At Leading Teams, we’ve spent more than 25 years helping organisations build what’s now widely known as psychological safety. Long before that phrase entered boardrooms and academic journals, we were having conversations with teams about something more familiar and more practical: trust.
In our world, we talk about creating strong professional relationships -an environment of trust and respect where people can “say the wrong thing but it’s taken the right way.”
That’s the foundation. It’s what allows people to speak up, challenge each other, solve problems together and perform at their best.
And now, the latest research is catching up.
What the Research Now Says
A recent article in the Harvard Business Review breaks down six of the biggest misconceptions about psychological safety. It’s called What People Get Wrong About Psychological Safety, and much of what it outlines only reinforces what we’ve been seeing for decades.
One key message? Psychological safety isn’t about being nice. It’s about creating space for honest, sometimes uncomfortable conversations that move the team forward. That’s exactly what our clients experience when they start building stronger relationships using our tools like the Relationship Pyramid. The more trust a team has, the more candid and productive those conversations become.
The article also highlights that psychological safety isn’t a trade-off with performance…it’s a pathway to performance. When people feel safe enough to speak up, challenge the norm, or share a bold idea, the whole team benefits. That’s what we see every day: trust drives performance.
How We Bring It to Life
Unlike organisations that hope trust will just show up, we make it practical. We help teams prioritise the time and space to truly understand each other. From that comes connection. From connection comes trust. And once trust is in place, teams can challenge each other, solve problems, and own results – together.
And just like the HBR article points out, psychological safety isn’t something you can mandate with a policy. It’s something you build, interaction by interaction. That’s why our model focuses on lived behaviours, not buzzwords. And it’s why so many of our clients start to see cultural change from the inside out.
Common Myths—And Why They Matter
The HBR article outlined six myths. Here’s how they line up with what we’ve seen firsthand:
- It’s not about being nice – It’s about being honest and respectful.
- It’s not about getting your way – It’s about being heard.
- It’s not job security – It’s the safety to speak up, not a guarantee you’ll stay.
- It’s not a performance trade-off – It fuels performance.
- It’s not a policy – It’s a culture built over time.
- It doesn’t have to come top-down – Trust is a choice anyone can make.
We’ve built our work around these ideas -not just because the research now says they matter, but because we’ve seen the results in teams across sport, government, education, and corporate Australia.
When It’s There, Everything Gets Better
When teams feel safe to speak up, challenge ideas, and take ownership, everything changes. Decision-making gets faster. People take more initiative. Innovation flows. Performance improves. We’ve seen it happen time and time again.
And while leaders have a big influence, they’re not the only ones responsible. Every team member contributes to the culture, every day. That’s why we say: psychological safety is everyone’s business.
It’s Not a Trend. It’s the Bedrock.
Psychological safety might be the buzzword now. But at Leading Teams, it’s the work we’ve always done.
Because when trust shows up, performance follows.
The article discussed here is:
Amy C. Edmondson and Michaela J. Kerrissey, “What People Get Wrong About Psychological Safety,” Harvard Business Review, May–June 2025. Available here
