Psychological Safety: The Secret Factor Behind Google's Best Teams
In 2012, Google launched a research project called "Project Aristotle." The goal: Find out what distinguishes successful teams from less successful ones. The answer surprised everyone.
It wasn't talent. Not experience. Not intelligence.
It was psychological safety.
What Is Psychological Safety?
Psychological safety is the shared belief within a team that it's safe to take interpersonal risks.
Definition by Amy Edmondson (Harvard):
"Psychological safety is the belief that one will not be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns, or mistakes."
What It Means
In psychologically safe teams, people can:
- Ask questions without appearing stupid
- Admit mistakes without fear of consequences
- Voice ideas without being laughed at
- Raise concerns without being seen as negative
- Take risks without being punished for failure
Related: Lack of psychological safety amplifies Impostor Syndrome – the feeling of not deserving your success.
What It Does NOT Mean
- Not: Everyone is always nice to each other
- Not: No criticism or high standards
- Not: Cuddle culture without accountability
- Not: Everyone gets what they want
Psychological safety + high standards = high performance
Google's Project Aristotle
The Research
Google analyzed 180 teams over 2 years. They examined:
- Team composition (personalities, skills, backgrounds)
- Team dynamics (communication, meetings, decisions)
- Team performance (goal achievement, innovation, satisfaction)
The Surprising Results
What was NOT decisive:
- Who's on the team (individual performance)
- How long the team has worked together
- Team size
- Physical proximity
- Consensus in decisions
What WAS decisive (in this order):
| Rank | Factor | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Psychological Safety | Can I take risks without feeling insecure? |
| 2 | Dependability | Can I count on my teammates? |
| 3 | Structure & Clarity | Are goals, roles, and plans clear? |
| 4 | Meaning | Is the work personally meaningful? |
| 5 | Impact | Do we believe our work matters? |
Psychological safety was by far the most important factor.
Why Psychological Safety Matters in Tech
The Special Challenges in Tech
1. Complexity Requires Questions
Without Psychological Safety:
- Junior doesn't ask, doesn't understand code
- Builds on wrong understanding
- Bug discovered only in production
With Psychological Safety:
- Junior asks: "Can someone explain this?"
- Understands concept correctly
- Builds correct solution
2. Innovation Requires Risk
Without Psychological Safety:
- "That's a dumb idea" → Idea not shared
- Team continues as usual
- No innovation
With Psychological Safety:
- "What if we...?" → Idea is discussed
- Maybe it works, maybe not
- But: Team learns and innovates
3. Quality Requires Feedback
Without Psychological Safety:
- Code review: "That's bad" (defensive)
- Or: No honest criticism out of fear
- Code quality suffers
With Psychological Safety:
- Code review: "Here's an alternative..." (constructive)
- Open exchange
- Code quality improves
4. Bugs Require Openness
Without Psychological Safety:
- Bug is hidden/covered up
- Escalates in production
- Blame game starts
With Psychological Safety:
- Bug is reported immediately
- Team fixes together
- Retrospective without blame
The Business Case
| Metric | Teams with Low PS | Teams with High PS |
|---|---|---|
| Turnover | Higher | Lower (-50%) |
| Innovation | Fewer new ideas | More experiments |
| Quality | More hidden bugs | Earlier error detection |
| Speed | Slower (fear of mistakes) | Faster (courage to take risks) |
| Engagement | Low | High (+27%) |
The 4 Stages of Psychological Safety
According to Timothy R. Clark, there's a hierarchy of psychological safety:
Stage 1: Inclusion Safety
Question: Do I belong?
Symptoms when lacking:
- Outsiders in the team
- Cliques and exclusion
- "Them vs. Us" thinking
Building it:
- Actively including everyone
- Onboarding with personal touch
- Consciously including diverse teams
Stage 2: Learner Safety
Question: Can I learn and make mistakes?
Symptoms when lacking:
- Nobody asks questions
- Mistakes are hidden
- No experiments
Building it:
- Normalize questions ("There are no stupid questions")
- Share your own mistakes as a leader
- Value learning over knowing
Stage 3: Contributor Safety
Question: Can I make a contribution?
Symptoms when lacking:
- Only a few speak in meetings
- Ideas aren't shared
- "The boss decides that"
Building it:
- Actively ask for input
- Appreciate contributions
- Enable autonomy
Stage 4: Challenger Safety
Question: Can I challenge the status quo?
