What is Psychological Safety?

Barbra Carlisle • April 4, 2025

Psychological Safety is a root to sustainable high performing teams 

Imagine this. You’re in a leadership meeting where a crucial decision is being discussed. One of your team members has an insight that could change the direction of the conversation, but they hesitate. The moment passes, and the idea never gets shared. A missed opportunity.

If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. Research from Gallup (2023) found that only 3 in 10 employees strongly agree that their opinions count at work. Yet, the ability to challenge, contribute, and collaborate freely is the foundation of high-performing teams.

That’s where psychological safety comes in. A concept pioneered by Amy Edmondson, psychological safety is the belief that one can speak up without fear of humiliation, rejection, or punishment. But this safety isn’t binary – it evolves through four key stages.

Each person experiences these stages differently, depending on their communication and thinking styles. Understanding this can help leaders create an environment where everyone feels safe to contribute.

The Four Stages of Psychological Safety

1. Inclusion Safety – "Do I Belong Here?"

This is the foundation of psychological safety – the need to be accepted as part of the group, regardless of differences in background, experience, or thinking style. Some people feel secure when relationships are prioritised, while others need clarity on their role in the team.

Signs of Inclusion Safety:

  • People feel comfortable sharing personal experiences.
  • Meetings feel welcoming, and all voices are acknowledged.
  • Silence is seen as thinking time, not fear.

Different Voices, Different Needs:

Some people in your team will need warmth and relational connection to feel safe while others will want clarity on expectations and structure.  Others will feel safe where there is an open, informal exchange of ideas and similarly some team members may feel safe when there is a shared vision and strategic purpose.  Those with a creative thinking preference may value space for deep thought and time to articulate ideas fully.  

Leadership Habit: Use people’s names regularly and create structured opportunities for everyone to contribute.


2. Learner Safety – "Can I Grow Here?"

Once people feel included, the next level is about learning. Do they feel safe to ask questions, make mistakes, and try new things without fear of embarrassment? Some thrive on open-ended discussions, while others need clear expectations before stepping into learning.

Signs of Learner Safety:

  • People openly ask for feedback.
  • Mistakes are seen as opportunities for growth.
  • Junior team members contribute without hesitation.

Different Voices, Different Needs:

As with inclusion safety different team members will place higher value on different aspects of learner safety.  For example:
  • some may hesitate to take risks if they feel failure might harm relationships.
  • some want clear learning pathways before stepping out of their comfort zone.
  • some learn best through interactive, social experiences.
  • some need challenging problems to solve, not just incremental learning.
  • some prefer to process information deeply before acting.

Leadership Habit: Share your own learning style and be curious as to how others prefer to learn


3. Contributor Safety – "Can I Make an Impact?"

At this stage, team members feel safe to apply their skills, express ideas, and challenge the status quo. Some prefer to refine ideas before speaking, while others think aloud and iterate in real-time.

Signs of Contributor Safety:

  • People proactively bring solutions, not just problems.
  • There’s healthy debate without defensiveness.
  • Meetings are energised – not dominated by a few voices.

Different Voices, Different Needs:

If we look at Contributor safety through the 5 Voices lens we can see that:
  • Nurturers contribute when they know their ideas will benefit people.
  • Guardians thrive when processes are followed and well-documented.
  • Connectors engage when they can see the impact on relationships and networks.
  • Pioneers bring their best when they can drive ambitious strategies forward.
  • Creatives need the freedom to explore new concepts without immediate judgment.

Leadership Habit: Respond to ideas with “Tell me more” rather than an immediate judgment.


4. Challenger Safety – "Can I Challenge Here Without Fear?"

This is the highest level of psychological safety, where people feel empowered to question assumptions, challenge leadership, and advocate for change – all without fear of retribution. Some challenge through logical reasoning, while others need time to reflect before speaking.

Signs of Challenger Safety:

  • People call out flaws in processes or leadership decisions constructively.
  • There is healthy disagreement, not just agreement for the sake of harmony.
  • The best idea wins – not the loudest voice.

Different Voices, Different Needs:

Diversity of personality preference in the team will mean that some people:
  • may challenge in a way that prioritises harmony and relationships.
  • will challenge when there’s a risk to stability or structure
  • challenge when they see an idea that could bring people together.
  • challenge by pushing bold, strategic moves.
  • challenge by offering visionary, outside-the-box thinking.

Leadership Habit: Ask “What’s the counterargument to this?” in meetings to encourage diverse viewpoints.


