We’ve all worked on teams filled with smart people. But sometimes, even with all that talent, the team just doesn’t click. Google wanted to know why. In 2012, they launched Project Aristotle, analysing 180 teams across the company to crack the code of team effectiveness. What they found surprised everyone, including their own data scientists.
The research team expected to find that the best teams were composed of star performers or people with similar working styles. They thought maybe the perfect mix of personalities or specific skill sets would be the answer. They were wrong. After examining hundreds of variables, one factor stood out above all others: psychological safety.
Psychological safety means team members feel safe to take risks and be vulnerable in front of each other. It’s the belief that you won’t be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns, or mistakes. This isn’t about being nice or creating a comfortable environment where everyone agrees. It’s about creating a space where people can disagree, challenge ideas, and admit when they don’t know something without fear of negative consequences.
Here’s what Google discovered: on the best teams, members spoke in roughly equal measure. It wasn’t that one person dominated while others listened. Everyone contributed. Everyone’s voice mattered. The teams also demonstrated high social sensitivity, meaning they were good at reading how others felt based on tone of voice, expressions, and other nonverbal cues. They noticed when someone had something to say and made space for that person to speak.
The impact was measurable. Teams with high psychological safety were more likely to harness the power of diverse ideas, made fewer mistakes because people weren’t afraid to ask questions, and retained employees longer. They also reported higher revenue and were rated as effective twice as often by executives.
Think about your own team meetings. Do people interrupt their own thoughts to ask if something sounds stupid? Do they stay silent when they disagree? Do junior members speak up as freely as senior ones? If the answer is no to any of these, you’re leaving performance on the table.
The beautiful thing about psychological safety is that it can be built deliberately. It starts with leaders modelling vulnerability. When managers admit their own mistakes, ask for help, and acknowledge what they don’t know, they give permission for others to do the same. It continues when leaders respond to questions and challenges with appreciation rather than defensiveness. When someone raises a concern and hears “thank you for bringing this up” instead of “that’s not how we do things here,” the culture shifts.
We also need to establish clear norms for discussion. Simple practices like asking everyone to share their thoughts before making decisions, or explicitly inviting quiet members to contribute, change the dynamic. Even the way we phrase questions matters. Asking “what are we missing?” invites different contributions than “does everyone agree?”
The core issue isn’t finding better people or teaching communication skills. It’s creating an environment where the people you already have feel safe enough to share what they truly think. Google spent millions analysing their teams to learn that when people feel psychologically safe, they speak up. When they speak up, teams perform better. It’s that simple and that profound.
Ready to Build Psychological Safety in Your Team? Book a complimentary strategy session with My Practice Leaders today. We’ll help you identify the gaps in your team’s psychological safety and create a customized action plan to transform your workplace culture. Your team’s potential is waiting to be unlocked. Visit mypracticeleaders.com.au to schedule your session and take the first step toward building a truly high performing team.