When I Thought I Knew What It Was
I thought I understood psychological safety.
I'd read the research.
I'd spoken about it in meetings.
I'd even coached teams on its importance.
But the truth is, I didn't really know what it meant. Not until I experienced it myself.
The First Time It Landed
It didn't happen during a training program.
It wasn't in a feedback review.
It was in a quiet conversation, when someone looked me in the eye and said:
"You don't need to perform here".
That one sentence shifted something in me.
No need to posture.
No need to overexplain.
Just space - to think, to question, to be human.
It was the first time I realised: psychological safety doesn't mean comfort: it means belonging without performance.
Why It Matters For Leadership
Here's the challenge: if you've never experienced psychological safety, it's hard to recognise what's missing.
You might mistake politeness for trust.
Or silence for alignment.
Or agreement for commitment.
But once you've felt it - truly felt it - you see the difference. You understand why it matters so much. And you begin to notice where it's absent.
For teams, that shift changes everything. Because when people feel safe enough to speak honestly, question assumptions, and admit mistakes, the work becomes richer, braver, and more real.
A Coaching Reflection
I've seen this unfold in team coaching sessions. A leader, unsure of how much to reveal, takes the risk of saying: "I don't know the answer here".
And instead of judgment, the room leans in. Turns out the team doesn't crumble; they connect.
That's psychological safety in action. Not comfort or consensus, but trust in the honesty of the moment.
The Leadership Practice
So how do you build it? Not through slogans or posters. But through presence.
- By naming the hard truths, not avoiding them.
- By listening for what isn't being said.
- By creating space where belonging isn't earned by performance, but granted by trust.
It starts small. A sentence. A pause. An honest moment that lands.
But those moments stack. And over time, they reshape how teams show up and define what becomes possible.
My Gentle Invitation
If you've never experienced psychological safety, it can feel abstract. But once you do, you'll never mistake silence for alignment again.
And if you're curious about what it could feel like for your team, that's where the real work of team development begins.
Not in theory. But in lived experiences.
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