The Business Case for Challenger Safety

When teams operate at Challenger Safety, organisations benefit in measurable ways:
  1. Companies with high psychological safety see a 27% increase in team performance (Google, 2022).
  2. Innovation skyrockets – teams are 45% more likely to experiment and take smart risks (CIPD, 2023).
  3. Employee engagement soars – teams with high safety have 76% lower burnout rates (McKinsey, 2023).

How to Check If Your Team Has Reached Challenger Safety

Ask your team these five questions:
  1. Do you feel comfortable challenging my thinking without consequences?
  2. Do you see mistakes as learning opportunities?
  3. When you contribute ideas, do you feel heard?
  4. Have you ever held back from speaking up? If so, why?
  5. What’s one thing I could do to make you feel safer to challenge?

If the answers reveal gaps, that’s where the work begins.

Final Thought: Psychological Safety is a Leadership Choice

Psychological safety isn’t a soft skill – it’s a strategic advantage. And it starts with small, consistent actions. Leaders who nurture inclusion, learning, contribution, and challenge create teams that are not just engaged, but unstoppable.

Where does your team sit in the four stages? Let’s have a conversation about creating a culture where every voice is heard and valued.

Book a conversation with Barbra from Glee Coaching to explore how to strengthen psychological safety in your organisation and to find out how adopting a 5 Voices approach you can create sustainable challenger safety workplaces.  Email barbra@gleecoaching.com 


Ideas and thoughts on how to lead well through complexity and change

Building Safety Act - impact on leadership

By Barbra Carlisle • January 15, 2026
What’s changed for UK construction leaders? In short: almost everything. The industry is operating under tighter compliance (the Building Safety Act), persistent skills shortages, output volatility and rising labour costs. The BSA has raised the bar on competence and accountability, making leaders - rather than compliance teams alone - responsible for consistent, documented, risk‑aware decisions across the project lifecycle. Meanwhile, the skills and digital capability required to deliver the golden thread are still catching up. That combination is why projects stall - not for technical reasons, but because leadership, communication, and team competence aren’t keeping pace. Against this backdrop, Alan Brookes , CEO of Arcadis in The Unlikely Executive Podcast, offers timely counsel for leaders under pressure: “It’s not a weakness to ask for help. It’s actually part of your own learning and development.” along with “Show up with some confidence. Believe in yourself. Don’t hesitate. Somebody else may not back you, so you’ve got to back yourself.” These principles map directly to BSA‑era delivery. (Context: Arcadis operates at global scale, circa €4bn net revenue and ~35k people.) [ons.gov.uk] The State of Play: Compliance Up, Capacity Tight, Margins Squeezed Output & cost pressure. ONS data show late‑2025 weakness - monthly output fell in October and November - while BCIS notes subdued demand, sticky inflation and labour‑led cost pressure. In that environment, inconsistency and rework get punished; leaders need planning discipline, visible accountability, and competence, not last‑minute heroics. Skills & capacity. CITB’s 2025–2029 outlook projects the industry needs c47,860 extra workers per year (c239,300 over five years). Skills England highlights long‑standing productivity underperformance and the need to strengthen competence pipelines. You won’t meet BSA expectations with “bums on seats”; you need competent, evidenced capability. Why this matters now . The BSA imposes dutyholder obligations, competence requirements and the golden thread, comprehensive, reliable information from design to operation. Non‑compliance attracts penalties and liability; leadership must align people, process and data, across the supply chain, to evidence decisions, not just make them. What the Building Safety Act Means for Leaders (Not Just for Compliance) 1) Competence is a leadership problem, not an HR file. The BSA expects that those designing, building and managing higher‑risk buildings are competent with the skills, knowledge, experience and behaviours to do the job. That’s hard across mixed supply chains and variable subcontractor standards. Leaders must define competence expectations by role, align them with PAS guidance where relevant, and evidence that competence is maintained. 2) The golden thread demands usable, trustworthy data. You won’t achieve the golden thread with siloed emails and file dumps. You need consistent information management, clear ownership, and digital workflows that teams actually use. BIM and CDEs help, but adoption and skills still lag; treat digital as a behavioural change, not an IT procurement. 3) Accountability is personal and cultural. Gateways, dutyholder roles, retrospective liabilities, these shift risk onto leadership choices. The BSA isn’t “tick‑box”; it’s an operating model. Leaders set the tone: clear responsibilities, transparent escalation, and no‑surprises reporting when problems arise. The Digital Reality Check: AI & BIM Are Enablers - If Teams Are Ready Reports show a sector at a digital tipping point: AI/BIM use rising but capability and integration patchy. RICS finds optimism about AI’s value yet low scaled adoption due to skills, data quality and integration. NBS notes anxiety about being left behind is growing, while daily use of digital tools is increasing. Leaders must insist on right‑sized, standardised practices teams can repeat under pressure, not grand platforms that don’t change behaviour. Leadership implication: t he golden thread is only as strong as the weakest behaviour. Agree the minimum digital behaviours (where issues are logged, who approves what, how decisions are captured, where models/documents live). Train them, coach them, audit them. Alan Brookes’ Playbook for the BSA Era Listen first. “Listen. Understand the business.” In BSA terms: listen to where documentation breaks, where competence is assumed not evidenced, where subcontractor onboarding fails. Don’t move tech or org charts until you’ve heard the reality from site to boardroom. Ask for help . “It’s not a weakness to ask for help.” Establish mentoring and coaching routines so leaders surface uncertainty early before it becomes non‑compliance. Create a culture where “I don’t know -show me” is professional, not perilous. Back yourself -then build the best team. “Somebody else may not back you, so you’ve got to back yourself,” and “get the very best team around you.” Bring in the skills for the future: information management, digital coordination, competent principal designer/contractor capability, and project controls that withstand regulatory scrutiny. Stay grounded . The childhood photo is more than sentiment; it keeps ego in check and sustains service‑centred leadership - critical when the law raises expectations and the pressure to perform narrows your field of vision. “Remember where you came from. Don’t get big‑headed.” Leading through Complexity Decisive Leadership When Under Pressure Leadership vs Management If you’re leading in construction or housing and want to strengthen communication, competence, and delivery under the BSA—without drowning in operational noise—my 6‑month coaching programme is designed for this context. We focus on: Decision clarity and authority under pressure Competence frameworks and real‑world evidence gathering Golden‑thread behaviours your team will actually use Mentoring/feedback cadences that build confidence and reduce rework → Book a clarity call to discuss your context and goals.

