seguridad psicológica equipos
Psychological Safety: the #1 Factor in High-Performing Teams
Invalid Date6 min read
By Guillermo Escobedo · CEO and Managing Director · Pasión por el Éxito
Your best employees keep quiet about what matters most. Not because of a lack of talent, but because of fear: of looking bad, of contradicting the boss, of a mistake taking its toll on them. And while they remain silent, the problems grow in silence. If you've seen meetings where everyone agrees and no one tells the truth, you already know the cost of low **psychological safety**, even if you've never called it that.
Introduction
Your best employees keep quiet about what matters most. Not because of a lack of talent, but because of fear: of looking bad, of contradicting the boss, of a mistake taking its toll on them. And while they remain silent, the problems grow in silence. If you've seen meetings where everyone agrees and no one tells the truth, you already know the cost of low psychological safety, even if you've never called it that.
There is a technical name for that phenomenon, and behind it is some of the most solid research in modern organizational science. It's worth knowing, because it completely changes how you understand—and how you build—a performing team.
There is a technical name for that phenomenon, and behind it is some of the most solid research in modern organizational science. It's worth knowing, because it completely changes how you understand—and how you build—a performing team.
What exactly is psychological safety?
It is the shared conviction that the team is a safe space to take interpersonal risks: to ask questions without appearing ignorant, to disagree without appearing disloyal, to admit a mistake without fearing humiliation or punishment. It was coined by Harvard professor Amy Edmondson in the late nineties, and since then it has become one of the most influential concepts in team management.
It is advisable to clear up a misunderstanding from the beginning: psychological safety is not that everyone gets along or that no one makes anyone uncomfortable. It is something more demanding and more useful: that the truth can be said out loud.
It is advisable to clear up a misunderstanding from the beginning: psychological safety is not that everyone gets along or that no one makes anyone uncomfortable. It is something more demanding and more useful: that the truth can be said out loud.
Why did Google conclude that it is the most important factor?
Because Google measured it inside its own organization, with scientific rigor. Between 2012 and 2015, Google studied 180 of its internal teams in the so-called Project Aristotle, looking for what distinguished the best ones. They hoped to find the answer in individual talent, in the combination of profiles or in seniority.
It was none of those. The number one factor, above all others, was psychological safety. Teams performed better when their members felt free to speak, ask questions and make mistakes without fear. A company that makes a living by hiring the brightest people in the world discovered that what was decisive was not each individual brain, but the climate between them.
It was none of those. The number one factor, above all others, was psychological safety. Teams performed better when their members felt free to speak, ask questions and make mistakes without fear. A company that makes a living by hiring the brightest people in the world discovered that what was decisive was not each individual brain, but the climate between them.
Where did the concept come from? A counterintuitive finding
The origin is revealing. Studying nursing teams in hospitals, Edmondson found something that looked like measurement error: the better teams reported more errors, not fewer. The explanation changed everything. It's not that they failed more; It's that they felt safe enough to acknowledge their failures openly, talk about them, and learn. Fearful teams made the same mistakes—or more—but they hid them.
The lesson for any leader is both uncomfortable and liberating: silence is not a sign that everything is going well; It is often a sign of fear.** A team that never brings you bad news is not a team without problems; It is a team that learned not to tell you.
The lesson for any leader is both uncomfortable and liberating: silence is not a sign that everything is going well; It is often a sign of fear.** A team that never brings you bad news is not a team without problems; It is a team that learned not to tell you.
The truth that few say: security is not softness
Here is the point that separates those who understand the concept from those who only repeat it. Psychological safety is not comfort, permissiveness or lack of demand. It is just the opposite of what many managers fear when they hear the word.
Edmondson herself insists on it: psychological safety coexists with high standards. It is the combination of feeling safe to speak and, at the same time, being challenged to perform. Without security, the teams remain silent. Without standards, they accommodate. Excellence is in having both things at the same time.
Put in operational terms: a good team is not one where anything goes, but one where you can say what you think, recognize a mistake and demand from your partner without breaking the relationship. We are all the same ship, and on a serious ship people speak clearly precisely because everyone cares about getting to port.
Edmondson herself insists on it: psychological safety coexists with high standards. It is the combination of feeling safe to speak and, at the same time, being challenged to perform. Without security, the teams remain silent. Without standards, they accommodate. Excellence is in having both things at the same time.
