time we violate your trust.
