Psychological Safety & Feedback: The Leadership Skills That Unlock Performance
- Tom Moore
- 5 days ago
- 6 min read
Back in 2012, Google began a multi-year research initiative to identify the common threads among Google's highest-performing teams. Called Project Aristotle, the study examined 180 Google teams and over 250 variables, including team composition, social norms, and group dynamics. It published its key findings around 2014.
The main discovery of the study is that, rather than skill sets or backgrounds, the most important factor was how team members interacted, with psychological safety (feeling safe to take interpersonal risks) being paramount, followed by dependability, structure, meaning, and impact. The study identified five key dynamics that distinguish high-performing teams, ranked in order of importance:
1. Psychological Safety: This was found to be the most critical factor. It is the shared belief that the team environment is safe for interpersonal risk-taking, allowing members to admit mistakes, ask questions, or propose new ideas without fear of embarrassment or retribution.
2. Dependability: Team members reliably complete high-quality work on time and can count on each other to fulfill commitments.
3. Structure and Clarity: Successful teams have clear roles, specific goals, and well-defined plans. Google often uses Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) to facilitate this alignment.
4. Meaning of Work: Individuals find personal significance in their tasks or the team's output, which drives higher levels of motivation and engagement.
5. Impact of Work: Team members fundamentally believe their work matters and contributes to the organization's broader goals or the lives of others.
So what is Psychological Safety
Psychological safety is the shared belief that:
· It's safe to ask questions
· It's safe to admit mistakes
· It's safe to challenge ideas—even leadership's ideas
When psychological safety is present, employees don't fear embarrassment, retaliation, or being labeled "difficult." Instead, they focus their energy on learning, improving, and contributing.
Psychological safety isn't about being "nice" or avoiding accountability. It's about creating an environment where people feel safe to tell the truth—especially when it's uncomfortable. For leaders, this is not a "soft skill." It's a performance multiplier. Timothy R. Clark's "The 4 Stages of Psychological Safety" offers a structured approach to fostering psychologically safe teams. The stages include:
1. Inclusion Safety: Ensuring all team members feel included and valued.
2. Learner Safety: Encouraging team members to seek new information and ask questions without fear of judgment.
3. Contributor Safety: Empowering team members to make significant contributions and recognizing their efforts.
4. Challenger Safety: Embracing healthy conflict and encouraging team members to challenge assumptions and voice opinions.
It's clear that high-performing teams don't just work harder—they speak up more. They share concerns early, challenge assumptions, and learn from mistakes.
Fostering psychological safety involves intentional leadership behaviors and team rituals that normalize vulnerability, curiosity, and learning from failure. Based on Google's research and related frameworks like those from Dr. Amy Edmondson, here are some concrete examples of how to foster this environment:
1. Model Vulnerability and Fallibility
Leaders can set the tone by showing they don't have all the answers and that it is safe to make mistakes.
Admit Mistakes Publicly: Share a recent "misstep" during a team meeting, emphasizing what you learned and what you would do differently next time.
Express Doubt: Use phrases like "I don't know the answer to that" or "I might be wrong here" to invite others to share their perspectives without fear.
Host an "Anxiety Party": Have team members write down their biggest work-related anxieties and rank them. Sharing these helps normalize insecurities and find collective ways to move forward.
2. Practice Inclusive Meeting Norms
Ensure every voice is heard to prevent a few dominant personalities from controlling the conversation.
Conversational Turn-Taking: Monitor participation to ensure everyone speaks in roughly the same proportion. Use "round-robin" sharing, where each person gets a turn without interruption.
Silent Starts: Begin meetings with 10 minutes of silent, independent idea writing before sharing. This protects introverts and prevents "groupthink".
Check-in Prompts: Start meetings with non-work-related questions, such as "How are you showing up today on a scale of 1–10?" to build personal connections.
3. Reframe Failure as Learning
Shift the team's mindset from blaming individuals to improving collective processes.
Blameless Post-Mortems: After a project fails or a mistake occurs, conduct a review focused on "what went wrong with our process?" rather than "who messed up?"
