
How do you conduct difficult conversations in your team? This question leads us directly to the topic of psychological safety, which has received increasing attention in recent years.
Companies like Google have recognized that psychological safety is not only a concept for better teamwork, but also the key to inclusion and continuous learning. To learn more about it, I decided to study further in this field - at the Bern University of Applied Sciences under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Ina Goller, an expert in this field and head of the EMBA program in Innovation.
Already on my first day of training as a psychological safety facilitator my brain got plenty of food and inspiration!
My three main highlights from the first day of training:
Psychological safety does not mean that everyone "feels comfortable". Rather, it is about being able to discuss difficult topics openly - without fear of negative consequences.
"Psychological safety is not the goal" - Ina Goller. Psychological safety helps teams - regardless of industry or environment - to better achieve their goals and to master the challenges of everyday life more effectively.
Without psychological safety, important questions remain unspoken, problems remain unsolved and potential remains unused. If the same people always speak, or everyone talks a lot and no one listens enough, new perspectives are lacking. If mistakes are not openly shared and reflected upon together, valuable learning is not achieved.
I would like to discuss all three findings in more detail in this article.
1. Psychological safety as a success factor
Why do some teams achieve more than others, even though their members are equally competent? The Google study from 2012 to 2016 shows that it is less about who is on the team, but rather how the team works together.
Teams with high psychological safety:
are more productive and innovative
dare to address mistakes and learn from them
benefit more from diversity because different perspectives are heard.
Without psychological safety, important questions remain unspoken, problems unsolved and potential unused.
Interestingly, teams with low psychological safety and high diversity perform worse than teams with little diversity. This means that diversity only develops its potential when psychological safety is present.
Or in the words of our guest lecturer, Florian Rohr (Swisscom): Psychological safety is investment protection for diversity.
Of course, psychological safety is not the only factor for success. There are certainly teams with toxic cultures and low psychological safety that are successful in the long term - often because performance is forced by pressure, competition or strict hierarchies. Success is possible - but often at high human and corporate costs.
2. Learning means being allowed to make mistakes – change means growing from them
We humans do not learn effectively under fear or pressure. The concept of locus of control shows that those who feel controlled by others or powerless participate less actively in the learning process.
Carl Rogers emphasized back in 1965 that individual learning is the basis for organizational change. But change often triggers uncertainty – especially when mistakes are seen as weakness rather than as a learning opportunity.
How can organizations create a culture where people dare to try new things without fear of negative consequences?
A helpful model for developing psychological safety is the four-stage model developed by Timothy R. Clark:
Inclusion Safety: The basic feeling of being accepted as a human being.
Learner Safety: The safety of being able to ask questions and make mistakes.
Contributor Safety: The confidence to contribute your own ideas and contributions.
Challenger Safety: The courage to question existing structures or decisions.
Each of these levels builds on the previous one – if one is missing, the entire team climate can suffer. The Permission and Respect axes do not grow linearly, but exponentially:
The higher the psychological safety, the more encouraged people feel to get involved – and the more their voice is respected.
Interesting question: What are the initiation rituals in your team? At what point does someone really “belong”?
3. Examples from science and practice
In 1979, NASA realized that plane crashes were not just technical errors, but were often the result of critical voices being ignored for too long. This led to the creation of Crew Resource Management (CRM), which promotes clear communication structures and a feedback culture.
Psychological safety does not mean that everyone simply “feels comfortable”.
It is about ensuring that unpleasant topics can be discussed openly and critical perspectives are heard.
Another example: Between 2012 and 2016, Google investigated why some teams perform better than others. The result: It's not just about who is on the team (i.e. the individual skills), but above all about how the team works together. 30% of performance is directly related to psychological safety.
4. Questions that I would like to pursue and explore further
To what extent is psychological safety influenced by culture? How do cultural differences affect the perception and experience of psychological safety?
What do we need to pay attention to if we want to promote psychological safety in culturally diverse teams? What particular challenges arise here and how can we address them effectively?
How can I, as an individual, actively contribute to the psychological safety of my team? Which small behavioral changes have a particularly big impact on the team climate?
What happens when team members are confronted with high vulnerability? How does this affect psychological safety and trust within the team?
What happens when a new team member does not perform satisfactorily on a team with high psychological safety? How does it affect the team if the person never fully experiences the four levels of psychological safety?
Conclusion: Psychological safety as a future competence
Many of the so-called “future skills” – such as the ability to learn, creativity, resilience and collaboration – are directly related to psychological safety. It determines whether teams reach their full potential, whether innovative ideas emerge and whether difficult but necessary conversations are held.
Psychological safety is not something that happens automatically, but it can be experienced through small, targeted behavioral impulses.
Through simple, everyday actions and mindful communication, leaders and team members can create a space where everyone feels safe to voice their opinion or talk about mistakes. More on this in the next blog post.
What role does it play in your work environment? Have you experienced situations in which psychological safety made the difference - or was missing when it would have been particularly important? I look forward to hearing your thoughts and experiences!
Thanks to Ina Goller, guest lecturer Jonas Naizdion and guest lecturer Florian Rohr for this fantastic start to this training course. I am looking forward to the next training days!