Is Coaching worth the money?

By Barbra Carlisle • January 15, 2026
Acknowledgment: This piece is inspired by Thrive Partners’ work on proving L&D ROI in UK organisations. Their practical approach to turning coaching outcomes into business‑critical metrics has shaped how I frame results for construction and engineering leaders. The Hard Truth: Margins Aren’t Always Lost on Materials - They are Lost in Leadership Bottlenecks If you run a construction or engineering business, you already know where money leaks out: slow decisions, rework, and low productivity. UK data confirms the scale of the challenge: 42% of UK construction projects overran on time between 2003 and 2018, and 46% overran on cost- a persistent pattern linked to delays in client decision‑making, design changes, and coordination failures. Work‑related ill health and injuries cost UK employers an estimated £22.9 billion per year, with 40.1 million working days lost ; stress, depression, and anxiety alone affected 964,000 workers in 2024/25. In high‑pressure project environments, that’s lost capacity and missed deadlines. Skills shortages are systemic: the CITB and ECITB review warns the UK lacks the capacity to deliver major infrastructure without strengthening leadership and management capability; government spending plans are unprecedented, but project management and design skills gaps threaten value for money. Bottom line : your project risks are not just technical they are human. Coaching is where you turn those human risks into measurable commercial results. What the Numbers Say: Coaching ROI Is Real, Measurable, and Fast UK organisations investing in leadership coaching are seeing quantifiable returns when they link coaching to outcomes CFOs actually care about: Thrive state: - 86% of companies recoup their coaching investment; case examples include a 23% reduction in senior leadership turnover (saving £850k per year) and - new executives reaching full effectiveness 40% faster (c£200k value per leader). Independent UK data shows an average return of £2.86 for every £1 spent on leadership development (a 186% ROI). Useful as a conservative benchmark for coaching‑related programmes. Global evidence used widely in UK boardrooms indicates 5–7× average ROI for executive coaching, with 86% of firms that calculate ROI recovering their outlay. For construction and engineering leaders, translate this into: costs avoided (turnover and recruitment), value accelerated (faster ramp‑up), and risk reduced (decisions made earlier, fewer change orders, less rework). Failure Factors We Can Fix: Where Coaching Moves the Needle on Site Leadership coaching isn’t a pep talk, it targets the exact behaviours that cause overruns and margin erosion: Decision Latency & Design Changes UK research highlights delays from slow client decisions and late design revisions as top risks. Coaching builds decisive, fair leadership—so your teams take initiative and back your decisions under pressure (your stated brand promise). Expect fewer late changes, tighter governance on variations, and clearer escalation routes. Leadership Turnover & Succession Risk Turnover at site manager / project director level is expensive. Thrive’s FTSE 100 example (23% reduction, £850k saved) shows how coaching stabilises senior seats, maintaining continuity through critical project phases. [thrivepartners.co.uk] On‑Site Engagement & Absence With the HSE reporting 40.1 million lost days and mental health as the leading cause, coaching linked to engagement (ICF/HCI shows 72% correlation) reduces sick days and improves reliability on tight programmes. Skills Shortage Pressure The Public Accounts Committee warns of worsening engineering and project skills gaps across UK infrastructure. Coaching accelerates leaders’ ability to delegate, develop, and retain scarce talent, crucial when replacing skills is slow and costly. Blueprint: How to Prove ROI Like a CFO (Not an HR Department) Pick Hard Metrics Before You Start Turnover & retention at senior levels (cost per replacement, programme