#psychological-safety

#psychological-safety

For years, innovation has centered on speed. Faster processing. Faster decisions. Faster communication. But as artificial intelligence reshapes the modern workplace, a quieter truth is emerging from neuroscience and behavioral psychology: as technology accelerates, people are slowing down emotionally. Across industries, employees report rising cognitive fatigue, decreased trust, and a growing sense of isolation despite being more digitally connected than ever before.

This wasn't a struggling junior employee; this was a leader at the pinnacle of his career, shouldering the same gnawing doubt we often relegate to the inexperienced. For decades, we've called this "impostor syndrome," treating it as a personal flaw to be fixed. But groundbreaking research reveals we've been thinking about it all wrong-and in correcting our misunderstanding, we find not just relief but unexpected advantage.

Recent research suggests that the influence of good mentoring goes way beyond improved vocational performance, although it certainly does that. Good mentors help mentees to feel safe, supported, and seen through feedback (both positive and critical) and other cues. This is how effective mentorship contributes to a sense of psychological safety. Mentees also enjoy a stronger sense of belonging and community, which is why having a good mentor is especially important early in our careers.

Something odd happened on our team five years ago that I now witness in many workplaces across the nation. One of our team members (we'll call her Dina) turned in a project that was so poor, her supervisor met with her to offer some corrective feedback. Dina wouldn't have it. Her reaction stumped me. She called out her supervisor on his correction, claiming she'd been attacked. Then, she claimed her supervisor wasn't psychologically safe.

The people who most need to experiment with AI-those in routine cognitive roles-experience the highest psychological threat. They're being asked to enthusiastically adopt tools that might replace them, triggering what neuroscientists call a "threat state." Research by Amy Edmondson at Harvard Business School reveals that team learning requires psychological safety-the belief that interpersonal risk-taking feels safe. But AI adoption adds an existential twist: The threat isn't just social embarrassment; it's professional survival.

Maureen's reactions make complete sense-both as a child and as an adult, she learned to stay guarded. Being alert likely protected her in harsh settings, and that deserves recognition. But there's also a toll: living in a state of high alert is exhausting. Bracing for criticism, decoding tone and word choice, and anticipating the next betrayal drains us physically and emotionally.

In an industry where men dominate, Dolly owned her narrative, writing her own songs, transcending genres, and fiercely protecting the privacy of her personal life in an era where everything was on display (Parton & Oermann, 2020). Refusing to relent, she famously turned down Elvis Presley's offer to record "I Will Always Love You," because he demanded partial songwriting rights (Scott, 2020), a bold refusal with a big payoff when, years later, Whitney Houston recorded the track and ran away with a Grammy.

Teams are one of humanity's greatest tools of innovation and discovery. One study showed that teams are six times more likely than individuals to produce breakthrough scientific innovations. But working in teams doesn't guarantee success. Groups can also make us less motivated, conformist, and polarized. In my new book, The Collective Edge: Unlocking the Secret Power of Groups, I rifled through decades of research about how to get the most from your teams.

It was at the Agency where I first truly understood the power of diverse teams," she says. "Success in the field depended on building inclusive, cross-functional units where every voice had value regardless of background, discipline, or rank. Just as critical was cultivating psychological safety: creating a space where people could speak truthfully, challenge assumptions, and innovate under pressure. That foundation of trust was essential to overcoming some of the hardest missions we faced, and it remains core to how I lead today.

I've been out for nearly 15 years. I write openly about queerness. I coach queer tech leaders. I've helped clients come out at work, come out again after trauma, and come out for the very first time. In fact, I'm even scheduled to speak on the main stage at a conference for 500+ LGBTQ+ tech leaders this year. On paper, I look confident and settled in my identity.

In complex systems, failure isn't a possibility - it's a certainty. Whether it's transactions vanishing downstream, a binary storage outage grinding builds to a halt, or a vendor misstep cascading into a platform issue, we have all likely seen firsthand how incidents unfold across a wide range of technical landscapes. Often, the immediate, apparent cause points to an obvious suspect like a surge in user activity or a seemingly overloaded component, only for deeper, blameless analysis to reveal a subtle, underlying systemic flaw that was the true trigger.

"When employee turnover rates exceed 20%, it's time to start looking for other reasons why they quit. Hidden reasons can disengage your workforce significantly."

When someone on your team drops the ball or lets you down, the natural response is to pull back: reduce trust, tighten control, or quietly keep score.

One of the crucial elements of effective dissent is grounding feedback in a shared purpose, helping to avoid personal validation battles and focusing on common goals.

Psychological safety invites belonging, enabling employees to feel both secure and valued as integral members of their teams during significant transitions.

There's a clear distinction between a flat office culture that promotes equality in communication and a hierarchical dysfunction that undermines team morale and effectiveness.

In a healthy work environment, there's a seat for everyone at the table; there is no special treatment, and everyone has equal opportunities for success.