Psychological Safety Is the Strategy (Not the Soft Stuff)

Written By Dr. Essence Deming-Rivers

If you’re leading a team, here’s a hard truth: Psychological safety isn’t just a nice-to-have.

It’s a performance strategy, a retention tool, and an inclusion mandate.

Edmondson’s model went mainstream after a 2012 Google study (Project Aristotle) found that psychological safety was the #1 predictor of team effectiveness—more important than talent, compensation, or sheer hours worked.

Here’s what happens when it’s present:

  • Teams learn faster

  • Mistakes are caught earlier

  • Innovation increases

  • Inclusion deepens

  • Retention improves

And when it’s absent?

  • People self-censor

  • Conflict festers underground

  • Marginalized team members feel tokenized or silenced

  • Burnout rises

  • Good ideas die quietly

Bottom line: the cost of silence is higher than you think.

If your organization is trying to be trauma-informed, inclusive, or just functional… psychological safety isn’t optional.

Dr. Essence Deming-Rivers
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What Psychological Safety Really Means (And Doesn’t)