psychological safety

The value of coaching

A coach is a dedicated partner in your development, helping you clarify your goals, define what you want to achieve, and align your actions with your aspirations. Through a safe and reflective environment, a coach supports meaningful self-discovery, encourages deeper insight, and listens with empathy while serving as a strategic thought partner. By asking powerful questions, a coach helps uncover solutions, expand perspectives, and strengthen both leadership capability and self-awareness. A coach also challenges limiting assumptions, guides you in articulating your core values, and provides consistent accountability to ensure follow-through and sustained progress. Interested?

Contact with me via this link to schedule a complimentary 30-minute discovery call.

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What do you think?

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c/o Maja de Silva

Does your organisation have a culture of silence?

A culture of silence poses a significant threat to psychological safety. When fear becomes part of the environment, people hold back their ideas, concerns, and insights. This often happens when the message challenges existing norms or raises uncomfortable truths. Even when someone does speak up, colleagues may overlook the comment, minimise the concern, or fail to engage with genuine curiosity.

Here's an example of psychological bravery: A team member notices that a project is heading in the wrong direction because key assumptions are no longer valid. The project has high visibility, senior leaders are heavily invested, and no one has questioned the approach before. Speaking up may risk being seen as difficult, negative, or disruptive.

Despite this, the team member raises the issue during a meeting. They explain the data, outline the risks, and offer alternative paths forward. They speak calmly and respectfully, with a focus on transparency and shared responsibility, even though the message is uncomfortable. I think this action represents psychological bravery because it invites openness in a situation where silence may feel safer. The person places collective success above personal comfort, which strengthens trust, accountability, and learning within the team. What do you think?

What is psychological safety?

c/o Maja de Silva 

Psychological safety is a shared belief among team members that it is safe to take interpersonal risks, for example, to speak up, share ideas, or admit mistakes without fear of retribution, humiliation, or harsh criticism. The concept was first defined by Amy Edmondson, Professor at Harvard Business School.

Psychological safety does not mean that everyone must always agree or avoid difficult conversations. It does not encourage false harmony or unearned praise. Instead, it allows for candour, constructive disagreement, and the free exchange of ideas.

When psychological safety is present, everyone’s voice matters. People feel encouraged to ask questions, raise concerns, and offer new perspectives. Edmondson used “the soil, not the seed” as a metaphor for the environment that allows learning and growth to happen.

In organisations with high psychological safety, good things happen:
· Mistakes are reported quickly, allowing for rapid corrective action.
·  Collaboration across teams and departments becomes seamless.
·   Innovative, game-changing ideas are shared rather than hidden.

I think psychological safety is therefore not a “soft” concept, it is a strategic source of value creation in complex, fast-changing environments where learning, adaptability, and innovation are essential. What do you think?

How to improve psychological safety

To improve psychological safety, leaders must:

  • Encourage open dialogue and active listening, especially around difficult topics

  • Reward those who raise concerns, rather than isolate them

  • Create systems where feedback is not just heard but acted upon

Psychological safety is not only about avoiding conflict; it is about creating an environment where truth can be spoken and heard.

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Managing relationships

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I recently came across the concept of relational intelligence, described as the ability to understand, navigate, and effectively manage interpersonal relationships. I think this is how trust is built, inclusion is felt, and where safety becomes the norm rather than the exception.

Perhaps it’s time for leaders to turn to their HR partners and ask the deeper, more human questions:
- Do my team members, especially those with less positional power, feel seen, heard, and valued?
- How do I react when someone gives me hard feedback?
- Have I made space lately for challenge, dissent, or alternative viewpoints?
- Am I showing people I care about who they are, not just what they produce?

These are not just performance questions, they are relational ones, and they might be the key to unlocking safer, stronger teams.

Face the facts

Organisations navigating change need to slow down, examine their assumptions and avoid snap judgments that can alienate employees. I think building shared psychological safety means ensuring everyone feels heard and considered, not just the loudest or most senior voices. Leaders need to be willing to sit with discomfort, recognising that genuine transformation often challenges their own perspectives. Too often, the emotional burden of change is outsourced to middle managers or HR teams, who are expected to absorb employees’ fears and frustrations without adequate support themselves. While HR typically serves the strategic interests of the organisation, it’s crucial to balance this role with a genuine commitment to employee wellbeing and ethical practices.

Giving energy at work

Psychological bravery is the bridge that allows authentic dialogue, even when the room feels unsafe. It’s the quiet courage to speak the truth when it feels risky. It’s the act of not shrinking, and trusting my own voice even when it shakes. Over the years, whether facilitating dialogue, supporting systems of change, or mentoring others, I have learned something important: safety and bravery are not opposites. They need each other.

Safety creates the foundation for bravery to flourish. And bravery — especially from those in positions of power — is what helps build lasting safety for others. I often ask myself: “Whose safety are we protecting, and who is paying the price for it?” It’s a question worth holding onto as we seek to build more inclusive, courageous spaces.

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Navigating a minefield

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I work with leaders and senior executives to help them lead employees from marginalised and underrepresented backgrounds with greater empathy and confidence. I'm not a performer, I’m genuine, grounded, and deeply curious about people. I build meaningful connections because I truly care about getting to know the individuals I work with. This curiosity has shaped my life and career. I've been fortunate to work across learning and development, consulting, DEI implementation, and coaching. I create a safe, non-judgmental space where people can take off their masks, speak honestly, and share what’s truly on their hearts, knowing they will be met with respect and understanding.

Trust and safety

c/o LinkedIn

Trust and safety are essential in a coaching relationship because our brains are constantly scanning for perceived threats or rewards. The amygdala plays a crucial role in this process, as it interprets sensory data from our environment to anticipate potential outcomes. When a situation feels unsafe or uncertain, the amygdala triggers a stress response, which can hinder our ability to think clearly. In contrast, the prefrontal cortex—responsible for executive functions such as deep thinking, problem-solving, decision-making, and memory—operates most effectively in a psychologically safe environment. This is why creating trust and safety in coaching is vital; it allows the prefrontal cortex to function optimally, enabling meaningful reflection and growth.

You are welcome

Traditionally, diversity focuses on the usual characteristics of gender, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, etc. I look forward to the day when diversity also incorporates individual values, experiences, knowledge, and ideas. I think that when organisations truly understand their employees, they can effectively target their focus areas by using employee surveys to gauge how employees feel across a broad range of indicators. These indicators can include areas like inclusion, wellbeing, the safety to speak up, hybrid working, strategy and purpose, and even customer-facing interactions and collaboration. Within this framework, organisations could ask a series of specific demographic questions to better understand how different communities feel.