Risk, Fail, Learn:
How Safe Spaces Power Leadership Success

Steve Weiss, ACC
Transformational Leadership Academy

In any fast-paced, high-pressure environment, success depends on more than just technical skills. Teams thrive when they feel safe to communicate openly, share ideas, and admit mistakes without fear of punishment. This concept, known as psychological safety, plays a critical role in creating high-performing teams across industries, from kitchens to boardrooms.

Psychological safety fosters an environment where team members can take risks, experiment, and solve problems collaboratively, without fear of negative repercussions. When a leader builds psychological safety, it unlocks the team’s full potential, allowing individuals to innovate, collaborate, and grow.

Lessons from the Best:
How Leaders Create Psychological Safety

1. Creating Space for Honest Feedback

At Pixar, during the production of Toy Story, Woody’s character was originally portrayed as harsh and selfish, making him unlikable to test audiences. During a story review session, a junior animator spoke up, suggesting Woody’s character needed more vulnerability and self-awareness, especially in his relationship with Buzz Lightyear. This feedback—risky coming from a junior employee—was taken seriously and led to a significant shift in Woody’s character. By making him more empathetic and self-doubting, the team turned Woody into a relatable character, pivotal to the film’s eventual success. This story demonstrates Pixar’s commitment to psychological safety, where feedback from any level of the organization is not just welcomed but embraced.

2. Empowering Team Members to Make Decisions

At The Ritz-Carlton, the staff are trained and empowered to make independent decisions that improve guest experiences, without needing approval from managers. In one case, a housekeeper noticed a guest had left behind a cherished item. Without needing to escalate the issue, she arranged for the item to be shipped to the guest’s next destination, demonstrating initiative and quick thinking. This level of empowerment not only enhances the guest experience but also builds employee confidence and engagement, reinforcing a sense of ownership and responsibility across the workforce.

3. Encouraging Innovation and Risk-Taking

At Noma, the world-renowned restaurant led by René Redzepi, the culture encourages risk-taking and innovation in every dish. The team was once developing a dish involving fermented vegetables, which carried a high risk of failure. Redzepi encouraged the chefs to experiment freely with the ingredients, even if it meant early failures. Over time, through trial and error, the team developed a dish that became one of Noma’s signature offerings. By creating a psychologically safe environment where failure is accepted as part of the creative process, Redzepi has driven Noma’s evolution into a leader in culinary innovation.

4. Reacting Under Pressure

At a Michelin-starred restaurant with glass walls, a commis chef dropped an entire tray of desserts in full view of the diners. The head chef remained calm and immediately reframed the situation, asking, “How can we recover from this?” This moment wasn’t about blame—it was about resilience and teamwork. The staff regrouped and fixed the issue quickly. This example illustrates how psychological safety allows teams to recover from visible failures without panic, demonstrating grace under pressure and fostering a culture of quick recovery.

5. Learning from Mistakes

At The French Laundry, Thomas Keller demonstrated how to turn a mistake into a learning moment. When a chef overcooked an expensive cut of meat during service, Keller didn’t react with anger. Instead, he calmly asked the team, “What can we learn from this?” By reframing the mistake as an opportunity for growth, Keller fostered an environment where the team wasn’t afraid of failure but instead saw it as part of the learning process. This approach encourages experimentation, learning, and ultimately, innovation.

6. Leading with Vulnerability

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella provides a strong example of vulnerability in leadership. Early in his tenure, after mishandling a public question about gender pay gaps, he admitted his mistake and committed to improving his understanding of the issue. By acknowledging his shortcomings, Nadella built trust within Microsoft and fostered a culture where learning and admitting mistakes became part of the company’s ethos. His transparency set a precedent for others to embrace vulnerability and growth.

Turning Mistakes into Growth: A Leadership Challenge

Mistakes are inevitable, but how leaders respond to them is what defines the culture. If team members feel safe admitting their mistakes without fear of punishment, they will take ownership of their work and be more committed to improvement. In environments that encourage psychological safety, mistakes are reframed as valuable learning experiences, fostering a culture of continuous growth and innovation.

How Leaders Can Build Psychological Safety

If you are in a leadership role or aspiring to one, here are key strategies for creating a psychologically safe environment:

1. Encourage Open Dialogue
   Foster an atmosphere where team members feel comfortable speaking up, regardless of their role. Regularly ask for feedback and ensure that everyone’s voice is heard and valued.

2. Lead with Vulnerability
   Show your team that it’s okay to make mistakes by admitting your own. When leaders share their challenges openly, they model the behavior they want to see in their team.

3. Respond to Mistakes Constructively
   When something goes wrong, focus on what can be learned rather than assigning blame. This promotes a growth mindset, where mistakes are seen as opportunities to improve.

4. Empower Decision-Making
   Trust your team to make decisions and take initiative. When employees feel empowered to act without seeking constant approval, they become more engaged and innovative.
   

Why Psychological Safety Leads to Better Performance

Psychological safety is not about avoiding difficult conversations or going easy on mistakes. It’s about creating an environment where people feel safe to be themselves, to challenge ideas, and to innovate without fear of retaliation. When a team feels psychologically safe, they are more creative, more engaged, and ultimately more successful. Leaders who prioritize psychological safety unlock the potential of their teams, leading to long-term growth and resilience.

By embracing psychological safety, leaders can foster a culture where mistakes are learning opportunities, innovation thrives, and teams perform at their highest potential.