Put in operational terms: a good team is not one where anything goes, but one where you can say what you think, recognize a mistake and demand from your partner without breaking the relationship. We are all the same ship, and on a serious ship people speak clearly precisely because everyone cares about getting to port.
What no email builds: how psychological safety is cultivated
And here appears the connection that gives meaning to this entire article for those who work in Human Capital. Psychological safety is not decreed. It is not ordered in a meeting or installed with a statement asking people to “be more open.” It is cultivated with shared experiences where people lower their defenses, truly know each other and learn to trust.
That is exactly what well-designed team integration experiences produce: a Team Building with a method. Not the “games and photos” version, but the one that puts people in challenges where they have to communicate, depend on each other and show themselves as they are — a dynamic of team problem solving or an experience of leadership and cohesion achieve this by design. Science, without intending to, described the precise result that our discipline generates when done with method.
The evidence supports this chain: team development interventions improve, above all, the human fabric—trust, communication, cohesion—which is precisely the terrain where psychological safety is born. At Pasión por el Éxito we have been designing business integration activities for more than 750,000 people in nearly 500 of the most important companies in Mexico for 23 years (since 2003). We don't sell fun; We build the conditions so that a team dares to give its best.
That is exactly what well-designed team integration experiences produce: a Team Building with a method. Not the “games and photos” version, but the one that puts people in challenges where they have to communicate, depend on each other and show themselves as they are — a dynamic of team problem solving or an experience of leadership and cohesion achieve this by design. Science, without intending to, described the precise result that our discipline generates when done with method.
The evidence supports this chain: team development interventions improve, above all, the human fabric—trust, communication, cohesion—which is precisely the terrain where psychological safety is born. At Pasión por el Éxito we have been designing business integration activities for more than 750,000 people in nearly 500 of the most important companies in Mexico for 23 years (since 2003). We don't sell fun; We build the conditions so that a team dares to give its best.
From theory to your team
Psychological safety ceased to be an academic concept and became a measurable lever of performance. Harvard discovered it; Google confirmed it; your team needs it. The question is no longer whether it matters, but what you are doing, today, to build it.
If this type of scientifically supported analysis is useful for your work in Human Capital, subscribe to our blog: each installment translates the best evidence about teams into decisions that you can defend before your management. And when you want to take psychological safety from theory to a real experience for your team, request a quote for an experience with Pasión por el Éxito.
If this type of scientifically supported analysis is useful for your work in Human Capital, subscribe to our blog: each installment translates the best evidence about teams into decisions that you can defend before your management. And when you want to take psychological safety from theory to a real experience for your team, request a quote for an experience with Pasión por el Éxito.
Frequently Asked Questions
It is the shared belief that the team is a safe place to take interpersonal risks: ask questions, disagree, propose ideas, and admit mistakes without fear of humiliation or punishment. The concept was developed by Amy Edmondson of Harvard. It does not mean absence of demand or that “anything goes”; It means the truth can be said out loud, allowing the team to learn faster and perform better.
Sources
- Edmondson, A. C. (1999). “Psychological Safety and Learning Behavior in Work Teams”, *Administrative Science Quarterly*, 44(2), pp. 350–383.
- Edmondson, A. C. (2018). *The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth*. Hoboken: Wiley.
- Google — “Aristotle” Project (re:Work, 2015). Analysis of 180 internal teams: psychological safety was the most determining factor in team effectiveness.
- Lacerenza, C. N., Marlow, S. L., Tannenbaum, S. I. and Salas, E. (2018). “Team development interventions: Evidence-based approaches for improving teamwork”, *American Psychologist*, 73(4).
- Edmondson, A. C. (2018). *The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth*. Hoboken: Wiley.
- Google — “Aristotle” Project (re:Work, 2015). Analysis of 180 internal teams: psychological safety was the most determining factor in team effectiveness.
- Lacerenza, C. N., Marlow, S. L., Tannenbaum, S. I. and Salas, E. (2018). “Team development interventions: Evidence-based approaches for improving teamwork”, *American Psychologist*, 73(4).
“Psychological safety is the shared belief that a team is a safe place to ask questions, disagree, and admit mistakes without fear. Google identified it as the number one factor of its most effective teams. At Pasión por el Éxito we build it with designed experiences, not speeches, since 2003.
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