Failure Parties: Hold sessions where team members share recent failures and the specific lessons gained, effectively "removing the stigma" from getting things wrong.
"What's the Risky Idea?": Dedicate the last five minutes of a strategy session to asking, "What is the risky idea we are avoiding discussing?"
4. Actively Solicit Feedback and Dissent
Please don't wait for team members to speak up; create structured opportunities for them to do so safely.
Appreciate the Messenger: Give special thanks to people who raise uncomfortable issues or share bad news, reinforcing that truth-telling is valued.
Appoint a "Devil's Advocate": Rotate a role in meetings specifically tasked with pressure-testing ideas and finding blind spots.
Anonymous Input Channels: Use digital tools, such as feedback or suggestion boxes, to capture concerns from team members who might otherwise stay silent.
Why Feedback and Psychological Safety Are Inseparable
Feedback is one of the most common leadership behaviors—and one of the most dangerous when handled poorly.
Without psychological safety:
Feedback feels like criticism
Silence replaces honesty
Problems stay hidden until they become crises
With psychological safety:
Feedback becomes information
Employees self-correct sooner
Learning happens faster
In other words, feedback only works when safety exists.
How Leaders Accidentally Destroy Psychological Safety
Most leaders don't intend to shut people down—but small behaviors send powerful signals:
Reacting defensively to bad news
Interrupting or dismissing ideas
Publicly correcting people without context
Asking for feedback but explaining it away
Rewarding results while punishing transparency
Over time, employees learn a simple lesson: "It's safer to stay quiet."
The Leader's Role: Make It Safe Before Making It Better
Before leaders can improve performance, they must make it safe to talk about performance.
1. Normalize Fallibility
Strong leaders don't pretend to have all the answers. They say things like:
"I may be missing something—what do you see?"
"I made the wrong call on this. Here's what I learned."
"Thanks for catching that."
When leaders model humility, teams learn that mistakes are part of progress—not a personal failure.
2. Separate Feedback from Identity
Effective feedback focuses on behaviors and outcomes, not character.
Wrong: "You're not detail-oriented."
Better: "This report missed three data points—let's walk through how to catch those next time."
This distinction preserves dignity while still maintaining accountability.
3. Invite Feedback Upward—and Mean It
Psychological safety collapses if leaders ask for feedback but punish honesty. Try:
"What's one thing I could do differently to support the team better?"
"Where am I unintentionally making your job harder?"
Then listen. Don't defend. Don't explain. Thank them—and act.
Giving Feedback That Builds Safety (Not Fear)
Great feedback is clear, timely, and respectful. I find a simple leader-friendly structure provides the best results:
Describe the situation (fact-based)
Explain the impact
Invite dialogue
Example:
"In yesterday's meeting, the decision was made before all options were discussed. That limited input from the team. What was going on for you in that moment?"
This approach opens the conversation rather than closing it.
Receiving Feedback: The Ultimate Safety Test
How leaders respond to feedback teaches the team whether speaking up is worth it. When receiving feedback:
Pause before responding
Assume positive intent
Say "Thank you for telling me."
Ask clarifying questions
Reflect before deciding what to change
Even if you disagree, respectful curiosity maintains safety.
Psychological Safety Does Not Eliminate Accountability
A common myth is that psychological safety means lowering standards. The opposite is true. The best teams combine:
High safety → People speak up
High accountability → Work improves
Leaders who master both create cultures where:
Problems surface early
Feedback flows freely
Learning is continuous
A Reflection for Leaders
Ask yourself:
Do people bring me bad news quickly—or late?
Do meetings invite debate—or silence?
When was the last time someone challenged my thinking?
Your answers reveal the level of psychological safety on your team.
Final Thought
Psychological safety is built one interaction at a time. Every reaction, every question, every piece of feedback sends a signal.
Leaders who create safety don't just get better results—they build trust, resilience, and teams that are willing to give their best thinking, not just their compliance. And in today's complex, fast-moving world, honest thinking is the most valuable asset a leader can unlock.