Symptoms when lacking:
- Nobody disagrees
- "We've always done it that way"
- Criticism = career risk
Building it:
- Demand dissent
- Reward criticism
- Institutionalize Red Team / Devil's Advocate
Measuring Psychological Safety
Team Assessment (anonymous, 1-5 scale)
- If I make a mistake on this team, it's not held against me
- Members of this team can bring up problems and tough issues
- People on this team don't reject others for being different
- It's safe to take a risk on this team
- It's not difficult to ask other team members for help
- No one on this team would deliberately undermine my efforts
- My unique skills and talents are valued and utilized on this team
Scoring:
- 28-35: High Psychological Safety
- 21-27: Medium Psychological Safety
- 14-20: Low Psychological Safety
- 7-13: Critically low
Observable Indicators
| High Psychological Safety | Low Psychological Safety |
|---|---|
| Everyone speaks in meetings | Only 1-2 people dominate |
| Questions are asked | Silence at "Any questions?" |
| Mistakes are openly discussed | Blame assignment |
| Disagreement is normal | Everyone always agrees |
| Ideas come from everywhere | Ideas only from seniority |
| "I don't know" is said | Nobody admits not knowing |
Building Psychological Safety
For Leaders
1. Model Vulnerability
POWERFUL:
"I made a mistake with..."
"I don't know the answer."
"I need help with..."
WHY IT WORKS:
If the leader can be vulnerable,
it's safe for everyone.
2. Respond Positively to Risks
Someone brings an idea that doesn't work:
WRONG:
"That will never work."
RIGHT:
"Thanks for sharing that. What was your
thinking? What can we take from it?"
3. Actively Ask for Input
NOT: "Anyone else have anything?"
(Suggests: Meeting should end)
BETTER: "[Name], what do you think?"
(Direct invitation, shows appreciation)
4. Act Immediately on Violations
Someone puts someone down:
NOT ACCEPTABLE: Silently ignoring
NECESSARY: "That's not how we communicate
here. [Name], what did you mean?
[Affected person], how did that feel?"
5. Separate Person from Problem
BAD:
"You introduced a bug."
BETTER:
"There's a bug in the code. How can we
fix it together and prevent this
from happening again?"
For Teams
1. Use Retrospectives Properly
- Vegas rule: What's discussed here, stays here
- No blame, only learning
- "What" instead of "Who"
2. Pair Programming / Mob Programming
- Normalizes questions and learning
- Shows: Nobody knows everything
- Builds relationships
3. Blameless Post-Mortems
STRUCTURE:
1. What happened? (Timeline)
2. What did we learn?
3. What are we changing?
EXPLICITLY FORBIDDEN:
- Personal blame
- "Who did...?"
- Consequences for individuals
4. Failure Fridays / Fuck-Up Nights
- Regular sharing of failures
- Makes failing normal
- Focus on learning
For Individuals
1. Be the First
- Ask the "stupid" question
- Admit the mistake
- Share the half-baked idea
2. Respond Supportively
- When others take risks: Show appreciation
- "Good question!" (and mean it)
- Don't exploit others' mistakes
3. Speak Up
- If you feel unsafe: Communicate it
- "I have the feeling that..."
- Become part of the solution
Common Obstacles
"But we need accountability!"
Psychological safety and accountability are not contradictory:
| Low PS + Low Standards | Low PS + High Standards |
|---|---|
| "Comfort Zone" | "Anxiety Zone" |
| Nice but mediocre | Fear, burnout |
| High PS + Low Standards | High PS + High Standards |
|---|---|
| "Apathy Zone" | "Learning Zone" ✓ |
| Nice but lazy | High performance |
The goal: High psychological safety AND high standards.
"My Boss Is the Problem"
Strategies for difficult superiors:
- Start in your own team – You can build PS in your sphere of influence
- Convince with results – Show the business value
- Find allies – Other leaders, HR
- Consider escalation – If toxic, potentially draw consequences
"That Takes Too Long"
Psychological safety takes time – but there are quick wins:
- First retrospective with clear rules
- Leader shares first mistake
- One question in a meeting that would otherwise go unasked
Psychological Safety and Remote Work
Special Challenges
- No body language visible
- Muted mics = Silence
- Asynchronous communication = Misunderstandings
- Isolation = Less belonging
Solutions
1. Camera On (When Possible)
- Shows presence and attention
- Enables nonverbal communication
2. Institutionalize Check-ins
Every meeting starts with:
"How is everyone today?" (1 word or 1 sentence)
3. Psychologically Safe Channels
- #random for non-work
- #help for questions without shame
- #wins AND #fails for both sides
4. Virtual Coffee Chats
- Random 1:1s for relationship building
- Tools like Donut for Slack
Conclusion: The Multiplier Effect
Psychological safety isn't a nice-to-have – it's the multiplier for everything else:
- Talent × Psychological Safety = Utilized Talent
- Processes × Psychological Safety = Lived Processes
- Tools × Psychological Safety = Effectively Used Tools
- Strategy × Psychological Safety = Implemented Strategy
Without psychological safety, potential remains unused. With it, a group of individuals becomes a real team.
The one question you should ask yourself:
Do the people on my team feel safe enough to give their best – or are they holding back?
If you're not sure, ask them. That would already be a first step.
Want to understand how you as a leader can create psychological safety? Our guide on Servant Leadership shows a leadership style that puts trust at the center. Related: Overcoming Impostor Syndrome and Burnout Prevention.
