Building Psychological Safety at Work

Rethinking Psychological Safety – What Are You Really Measuring?

How external conversations reveal what surveys miss—and why that matters for your business.

In many organisations, psychological safety is already on the agenda. It shows up in values statements. It’s tracked in quarterly surveys. Sometimes it even gets a line on the intranet homepage.

But let’s pause. If you really want to know how safe people feel—are you measuring it in a way that lets them tell you?

Because here's the catch: in environments where openness doesn’t yet feel fully safe, asking people to score their experience in writing—no matter how “anonymous”—can backfire. It formalises the risk. It raises the stakes. And sometimes, the act of asking actually deepens the silence.

1. When Surveys Can’t Hear What’s Really Being Said

Psychological safety isn’t a metric—it’s a mood. And that makes it hard to capture in a form or spreadsheet. Most people, even when invited to “speak freely,” calibrate their responses to avoid tension or exposure. Especially when they’re unsure how their input will be received—or remembered.

Even when the signals do show up (“trust seems low”), how often are they interpreted generously? Sometimes it’s reframed:“It’s probably just one person not aligned.”Or rationalised away:“People are stressed. It's not about us.”

And that’s precisely the risk: when early warnings are softened instead of explored, the actual issue gets buried deeper.

External coaches shift that pattern. They don’t just record insights—they witness them. They hold space. And when a theme repeats across conversations, it’s much harder to brush aside. There’s no performance review looming, no internal hierarchy. Just open space—and the truth that shows up in it.

When’s the last time someone told you something that made you rethink your version of events?

2. The Hidden Cost of Unspoken Tension

It’s easy to assume all is well—especially in workplaces that pride themselves on being open and supportive. But when internal messaging promotes psychological safety, and the lived experience doesn’t quite match, people rarely raise their hand. They go quiet. They protect themselves. Sometimes they disengage without saying a word.

Until one day, they don’t.Sometimes it’s a resignation letter. Sometimes it’s an emotional outburst in a team meeting. Sometimes it’s what we call a disclosure bomb—a long-suppressed story that surfaces in an exit interview or is shared with a client in a moment of frustration. The damage? Reputational risk. Internal confusion. Lost trust.

And often, leaders are caught off-guard. “Why didn’t we see this coming?”

The better question might be: who felt safe enough to warn you earlier?

3. A Smarter Way to Detect (and Defuse) Risk

Think of the kinds of conversations that lead to real disclosure. They’re rarely scheduled. They happen with hairdressers, strangers on trains, or someone who feels just safe enough to ask, “How are things, really?”

That’s the kind of dynamic external coaching creates. Not because people plan to open up—but because they’re met with presence, not judgement. And when a coach listens across teams and hears the same story more than once, it’s no longer a one-off. It’s a signal.

Best of all, this doesn’t need to be a big initiative. External coaches can fold these insights into their existing work—through skill development sessions, reflective debriefs, or one-to-one coaching. It doesn’t have to feel like a diagnostic process. But it can quietly function as one.

If you’re ready to hear what hasn’t been said yet, maybe it’s time to change how—and with whom—you listen.

4. From Measurement to Momentum

At its best, psychological safety isn't just about preventing harm—it’s about unlocking performance. When people speak up early, leaders get better intel. Teams take smarter risks. Customer issues are spotted and resolved faster. Frustration doesn’t fester behind the scenes.

This creates real ROI. Fewer resignations. Faster alignment. A reduced need for reactive firefighting. And yes—stronger customer relationships. Because when internal safety is low, external conversations with clients often suffer too. Reps hesitate. Emotions bleed through. People avoid saying the hard thing—until it’s too late.

If one team’s silence could put your customer relationships at risk—wouldn’t you want to know?

Final Reflection: Not Another Programme. Just a Better Lens.

Guaranteeing psychological safety doesn’t require a big rebrand or a culture overhaul. Sometimes, it just means creating the right conditions for honesty to emerge.

Attentive external coaches can surface early signals, prompt better questions, and keep your leadership team close to the truth—without the fear filter that often exists in formal channels.

And that matters. Because if you're not hearing what's hard to say… someone else will.

In your business today—who gets to tell the whole story? And who’s listening when they do?