This is the English translation of the article published on “Il Sussidiario” (June 8th, 2025)
Managers can help create challenging work environments that are good for people, good for results, and good for themselves
The epochal changes we are experiencing are profoundly changing the nature of work and the ways in which people produce results. But our organizations are struggling to embrace these transformations. Most work settings, in fact, are governed by a hierarchical structure – born in a world that no longer exists – which is based on a very simple mechanism: those “on top” tell those “below” what they have to do. Specularly, those “below” await instructions from above.
This system, which rewards obedience and execution, cannot meet the demands for speed, continuous change and collaboration that are needed today to achieve results, which are produced primarily by how people work together and interact every day. The best solutions arise when people close to problems and opportunities bring together information, skills, doubts, ideas, mistakes and learnings. But for this to happen, conditions must be created. And managers can do this more than anyone else.
It seems a paradox, but it is precisely managers who pay for the inadequacy of the traditional hierarchy. For even today, those “on top,” while often being the least informed, continue to be called upon to make decisions. This creates excess stress at the top and excess frustration and deresponsibility at the bottom. This vicious cycle must be broken.
Imagine if, for example, salespeople in a supermarket, who live in close contact with customers, could make their voices heard: how much qualitative information about customer behavior, how to develop sales, how the location can support stores would be added to the numerical reports that come in “at the top”?
We have written in other articles that teams express their potential only if the people in them perceive psychological safety, that is, if they have the belief that they can expose themselves without the risk of being punished, isolated, or humiliated for having their voices heard.
And here, then, is the direction in which to evolve the managerial role, turning it into a resource for creating a safe climate in which people can speak openly and frankly, make proposals, give each other feedback and (why not?) have productive conflicts that strengthen understanding and help fuel innovation, learning and motivation.
But what can a manager do to cultivate psychological safety in his or her team? Basically, three things.
First, help people place their work in a broader view to better understand the impacts and prevent mistakes as much as possible. The habit of “executing” turns off the head, but everyone’s intelligence is needed today. In this sense, it is very useful for the manager to create spaces where the team gradually learns to work with greater autonomy by finding resources within themselves, without constantly resorting to “the boss”.
Second, encourage and positively welcome those who come forward to ask questions, to give feedback, to share a critical but important issue. Disagreement should also be valued because the counterpoint illuminates shadow cones and enriches solutions.
Third, share your mistakes by inspiring people to do the same. Sharing mistakes is a fundamental gesture for growth. Talking about them, understanding them and learning together how to deal with them helps us avoid them, prevent them and use them well to explore new territories.
Psychological safety is the enabling condition for unlocking individual and team potential. Managers can be instrumental in cultivating it by creating stimulating work environments that are good for people, results, and themselves.
By Marina Capizzi, author of Hierarchy to Die or to Thrive?