Psychological Safety: The Truth, the Risks, and the Leadership Behaviours That Matter
- emily4478
- 36 minutes ago
- 5 min read
by Sarah Farmer, CEO Bright & Brilliant Leadership
Psychological safety is a term that’s widely used and often poorly understood. It’s not about being nice or avoiding challenging situations.
In today’s volatile, fast-changing environment, psychological safety is no longer a nice-to-have. It is a strategic imperative for organisations that want to thrive (not just survive) over the next decade.
With rapid advances in AI and ongoing disruption to roles, careers and industries, many employees are already operating in a heightened state of uncertainty that leads to lower levels of ‘safety’. That matters because when our brains are preoccupied with threat, particularly around things we can’t control, our ability to think clearly, make decisions and perform at our best is significantly reduced. This has an impact on results which hit the bottom line hard.
This is where the work of Professor David Rock (NeuroLeadership Institute) is particularly useful. His SCARF framework highlights five core social needs that must be met for psychological safety to exist: status, certainty, autonomy, relatedness and fairness.
In simple terms, someone experiencing psychological safety feels valued, understands what’s expected of them, knows the boundaries but has freedom to think, feels part of something bigger, and believes they are being treated equitably.
When these needs are met more of the time, people are far more likely to speak up earlier, think more clearly, make better decisions, collaborate effectively and innovate with confidence. Expecting to get this right all of the time is unrealistic. Even well-intentioned leaders can unintentionally undermine safety. For example, sharing information about an upcoming change with only part of a team may seem harmless, but those left out will inevitably fill the gaps themselves, often with stories that damage trust, motivation and focus.
The goal isn’t perfection. It’s to create psychological safety more of the time, so when it dips, as it inevitably will, the impact is minimised.
Why Leaders Might Struggle to Create Psychological Safety
Most leaders don’t set out to create unsafe environments. The challenge is that the conditions required to create it are rarely taught, measured or reinforced.
Leadership roles are often awarded based on technical expertise or past individual performance rather than people capability. The assumption is that strong performers will naturally become strong leaders. In reality, leadership is a learned skill, and without development, many default to what previously brought success: problem-solving, direction and control. These behaviours aren’t wrong, but they don’t automatically create psychological safety.
Many organisations also reward leaders almost exclusively on numbers. When success is defined primarily by short-term results, pace and delivery, it subtly signals that outcomes matter more than how they’re achieved. Therefore, under pressure, people development and psychological safety are often deprioritised, despite being essential for sustainable performance.
Finally, pressure itself changes behaviour. In fast-moving, high-stakes environments, leaders are more likely to default to certainty and control rather than curiosity. Questions are replaced with answers. Exploration gives way to efficiency. Over time, this teaches teams that it’s safer to comply than to contribute.
This isn’t about bad intent. It’s about leaders operating in systems that value control, speed and expertise, while expecting trust, openness and innovation to emerge on their own.
The Impact of Low Psychological Safety
When psychological safety is missing, the effects are rarely instant, but they are deeply damaging over time. They tend to show up in three very predictable ways.
1. Confidence Erodes
In low-safety environments, people begin to second-guess themselves. They hesitate before speaking, over-prepare before acting and become increasingly focused on how they’re perceived.
This isn’t a lack of capability; it’s a response to uncertainty. When people are unsure how their ideas, questions or mistakes will be received, they monitor themselves more closely. Over time, that constant self-checking chips away at confidence.
It’s often in these conditions that imposter-style thinking takes hold, not because people aren’t good enough, but because the environment makes self-belief harder to sustain.
2. Motivation Shifts from Contribution to Self-Protection
Psychological safety is a key driver of discretionary effort; the energy people choose to give beyond what’s required.
When safety drops, initiative slows, enthusiasm fades and the desire to go the extra mile quietly disappears. People still do their jobs, but motivation becomes transactional: they give what’s necessary, and no more.
This is self-preservation masquerading as disengagement, and if ignored, it leads to higher incidences of presenteeism (presence without productivity), and quiet quitting (productivity without commitment).
3. Communication Becomes Filtered
This is the most visible impact and one leaders can act on immediately.
In low-safety environments, silence is mistaken for agreement. People stop saying what they really think and start saying what feels safe enough. Leaders hear what’s they want to hear, not what’s accurate or necessary.
In practice, concerns are raised tentatively or not at all. Meetings appear aligned, while real conversations happen afterwards, in corridors or in private messages. By the time the full picture emerges, the opportunity to act early & minimise the impact has often passed.
Three Leadership Behaviours That Build Psychological Safety
The good news is, psychological safety can be created in everyday leadership moments, even under pressure. These three behaviours offer a practical starting point.
1. From Ambiguity to Clarity
Uncertainty creates threat. When expectations or decisions are unclear, people fill the gaps themselves.
Be explicit about priorities, decision boundaries and the why behind choices. Explaining what was considered and what won’t change, even if it feels uncomfortable, reduces unnecessary anxiety and allows people to focus on doing good work.
2. From Control to Curiosity
Under pressure, leaders often default to telling. This can unintentionally shut down thinking and discourage challenge.
Pause before solving. Ask at least one genuine question before offering a view, such as: “What are your thoughts on this?” Curiosity invites contribution and improves decision quality, whilst increasing feelings of ‘safety’, without weakening authority.
3. From Surface Updates to Real Check-Ins
Psychological safety isn’t built in group meetings alone. It’s strengthened when leaders take time to understand how individuals are thinking & feeling, particularly around changes, pressure or uncertainty.
Use regular one-to-one conversations to explore what’s working, what they enjoy, what’s worrying them or feel unsure, without immediately jumping to solutions or retreating to the safety of a discussion around numbers.
Leaders who invest this time build higher levels of trust, commitment and performance. Confidence stabilises, and ‘risks’ are uncovered earlier before they become costly.
Psychological safety isn’t about removing pressure, lowering standards or giving employees ultimate control. It’s about creating the conditions where people can think clearly, speak honestly and contribute fully, especially when the stakes are high.
It does require leaders to have the emotional intelligence, confidence and people leadership skills that ensure they can focus on clarity, curiosity and meaningful connection. When this happens, confidence stabilises, motivation returns and communication improves.
Over time, this doesn’t just shape culture, it protects performance and gives organisations a genuine edge in the pursuit of sustainable success.
Sarah Farmer is the CEO and founder of Bright & Brilliant leadership coaching. Sarah is a multi-award-winning Global Executive Coach and the go-to expert for overcoming Imposter Syndrome. As the best-selling author of Leader Unleashed, Sarah empowers emerging and current C&D-suite executives to shine brighter by building the right level of confidence and developing brilliant leadership skills. Named one of the top executive coaches to follow for game-changing success, Sarah helps brilliant minds break free from self-limits. Her programs foster emotional intelligence, communication excellence, and high-performance cultures, enabling leaders to lead brightly and create environments where everyone thrives.
Through her transformative coaching, Sarah drives positive, lasting behavioural change that changes the fortunes of both individuals and organisations.
Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn here.
