I’ve been prepping to teach a graduate level seminar this fall around the topic of Trust. One of the questions that stayed with me from Amy Edmondson’s The Fearless Organization is whether leaders are responsible for making employees feel safe. My contrarian response is, “No!” 

Leaders are responsible for creating the conditions in which people can speak honestly, question decisions, acknowledge mistakes and ask for help without fearing humiliation or retaliation. Leaders cannot, however, guarantee that every person will always feel comfortable or safe. Psychological safety is a shared workplace climate, not an emotional state that a leader can manufacture for another person.

Speaking honestly to someone with more authority is rarely risk-free. Employees may worry about being viewed as difficult, disloyal, negative or less competent. These concerns become particularly significant in organizations with lots of hierarchy--authority is distributed unevenly across presidents, vice presidents, directors, managers, unit leads and staff. The people closest to a problem may have the least power to raise it.

This makes leadership behaviour even more important. A leader’s response to unwelcome information teaches everyone in the room what brutal honesty will cost. When an employee raises a concern and the leader becomes defensive, interrupts, questions the employee’s motives or excludes that person from future conversations, the lesson travels quickly. Other people learn that silence is the safer choice.

What Psychological Safety Isn’t

A workplace culture of psychological safety should not be confused with comfort, agreement or protection from consequences. A psychologically safe workplace still contains difficult feedback, demanding standards and consequential decisions. Employees should be able to admit a mistake without being humiliated, but they may still be held accountable for correcting it. They should be able to challenge a decision, but the leader may still decide differently. Psychological safety gives people a fair opportunity to contribute; it does not give every individual a voice whenever they want it or the right to change practices as they see fit.

Bosses are responsible for the conditions of psychological safety, but not for guaranteeing everyone’s comfort. A leader might act fairly and transparently, yet an employee may still experience anxiety during a difficult conversation. The leader’s responsibility is not to eliminate that anxiety or distress. It is to ensure that the anxiety is not reinforced with lack of clarity in the workplace.

Is Everyone Responsible for a Safe Workplace?

Yes. Employees also have responsibilities. They must raise concerns in good faith, listen to others, distinguish disagreement from disrespect and accept reasonable accountability. Please, offer up your thoughts at appropriate times and places, like when the floor of a meeting is opened to questions, during your one-on-ones, or in an email to the person who can impact the problem you see. Remember, there is a time and place for challenging the status quo. You will wear out your welcome if you blurt out your thoughts as they come to you or get in a habit of interrupting the flow of work for the team. If you’re not sure how to bring up the important feedback you are sitting on, ask your leader for clear guidance for raising concerns or sharing new ideas in a way they will be considered.

Setting the Tone for Speaking Up

Leaders, your end of the bargain is to encourage and model truth telling, protect people from retaliation, respond constructively to difficult information and maintain fair accountability. Your team will need structure around these ideals for the work to move productively. Policies and practices need to reflect your expectations around speaking up. 

Maybe you think you’ve already set that tone by consistently ending meetings with the line, “Any Questions?” as you close your laptop and head for the door. If this is the case, I’m going to challenge you. If you truly want a different perspective in your meeting try:

“What am I missing?”  or

“What am I not thinking about that might make this idea go sideways?”  or

“Does anyone see this differently?”

These questions are more effective and help increase psychological safety.  Then sit still and wait. It’s your job to read the room and encourage everyone to participate.

Equally as important when you get questions, appreciate them, plan a follow through to action and close the loop. Actually say, “Thank you for bringing that forward. I’ll consider it and get back to you by mid-week with that answer.” As Edmonson writes, it’s a powerful psychological safety reinforcement to invite participation and respond productively. 

Maybe you’re that boss who’s got it covered by saying, “My door is always open.” Again, a broad gesture, even if it is sincere, does not necessarily create psychological safety. To build that culture, you’ll need to do the work of making the rounds and directly asking folks for feedback. You’ll also need to demonstrate consistently that you use some of the feedback you receive by giving credit where it’s due. If you haven’t established a pattern of seeking and listening to diverse perspectives, that open door just creates a draft.

A Better Leadership Question

The quality of leadership isn’t measured by how quickly a room reaches apparent agreement. It’s measured by whether the leader can create the conditions for important information to enter the room before the decision is made. The next time a meeting becomes quiet, resist the temptation to treat silence as consent.

Pause.

Look around the room.

Ask a better question.

The most valuable contribution to your decision may be sitting unspoken in the mind of someone who is still deciding whether telling you the truth is worth the risk.