A Blueprint for Creating High-Trust, High-Performing Teams
The Meeting That Went Silent
The project team had been working on a critical client proposal for three weeks. Ideas had been brainstormed, data refined, and one of the new analysts, Myra, had uncovered a trend that could shift the entire strategy. This was her moment to contribute meaningful insight and show her value.
When the meeting began, the team leader, Dana, stood at the front of the room, arms folded, voice sharp.
“Okay, we’re behind schedule. Let’s keep updates brief and don’t bring anything up today that has already been discussed., plus I have a hard stop”
Myra swallowed. Her analysis wasn’t validated yet. That was the point of sharing, she needed feedback to explore the idea further.
When her turn came, she began:
“Um, I discovered a possible new customer segment that we haven’t”
Dana exhaled loudly and cut in.
“Is this vetted? Because we don’t have time for half-baked ideas.”
Myra’s hands hovered over her keyboard.
“Well, not yet, but”
“Then let’s move on.”
She closed her laptop and shrank back into her chair.
After the meeting, she overheard her teammates whispering in the hallway:
“Just give her what she wants. No point offering anything new, she will just change it anyway”
Within weeks, brainstorming sessions dried up. Team members stopped challenging assumptions. They became order takers.
Dana did not set the team up to lean in to the discussion and was frustrated and did not understand why the team never spoke up.
What Went Wrong?
Psychological safety isn’t about making people comfortable.
It’s about making them confident that they can speak up without fear of embarrassment, retaliation, or dismissal.
Dana unintentionally communicated that:
- Ideas must be perfect to be heard.
- Efficiency matters more than learning.
- The leader’s approval is the goal, not innovation.
Dana checked the box by saying all the right leadership talking points, but she modeled a toxic level of micromanagement. The message received by the team was clear: Dana, made it clear silence is safer than contribution. Let me tell you more about this new hot leadership term.
What is Psychological Safety? (And What It’s Not)
Psychological Safety IS:
- The belief that it’s safe to take interpersonal risks.
- A climate where ideas are welcomed.
- A culture where learning outweighs perfection
- Leaders don’t promote a toxic culture
Psychological Safety is NOT:
- Agreement at all costs.
- Avoiding accountability.
- Eliminating standards or expectations.
- Leaders micromanaging the work of talented team members
High-performing teams practice both psychological safety and high accountability. One without the other leads to toxic dysfunction:
| Low Psychological Safety | High Psychological Safety |
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When people speak up, the business wins.
The Leader’s Role: Psychological Safety Isn’t Delegated, It’s Modeled
Psychological safety lives and dies with leadership behavior.
You cannot tell people they are safe
You must behave in ways that make them feel safe.
Here are the five most critical leadership behaviors:
✅ 1. Replace judgment with curiosity
The fastest way to shut down contribution is by signaling annoyance, impatience or immediate correction.
Leader: “Say more about that, what made you explore this direction?”
Curiosity signals value.
✅ 2. Reward the attempt, not just the outcome
Teams learn more from experimentation than perfection. At Pfizer We once did an entire cultural initiative focused on trying, and what we learn from not hitting perfection
Leader: “Thank you. Let’s explore what we can learn from this.”
People will keep contributing when contributions are recognized.
✅ 3. Watch your nonverbals, they speak louder than your words
Psychological safety is assessed visually before it’s assessed verbally.
- Eye rolls
- Sighs
- Arms crossed
- Checking email while someone speaks
All of these say: You don’t matter.
Before speaking, Leader behavior: They should ask themselves, “What is my face saying right now?”
✅ 4. Create space for every voice
Some voices dominate; others disappear.
Use intentional turn-taking, Leader behavior: “We’ve heard from a few. I’d love to hear from people who haven’t spoken yet.”
✅ 5. Admit your mistakes first
When leaders acknowledge their own mistakes, they normalize learning.
Leader behavior: “Here’s what I could have done better.”
If the leader is never wrong, nobody else can be either.
How to Know If Psychological Safety Is Missing
- Meetings are oddly short, because no one challenges anything
- You’re the only one asking questions
- New ideas only surface in one-off side conversations
- People say “fine” … but performance doesn’t improve
Where psychological safety is low, you’ll see:
- compliance instead of engagement
- execution without ownership
- burnout without innovation
Where psychological safety is high, you’ll see:
- faster problem-solving
- better decision-making
- higher retention of high performers
How my team “Impact Performance Consultants” Helps Support Organizations
I help leaders build cultures where people feel safe to contribute their best thinking, not just protect their job. I help leaders become more self-aware, so they learn to steer clear of creating toxic culture, through techniques such as;
- Leadership assimilation sessions
- Team diagnostic assessments
- Customized team offsites
- Leader coaching and development
These solutions equip leaders by building mastery in
- Modeling curiosity
- Inviting voices
- Rewarding learning and risk-taking
- Build trust through consistency
Psychological safety isn’t a concept; It’s a daily practice.
About Dr. Ollie G. Barnes III
Dr. Ollie G. Barnes III is an organizational performance consultant, keynote speaker, and author of Diagnosing Toxic Leadership: Understanding the Connection Between Personality Disorders and Toxic Leader Behaviors. As the founder of Impact Performance Consultants, he brings over 25 years of experience helping organizations transform workplace culture, improve leadership effectiveness, and build psychologically safe environments. Learn more at ImpactPerformanceConsultants.com