Psychological Safety: The Secret to High Performing Teams

In our work with teams in the knowledge industry, we’ve seen that productivity depends a lot on how well people work together. Collaboration and strong team relationships make a big difference. In fact, psychologically safe teams are 50% more productive. Harvard Professor Amy Edmondson, who introduced the term psychological safety, says it’s especially important in jobs where there’s no clear set of steps to follow. As she explains, “The relationship between psychological safety and performance is stronger in situations where the results or work aren’t prescribed—when you’re doing something creative, novel, or truly collaborative.” 

So, what is psychological safety? Why does it matter for team performance? And where did the idea come from? This article answers these questions and explains why psychological safety is so important at work.

Defining Psychological Safety

Psychological safety is the shared belief that individuals can speak up, make mistakes, and challenge ideas without fear of embarrassment or punishment. As Edmondson puts it, “it’s felt permission for candor.” 

The concept has become a cornerstone of high-performing, innovative teams. In one of her early studies, Edmondson observed that high-performing hospital teams reported more mistakes, not because they were making more errors, but because they felt safe enough to speak up about them. This counterintuitive insight laid the foundation for decades of research on the role of psychological safety in team learning, innovation, and organizational performance. 

Importantly, psychological safety isn’t about being comfortable at work—it’s about feeling secure enough to take interpersonal risks. In psychologically safe teams, people are encouraged to contribute ideas, admit mistakes, ask for help, and give feedback. These behaviors lead to better decision-making, stronger engagement, and a culture of continuous learning.

Psychological Safety & Google’s Project Aristotle 

In a 5+ year study with over 180 teams, Google set out to discover what makes the most effective teams. They found that psychological safety was the single most important factor in team effectiveness. It mattered more than skill, tenure, or team composition.

Where it was high, Googlers…

• brought in more revenue (50% in sales teams)

• were more likely to harness the power of diverse ideas

• were rated as effective twice as often by executives

• were less likely to leave

Google has since incorporated safety rituals such as structured check-ins, blameless postmortems, and defined team norms to ensure every member feels heard and valued.

As it became clear to us, Psychological safety isn’t just a nice-to-have—it’s the foundation for that kind of growth. Whether you're leading a team or part of one, small actions can help create a safer, more open environment where everyone can do their best work.

How can you measure your team’s psychological safety? Visit our page* and learn more about how we help create workplaces where people perform, innovate, and thrive.

*Cosmic Centaurs is the only certified provider of the Fearless Organization Scan and the official Arabic language partner for this globally recognized tool in the MENA region.