At the American Society of Employers, we talk a lot about best practices: how to streamline workflows, eliminate bottlenecks, and boost productivity. These are all important, but today I want to focus on something equally essential and often overlooked: psychological safety.

A recent Inc./Fast Company article makes a strong case that high-performing teams share one thing above all: they are safe for their members to take risks, make mistakes, and speak up. Fear can quietly undermine communication, innovation, trust.

What psychological safety looks like in practice

• Team members feel they can admit mistakes without shame.
• People aren’t afraid to challenge the status quo or suggest improvements.
• Leaders and colleagues welcome feedback, not just as a box to check, but as a true lever for growth.
• Open communication is the norm, not the exception.

Why reducing fear often outweighs process improvements

It’s tempting to believe that if only we create better workflows, better tools, clearer job descriptions, then performance will follow. Those are necessary, but without a culture where people feel safe to speak up, the tools and processes can be under-utilized, misused, or ignored. Fear causes people to stay silent. That means problems don’t surface until they escalate, innovation becomes stifled, and mistakes get repeated.

What leaders can do

Here’s how CEOs, HR leaders, and managers can create a psychologically safe work environment:

1. Model vulnerability. Leaders admitting their own mistakes, asking for feedback, showing that imperfection is okay.
2. Define decision-boundaries. Make it clear what decisions employees can make without needing approval. Empowerment reduces fear.
3. Create feedback cultures. Encourage feedback both ways. Build systems (formal and informal) for listening when people have concerns or ideas.
4. Train for psychological safety. Workshops, scenario training, and leadership development can all help. Practice perspective-taking and teach active listening.
5. Reduce unnecessary rule burdens. Take a hard look at policies or procedures that might be overly rigid or obsolete. When people see that rules are flexible, they feel safer in voicing change.
6. Celebrate risk-taking and failure. When people see that taking a calculated risk and even failing can lead to growth, they are more likely to innovate.

At the American Society of Employers, we help organizations succeed by equipping them with the information, tools, and training they need to manage their most important asset: their people. To support our members in fostering psychological safety, we offer several exclusive tools and resources from McLean & Company, including:

• Blueprint: Introduction to Psychological Safety for HR
• Case Study: Psychological Safety
• Webinar: Introduction to Psychological Safety for HR
• Executive Briefing: Introduction to Psychological Safety for HR
• Communication Tip Sheet: Psychological Safety for People Leaders
• Infographic: Psychological Safety at Work

McLean & Company is accessible to ASE members via the ASE Member Dashboard.  If you need assistance accessing McLean & Company, please reach out to Dana Weidinger.