Organisations are consistently hearing the call to foster a psychologically safe workplace, and it’s for good reason. The advantages of psychological safety are undeniable.

But for many employers, this can feel like a daunting – and even vague – challenge. Where do you begin?

At its core, building psychological safety is about something quite simple: creating an environment where employees feel secure – secure enough to speak up, to take risks, to fail, and to show up as the version of themselves they choose. And it’s leaders who are the most responsible for setting the tone and shaping that environment every day.

There is no quick-fix when it comes to building a psychologically safe workplace. Achieving true psychological safety takes time and requires a deep dive into the processes and systemic barriers that may be holding diverse talent back.

But it’s important for employers to acknowledge the pivotal role leaders play in an individual’s ability to thrive at work. Most of us have experienced a manager whose leadership style, behaviours and words have pushed us toward quitting. Research shows employers are 10 times more likely to leave a job because of toxic work cultures – above pay and work-life balance – and three in four people say their boss is the most stressful part of their job.

Leaders, therefore, are in a unique position of influence, setting the tone and shaping the daily culture of their teams. With clear intention, people leaders have the power to make a significant impact on how safe employees feel and, therefore, how likely they are to perform at their best. Accenture research shows that employees who feel psychologically safe are five times more likely to perform at their best. And when performance is high, innovation, creativity and profitability follows.

Here are eight actions leaders can take today to start building a psychologically safe space for all employees:

Psychological safety starts with leaders who genuinely listen and are open to feedback.  Therefore it’s important to reflect on your management style and how you show up in the workplace. Feedback is essential, but truly honest feedback is often only given when employees feel they are in a transparent and safe space. As a first step, make it routine to ask for input in 1-2-1 meetings with individual team members. Questions could include:

“What am I doing now that might not be working?” or “What could I be doing better?”.

In truth, if leaders want their teams to be open and honest about their experiences and work life, then leaders must create an atmosphere conducive to vulnerability or sharing. In practice, this can look like admitting freely when you don’t have the answer and taking steps to gain the information that you need as well as questioning group-think where you may disagree with an idea or proposed process.

Providing employees with the confidence that they can be honest and transparent about their needs and can challenge business systems appropriately, is key to psychological safety – it allows everyone the space to share without judgement.

Humans are not perfect and mistakes will happen. Great leaders acknowledge that blaming individuals for an issue is a futile exercise, but creating a learning opportunity from that moment is a brilliant one. Afterall, innovation is built on the back of failure – but only if people feel safe to try. As Dr. Amy Edmonson, author of The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth, puts it: “people must be allowed to voice half-finished thoughts, ask questions out of left field, and brainstorm out loud”.

A study on “quiet quitting” revealed that managers who balance the needs of different team members with driving results are more effective leaders. It’s important to acknowledge that not everyone needs to be treated the same. The important thing is that you understand the needs of each employee – that requires practicing empathy, taking a genuine interest, and learning about the lived experiences and histories that have shaped them.

One of the most impactful questions you can ask a team member is “How will I know when you’re not OK?”. Practicing empathy and taking time to explore the needs of an individual is a critical, but powerful skill to master. These human interactions help to build trust and leave team members feeling seen, heard and valued.

When we make decisions on another person’s behalf because we think we know what’s best for them – no matter how good the intention – this is called benevolent bias. Benevolent bias can have harmful consequences because when we take away someone’s autonomy, it could make them feel inferior or incompetent, whilst it may also reinforce damaging stereotypes of underrepresented groups in the workplace. For example, say an individual returns from parental leave and you decide not to offer them an important project because you assume they’ll be too overwhelmed to take it on alongside their new childcare responsibilities.

Instead, empower individuals to make informed choices for themselves. In a psychologically safe space, the employee will trust that they won’t be punished for saying no or giving their true opinion.

A competitive mentality in the workplace is great, but it can also become problematic and lead to team members feeling alienated or inadequate. Understand that your role as a leader is not to be great at everything, it’s to foster the talent you have to create a collective excellence. Trust grows when you position yourself as a collaborator – when a team succeeds, it should be treated as a shared win, and when mistakes happen, it should be viewed as a shared learning.

In practice, this could look like asking an individual to lead a project, and delegate tasks to the team, including you. Project ownership can be incredibly empowering and fulfilling for an individual and knowing they can delegate up helps to bring down hierarchical walls that may exist.

Leadership can be lonely. When you’re holding up a lot – who’s there to support you? Psychological safety goes both ways. Ask yourself; Does my team feel they can ask me if I’m OK? Do I have a safe space to be honest and vulnerable? Everyone – including leaders – deserves to feel safe, respected, and valued. Ensure you have a network of support that can help when you need it.

By its nature, psychological safety is hard to measure because it’s very subjective. Plus, it’s a never-ending process that requires continuous commitment – there is no finish line. The important thing for leaders is to keep checking-in and reflecting: What can I do better? How is my team feeling? How am I feeling?

Feedback – real, open, ongoing feedback – is your compass.

High-performing teams aren’t powered by fear. They’re powered by safety – a shared belief that people can speak up, be who they choose to be, and take risks without punishment. Don’t let overwhelm prevent you from building a psychologically safe space, where all employees can reach their full potential. There are steps you can take today to make a real difference to your employees.

Why is psychological safety key to retaining and attracting diverse talent? The first blog in our two-part series on the topic of psychological safety has the answers. Click here to learn more.