By now, one thing should be clear - psychological safety is not created by a workshop, a policy or a set of values on a wall. It is created through lived experience. And while everyone contributes to that experience, leadership and systems play a disproportionate role in whether psychological safety is sustained or slowly eroded. Most organisations don’t lack intent. They lack alignment.

Psychological safety is rarely built through grand gestures. It’s built through small, repeatable behaviours that signal how people can expect to be treated. Most teams don’t struggle because they don’t care about safety. They struggle because safety is assumed rather than practiced.

Psychological safety is easiest to see when things are calm. Work is predictable. People know what is expected of them. Time feels sufficient. Decisions are clear and responsibilities articulated. In these conditions, most teams appear collaborative, open and respectful. But psychological safety isn’t really revealed in calm moments.

Psychological safety has become one of the most talked-about ideas in modern organisations. It appears in leadership frameworks, culture statements and learning agendas. It’s referenced in conversations about engagement, wellbeing and performance. And yet, in many teams, people still hesitate before speaking up.