How leaders create Psychological Safety
The everyday leadership habits that shape whether people speak up or stay silent
Why Psychological Safety starts with leaders
In our previous article, What Is Psychological Safety, we explored what psychological safety really means - the shared belief that people can ask questions, share ideas, and admit mistakes without fear of blame or embarrassment.
It’s what turns a group of capable individuals into a learning team. When people feel safe to speak up, they solve problems faster, learn from missteps, and collaborate more freely.
But psychological safety doesn’t appear by chance. It’s shaped, in everyday moments, by how leaders act and react. Every look, word, or response sends a signal about what’s encouraged, what’s ignored, and what’s risky.
Amy Edmondson, who coined the term, puts it simply:
“Leaders are signal generators. Everything you say and do is amplified by the power you hold.”
The CIPD’s 2024 Trust and Psychological Safety review backs this up, finding that leaders’ day-to-day behaviour is the single biggest influence on team safety. People judge safety less by stated values than by how their managers act under pressure. Authenticity, fairness and benevolence — showing care as well as competence — are the traits most strongly linked to trust and openness.
The small moments that create psychological safety
Do you ever catch yourself sighing or rolling your eyes when someone raises a tricky issue? Do you occasionally jump straight in with the answer before anyone else has spoken? Do you rush to wrap up meetings with no space for questions or discussion?
None of this is deliberate. Most leaders want open, collaborative teams. But under pressure, habits take over: quick fixes, defensiveness, impatience. Over time, those small reactions accumulate into a culture of caution.
How Leaders Create Psychological Safety
The evidence is clear: psychologically safe teams aren’t built by grand gestures but by consistent, everyday habits that signal respect, inclusion and curiosity. The CIPD’s findings show that leaders who model integrity and empathy strengthen both trust and performance. Here are the core behaviours that build safety, trust, and openness.
1. Model Fallibility and Learning
People don’t expect leaders to be perfect. They expect them to be honest. When you share your own mistakes or learning moments, you permit others to do the same. Try using language like:
“I might be missing something here…”
“That didn’t work as I hoped — what can we learn from it?”
These simple phrases show that speaking up isn’t a weakness; it’s part of how the team improves.
Tip: In your team catch-up up ask each person to share one thing that didn’t go as planned that week. Conversations will become more honest, and small problems will surface sooner.
2. React Well to Bad News
When someone shares a mistake, your reaction will determine whether it happens again, not the mistake itself, but the silence that might follow next time. If your first response is blame or frustration, people learn that honesty is risky. If your response is curiosity, they learn that honesty is safe. This turns blame into learning, and keeps people focused on fixing, not hiding, problems.
As one senior leader quoted in the CIPD review put it, “People are very scared about delivering bad news … but it breeds high trust if you deliver it honestly, with care and compassion.”
Tip: Shift from “Why did this happen?” to “What do we know now that we didn’t before?” or “What can we learn from this?”
3. Invite Voice and Input
Psychological safety thrives when people are asked for their perspectives. But asking isn’t enough; it’s how you respond that counts. It’s a simple loop: ask → listen → acknowledge → act (or explain why not). When someone shares an idea, acknowledge it even if you can’t act on it: Use phrases like:
“That’s an interesting angle. I might not have time to explore it this week, but I appreciate you raising it.”
Tip: In meetings ask open questions, “What are we missing?”,“Who else needs to be involved?”. Leave a silence after you ask. People need space to think before speaking. Rotate who speaks first it changes group dynamics more than you’d think.
4. Share the Why, Not Just the What
People feel safer when they understand context. Explaining why a decision was made, even if they disagree, helps people feel respected and included. Transparency builds safety; mystery breeds anxiety. Clarity builds confidence. Even tough messages land better when people feel they’re being treated like adults.
Tip: Try using short context statements like: “This is the reasoning behind this change…”, “We’ve made this decision because…” or “I know this may be unpopular with some of you, here’s how we got there.”
5. Listen to Learn, Not to Reply
Leaders under pressure often slip into listening for efficiency, scanning for the problem so they can fix it quickly. But listening to learn is different: it means being curious rather than certain. You don’t need to agree with everything you hear. Just showing genuine curiosity changes the dynamic. Ask yourself:
Do I interrupt to speed things up?
Do I tend to defend my position or explore theirs?
Do I leave people feeling heard, or dismissed?
6. Recognise and Reinforce Openness
What gets rewarded gets repeated. When someone speaks up with a tough message or brave idea, recognise it even if it’s uncomfortable. This kind of reinforcement shows that candour is valued, not punished. Over time, it becomes self-sustaining: people see that honesty leads to action. Recognition and fairness go hand in hand. The CIPD’s evidence shows that when leaders acknowledge contributions transparently and apply standards consistently, trust rises — and so does people’s willingness to speak up.
“I appreciate you flagging that. It’s important we talk about it.”
How Leaders Accidentally Destroy Psychological Safety
Psychological Safety Workshop
No leader sets out to create fear. But certain behaviours, often driven by stress, speed, or good intentions, can erode safety fast. The CIPD review warns that even well-intentioned leaders can undermine safety through everyday micro-behaviours: interruptions, defensiveness, or inconsistent follow-through that quietly erode trust.
Here are some of the most common:
1. Interrupting or Over-Talking: When leaders dominate airtime, others learn that silence is safer than contribution.
2. Dismissing Ideas Too Quickly: Even a quick “That won’t work” can shut down creativity. It’s fine to disagree - just explore before rejecting.
3. Defensiveness Under Pressure: If you feel personally criticised when someone raises a concern, it can trigger a defensive reaction that discourages future honesty.
4. Using Blame Language: Phrases like “Who’s responsible for this?” or “Why didn’t you…?” create fear rather than ownership. Try “Can you explain what happened?” or “What can we do differently next time?” instead.
5. Inconsistent Behaviour: Saying “my door is always open” but reacting badly when someone walks through it undermines trust faster than anything else.
A practical example
One senior leader I coached realised they were unintentionally discouraging openness. Every meeting began with a long “update” from the CEO, followed by a short discussion where only a few others spoke. We flipped the format: they now open by asking, “What’s on your mind?” or “What do I need to know that I might be missing?”
That single shift, from broadcasting to curiosity, changed the energy in the room. Others started challenging, suggesting, and supporting each other in ways they hadn’t before.
Practical Habits to Try This Week
To keep this simple and actionable, pick one of these small experiments. These small shifts make the biggest difference over time
Ask a learning question at your next meeting: “What did we learn from that?”
Acknowledge a tough truth: “Thanks for raising that — I know it wasn’t easy to say.”
Share a fallibility moment: something you’ve learned or changed your mind about.
Pause before replying to ideas - count to five before responding.
Invite feedback on your leadership: “What’s one thing I could do to make it easier to speak up?”
In summary
Psychological safety doesn’t mean everything feels comfortable. It means people can stretch, experiment, and challenge without fear. Leaders create that environment - one conversation at a time. Every reaction, question, and acknowledgement sends a signal.
The good news? You don’t have to get it perfect. Just be willing to learn out loud and invite others to do the same.
For more on Psychological Safety, read our other articles:
Would you like to strengthen psychological safety in your team?
I work with leaders and their teams to strengthen psychological safety, communication, and collaboration through facilitation, coaching, and leadership development. If you’d like to explore how to build psychological safety in your team, get in touch >
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