“No, Psychological Safety Doesn’t Mean Lowering Standards”

Psychological safety is often misunderstood.

It is not about lowering expectations.

It is about creating the conditions where high expectations can actually be met.

Amy Edmondson, the Harvard professor who coined the term, defines psychological safety as a belief that one can speak up without fear of punishment or humiliation. Her research shows that teams with high psychological safety make more mistakes visible, which paradoxically leads to fewer failures in the long run. Why? Because problems surface and get solved earlier.

In other words, psychological safety is not the opposite of accountability. It is the foundation of accountability.

The Cost of Confusion

When leaders confuse psychological safety with comfort, they create two risks:

1. False harmony where no one speaks up, leading to strategic drift and hidden risks.

2. Lowered standards where candour is replaced by complacency, and underperformance goes unchallenged.

The real performance killer is silence, not candour.

Four Shifts That Raise Both Safety and Standards

1. Set the Standard First

Clarity precedes safety.

Define what excellence looks like in specific, observable terms. For example, “Client proposals must be turned around in 72 hours with zero factual errors.” Standards give people something to rise to, not hide from.

2. Model Fallibility

Leaders who admit, “I may miss something, tell me what I did not see” open the door for candour. This does not signal weakness. It signals strength through humility. It gives permission for others to raise red flags without fear.

3. Reward Speaking Up, Not Just Results

When someone surfaces a risk, treat it as performance. Recognise it publicly. Build into reviews not only what people delivered, but also how they contributed to collective vigilance.

4. Anchor Safety to Accountability

End every meeting with clear action owners, due dates, and next check-ins. This creates a rhythm where psychological safety leads directly to execution. Without this bridge, conversations remain abstract.

What To Do in Your Next Meeting

Leaders often ask, “Where do I start?” Here is a simple sequence you can try immediately:

1. Open with clarity: State one non-negotiable standard for the project. Keep it short, specific, and measurable.

2. Invite candour: Say, “What might trip us up that I have not seen yet?” Wait long enough for at least two responses.

3. Normalise fallibility: Share one small mistake or blind spot you experienced recently. This lowers the risk for others to contribute.

4. Capture risks as assets: Write down the issues raised and thank the team for protecting performance.

5. Close with accountability: End by assigning owners and due dates for every open item. Confirm the next check-in.

This sequence takes ten minutes. Done consistently, it rewires the culture.

The Payoff

At Alvigor, we have seen this shift firsthand.

In one finance organisation with 90 years of history, leaders hesitated to challenge each other. After one session grounded in psychological safety, blockers were named openly and 42 actions with owners and deadlines emerged. Four weeks later, 87 percent were completed.

Safety did not lower standards. It made standards visible, shared, and delivered.

Final Word

Psychological safety is not comfort. It is candour.

It is not coddling. It is accountability.

It is not lower standards. It is the engine of sustained performance.

Leaders who build both safety and standards will not only protect their organisations from silent failure. They will unlock faster execution, deeper trust, and a culture where excellence is everyone’s responsibility.

Are your teams safe enough to tell the truth, and strong enough to deliver on it?