Amy Edmondson, Harvard Professor and Author of “The Fearless Organization”, on Balancing Psychological Safety and Accountability

Aug 22, 2024

Amy Edmondson, a Harvard Business School professor and expert in psychological safety, dives into creating safe environments for team members. She explains how psychological safety fosters innovation and learning, emphasizing its balance with accountability in high-performing teams. Amy shares insights on establishing clarity in organizational goals and the critical role of open communication. Using examples from Pixar and Southwest Airlines, she illustrates how to turn around fearful organizations and encourages leaders to embrace meaningful inquiry for better team dynamics.

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Intro

00:00 • 2min

Understanding Team Psychological Safety

02:16 • 19min

Cultivating Clarity and Accountability in Organizations

21:41 • 4min

Balancing Safety and Accountability

25:52 • 12min

Navigating the Dilemma of When to Persist or Pivot

37:24 • 3min

The Power of Questions in Leadership and Innovation

40:11 • 2min

In this insightful episode, we sit down with Amy Edmondson, one of the world’s leading management thinkers. As the Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at Harvard Business School, she is an expert in psychological safety and organizational learning.

In episode 14 of season 2, she discusses the importance of creating environments where team members feel safe to speak up and how this psychological safety is essential for learning and innovation. She also explores the balance between psychological safety and accountability, emphasizing that these concepts are not in opposition but rather complementary in high-performing teams.

You’ll gain valuable insights into how to foster a culture of inquiry, the role of clear goals in team performance, and practical steps for turning around fearful organizations. Amy’s examples from companies like Pixar and Southwest Airlines offer concrete illustrations of how these principles can be applied in real-world settings.

You’ll find this episode valuable if you're looking for actionable advice for leaders looking to enhance their team’s psychological safety, accountability, and overall performance.

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TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:

[02:13] Leadership mistakes and psychological safety

[05:26] The role of psychological safety in organizational learning

[08:58] Balancing psychological safety and accountability

[14:07] Characteristics of high-performing teams

[18:09] The impact of clear goals on team performance

[24:12] Turning around a fearful organization

[30:22] Lessons from Pixar and Southwest Airlines

[39:38] Tips for leaders on mastering the art of asking good questions

👉 Check out the resources mentioned here: https://fellow.app/supermanagers/amy-edmonson-harvard-business-school

RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

Connect with Amy on LinkedIn
Read Amy’s book The Fearless Organization
Read Amy’s book Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well
Join the Supermanagers Slack community
Connect with Aydin on LinkedIn
Follow Fellow on LinkedIn