Asana is the number one AI work management platform. It's where work connects across every department, even in the most complex organizations. Try it for free today at asana.com. Welcome to HBR on Leadership, case studies and conversations with the world's top business and management experts, hand-selected to help you unlock the best in those around you. You're probably familiar with the term psychological safety. But do you know what it really means? HBR contributing editor and workplace conflict expert Amy Gallo says both the idea and the value of psychological safety are commonly misunderstood. In this episode, you'll learn how to define psychological safety, how to tell whether your team has it, and what to do if you don't. This episode originally aired as part of the HBR Guide video series in November 2023. Here it is. No team is perfect, and

everyone makes mistakes. But what happens on your team when a project doesn't go as planned, you miss your quarterly targets, or an idea for a new initiative just doesn't get traction? Do people try to hide their missteps or do they openly admit them? Does it devolve into a blame game of who's most at fault or do you focus on what you can learn from failure? Do people even feel comfortable taking risks in the first place? In this video, we'll focus on team psychological safety. You'll learn why it's so important and how to foster it so you, your team, and your organization can perform at your best. And I'll share some tips for how managers can build it on their own teams. First, a definition. Harvard Business School professor and author Amy Edmondson coined the phrase, team psychological safety. In a nutshell, it's the shared belief that it's okay to take risks, express ideas and concerns, speak up with questions, and admit mistakes. And here's the important part, without fear of negative consequences. But make no mistake, this is not just about being nice, polite, or making people feel comfortable. Quite the contrary. Admitting to or pointing out mistakes is usually pretty uncomfortable. It's risky and can make people feel exposed, which is why it's important to create an environment where you feel safe and confident that it won't be held against you. For example, imagine your team has a project that is not going well and you have to deliver the bad news to your boss. What kind of response do you anticipate? If you have a boss who is going to be angry and demand, whose fault is this? What is wrong with your team? You're not likely to want to share mistakes or even take risks in the future. By contrast, maybe you have a boss who says, okay, so the project didn't go as you planned. What did you learn? That makes a big difference, right? The best managers know learning is key to performing better in the future, and taking risks is essential for learning. Let's dig a little deeper. Why is psychological safety so important? The short answer is teams with higher psychological safety simply perform better. Edmondson's and others research shows that on teams where people feel that they're able to speak up without fear of retribution, they are more likely to be engaged and motivated, leading to a whole host of other benefits. Like, people feel that their contributions actually matter, so they contribute more. More contributions means diverse perspectives are considered, leading to better decision-making. Eventually, you establish a culture of continuous learning and improvement because people feel comfortable sharing mistakes and speaking up, which then leads to greater innovation, creativity, and resilience. On teams without psychological safety, employee well-being suffers, resulting in stress, burnout, and turnover. You can see how these issues will impact team and organizational performance. Spoiler alert, not good. So now you might be thinking, how do I know if my team has it?