Taking a leap of faith – Psychological safety in practice

Did you know that it’s not the smartest teams that are the most effective?

It’s not the teams with the most time, money, or people that succeed the most.

It’s the teams that have something entirely different...

Amy Edmondson, the researcher who coined the term, describes psychological safety as a

work environment where people dare to take interpersonal risks. Where we feel safe enough

to say:

“I don’t know.”

“I have an idea.”

“I made a mistake.”

“I need help.”

It may sound simple – but it’s incredibly hard at times. Because it takes courage.

Courage to step up and courage to stay.

So what’s the difference between courage and safety?

If courage is taking a leap of faith into the unknown, then safety is knowing someone will

catch me.

When I was new as a manager, I walked around terrified that someone would figure out I had

no idea what I was doing. That fear of being “found out” is something I’ve heard leader after

leader describe. And to those of you who feel this way, I want to say: Good. That means

you’re human, not a machine. You don’t need to have all the answers – you need to be

curious, open, and facilitate the path forward for your team. That’s what being brave looks

like.

Of course, we need both – the structural understanding of psychological safety and tools for

courageous leadership.

For vulnerability. For trust. It’s easy to say we want creative teams, more innovation, more

ideas. It’s easy to say we want to build a culture of ideas. But are we prepared to hold the

space when someone shares a shaky idea? Are we prepared to stay when someone spreads

their wings – and maybe crashes? How do we handle mistakes? How do we show up when

something feels off? Have we trained our own courage to be uncomfortable?

Psychological safety is not the same as being nice or avoiding conflict.

On the contrary – WE WANT CREATIVE CONFLICT. It means being safe enough in our

relationships to disagree intellectually and ideologically. To challenge each other. To grow.

Brave leaders dare to go first.

They dare to show their failures.

They dare to ask the questions no one else dares to ask.

And brave leaders build the safety needed for others to dare, too.

So next time you lead a meeting – ask yourself: Have I created a space where people dare to

speak up? Have I dared myself?

Because safety and courage go hand in hand. One requires the other.

And the kind of leadership that lasts is the one that understands that cultures are built – one

brave idea, one listening moment, one safe space at a time.

/Alexandra Åbrandt

Ready to explore what this could look like in your boardroom?

In our workshops, we’ll dive deep into the why, what, and how:

Psychological Safety in the Boardroom with Alexandra Åbrandt

Check the upcoming dates here.