This is the English translation of the article published on “Forme” (June 2025)
Let’s talk about psychological safety, a concept around which thousands of certified professionals have gathered, supporting businesses in creating work environments that stimulate contributions, communication and bring out people’s potential.
Psychological safety was brought to attention by Harvard researcher Amy Edmondson. An international movement has emerged around this concept, involving thousands of certified professionals who are responding to a growing demand from businesses. Why has psychological safety become so relevant? Because it influences business performance. Its presence creates an environment that stimulates contributions, transparent communication, brings out potential, fueling continuous improvement and innovation. It helps create a work environment that attracts talented young people and provides motivation to stay for those who want to contribute, implementing active “age management” policies. But what is (and what is not) psychological safety, how does it impact performance, why does it evolve culture and organization, and how does it spread? It has to do with the perception that we can expose ourselves, as we work, to contribute to the common outcome. It is not an individual trait, a personality trait, it has nothing to do with being an introvert or extrovert, it is a product of the team because it is related to the climate that is created when people work together in relation to performance.
Let’s give some examples. We are in a meeting, something we are not familiar with is being discussed, we have some questions: do we ask them or do we keep quiet? We don’t know how to proceed, we haven’t understood the objective: do we pose the topic or go on as if nothing happened? We don’t agree with the leader: do we talk or do we keep quiet? We have a different proposal: do we share it or keep it to ourselves? We made a mistake: do we hide the mistake or talk about it transparently? The answer to these questions is influenced by the presence or absence of psychological safety. If we perceive a sufficiently safe climate, we are stimulated to expose ourselves. If, on the other hand, we do not perceive sufficient psychological safety, we keep silent because we do not want to risk being judged incompetent, inappropriate, annoying, different. So, we keep silent, with an immediate benefit because we avoid taking an interpersonal risk. This dynamic is present at all levels of the organization, from operations teams to BoDs. But what effect do these silences have on business performance and competitiveness? And what work context do they shape?
The impact of psychological safety on performance
Despite being confused with well-being, psychological safety is intrinsically linked to team climate and performance. Why? Because no performance today is only individual. Most of performance benefits from exchange within real groups i.e., in contexts where people work together every day, even for a few hours or at a distance: offices, stores, production units, service centers, project teams, meetings. It is in these specific, everyday settings that the answer to “Do I say it or don’t I say it?” has a huge impact on performance. Because if the climate is safe enough, people share ideas, proposals, doubts, mistakes, and address critical issues with transparency. Can we say that this is what usually happens? No. Sorry, who makes us take these interpersonal risks? Indeed. When people ask themselves, “Do I say it or don’t I say it?” they usually remain silent. It is the epidemic of silence. Thus, the quality of performance, competitiveness and return on investment are intertwined with the presence or absence of psychological safety. Sometimes it is the fate of the company itself that is insolubly linked to it. Companies that have failed due to silence, companies that base their working method on continuous confrontation and feedback regardless of the hierarchical level. This is how an environment is created that stimulates contributions, fosters the expression of potential and helps nurture motivation because, beyond slogans, everyone can really exercise their skills, initiative, creativity, while continuing to learn.
Contribution to the evolution of culture and organization
Investing in psychological safety means investing in an enabling condition. Psychological safety is the soil, not the seed. We are used to planting immediately and only the seeds. How many years have we been planting seeds? We do surveys to map the climate. We state values. We do continuous reorganizations. We make training investments in crucial themes such as listening, feedback, delegation, teamwork, responsibility, initiative… Do we notice relevant changes? How can these themes take root if they are not brought into the daily fabric to transform it? The same is true when new tools and technologies are brought in. We cannot think that it is enough to train managers, with the expectation that they will be the ones to bring what they have learned into everyday life. If this worked, after decades, we would have overcome many problems that keep recurring.
Instead, investing in psychological safety:
- works with real teams by reorienting investments toward the day-to-day field, where performance really plays out, and supports people working together to transform their communication and modus operandi;
- enables the translation of stated culture into actual culture. Because to ground values such as collaboration, trust, and initiative, people must be encouraged to expose themselves, not choose silence to defend their comfort zone;
- it prepares the ground for organizational transformations that we cannot achieve by reorganizations alone. For example, it supports the evolution of the outdated hierarchical pattern that still believes that results come from “command & control” exercised by the highest person in rank who used to be able to tell everyone what to do and control them. This world no longer exists. Today, performance is played out in relationships between people and among teams. Psychological safety supports competitiveness because it enables everyone’s contribution, creating real conditions for people and teams to expand the sphere of contribution.
How to spread psychological safety
Since 2020, we have worked with hundreds of teams and thousands of people in different countries. We use a simple survey, validated by Edmondson, to measure perceptions of psychological safety and help teams take stock of the four crucial components: dealing with error, giving and asking for help, open conversations, and inclusion. We share survey results, help people talk to each other, and identify actions in the field that significantly increase psychological safety in everyday life. More tools will be added in 2025 to measure psychological safety in corporate culture and for individual and team coaching pathways. It is strategic to invest in psychological safety because it is the ground on which performance, the quality of the work environment and, therefore, return on investment are played out.
by Marina Capizzi and Tiziano Capelli, PRIMATE co-Founders