disruption). Ramp‑up time for newly promoted directors (weeks to full effectiveness × day‑rate/value proxy). Decision lead times (RFIs, design approvals, change orders). Rework rates and variation governance (priced vs unpriced change) (These are the levers Thrive highlights when converting coaching outcomes to financial impact.) [thrivepartners.co.uk] Use Conservative UK Benchmarks ROI baseline: £2.86 per £1 spent (UK leadership development benchmark). Executive coaching range: 5–7× average ROI; recover the initial investment 86% of the time. Attribute Gains to Behaviours, Not Vibes Link coaching goals to decisions made earlier, better delegation, and accountability—all cited in sector studies as drivers of improved financial health and culture. Publish a One‑Page ROI Summary Each Quarter Metric movement (e.g., decision cycle down 18%). Financial translation (e.g., £150k margin protected through fewer unpriced variations). Programme cost vs. benefit (apply conservative £2.86 multiplier first; then layer confirmed savings like recruitment avoidance). Why This Matters Now: UK Context You Can’t Ignore Construction output hit £139bn in 2023, but new orders fell 16%: tightening pipelines put pressure on delivery discipline and leadership quality. Average weekly earnings in construction rose 6.9% year‑on‑year (to Nov 2024), squeezing margins while labour remains scarce: coaching that improves retention and productivity is a hedge against wage inflation. Skills shortages remain elevated across engineering and infrastructure; without stronger leadership, the UK risks paying more for scarce capability and missing project value. Make It Tangible: A 12‑Week 1:1 Build BOLD Leadership Coaching Sprint for Your Senior Team Who it’s for: Owners and directors in construction/engineering who want decisive and fair leadership that teams back under pressure. Weeks 1–2: Agree ROI model and start to work 1:1 with leaders on self awareness and EQ Weeks 3–8: Optimising communication - Behaviour shifts eg delegation, escalation rituals, decision frameworks, variation governance. Weeks 9–12: Deliver strategy and work on ongoing future scorecards tied to engagement indices and quarterly ROI summary. Expected outcomes (conservative): 10–20% faster decision cycles on RFIs/design approvals. 1 fewer senior departure per annum (typical mid‑size firm), saving £120k–£850k depending on role and replacement cost. 2–3 weeks shorter ramp‑up for newly promoted directors; £200k per leader is a credible UK proxy. Documented ROI using the £2.86 per £1 baseline, with upside toward 5–7× where metric movement is strong. [assets.pub...ice.gov.uk] Your Move If you want leadership that leads decisively and fairly so your teams take initiative, back your decisions, and keep the business moving under pressure, coaching is the fastest route from behaviours to cash impact. 👉 Join my programme. Or if you prefer to test the water, book a clarity call with me and we’ll build a one‑page ROI model against your current projects. Sources & Further Reading Thrive Partners: Proving ROI in Learning & Development: How UK Organisations Transform Intuition into Financial Impact [thrivepartners.co.uk] CJPI Insights: Leadership Development Industry Statistics in the UK (UK average ROI £2.86 per £1). ICF: Coaching Statistics—The ROI of Coaching (engagement correlation 72%; ROI evidence; global 7× median). [assets.pub...ice.gov.uk] ONS: Construction statistics, Great Britain: 2023 (output, new orders). [ons.gov.uk] HSE (2024/25): Annual health & safety statistics (lost days, £22.9bn cost; stress prevalence). [gov.uk], [press.hse.gov.uk] UK Parliament PAC (2024): UK lacks skills and capacity to deliver major infrastructure (skills gaps, market capacity). [committees...liament.uk] LSBU / ARCOM: UK delay factors and infrastructure delays research (decision‑making, coordination, planning). [openresear...lsbu.ac.uk], [arcom.ac.uk] Turner & Townsend (2025): UK market intelligence—skills shortage challenge (earnings pressure, inflation context).