What Psychological Safety Really Means

**SPEAKER_1** (0:00)
This episode is brought to you by Accenture. When you're advertising operations fall out of sync, everything else follows. Spotify and Accenture are working together to reinvent the rhythm of ad sales. Using automation, analytics, and smarter workflows to simplify campaign delivery and access better data across the business. The result? Less time spent on operations, more time connecting brands with the moments and fandoms that matter most. Learn more at accenture.com/spotify.

**SPEAKER_2** (0:30)
Flowing ad budget on metrics that look great till the CFO sees them, that's bull spend, and marketers are calling it out in Dashboard Confessions.

**SPEAKER_3** (0:39)
I remember telling my boss, it'll be good for the brand when leads were slow. Yeah, it wasn't.

**SPEAKER_2** (0:47)
Cut the bull spend. LinkedIn lets you target by company, job title, and more. Advertise on LinkedIn.
Spend $250 on your first campaign and get a $250 credit. linkedin.com/campaignterms and conditions apply.

**Amy Edmondson** (1:00)
Psychological safety is one of the most talked about ideas in leadership, but it's often misunderstood. I'm Amy Edmondson, a professor at Harvard Business School. In my latest Harvard Business Review article, my co-author and I explain why those misunderstandings matter. Because when teams get this wrong, people hold back and progress stalls. It's not about being nice. It's not about agreeing with everyone. It's not avoiding bad news. It's not job security. It's not something you can mandate with a policy, and it doesn't only come from the top. Psychological safety is the belief that you can speak up, ask a question, admit a mistake, offer a different perspective without fear of embarrassment or punishment. Leaders don't build psychological safety by talking about it. They build it by how they show up. That means asking real questions, listening to understand, welcoming dissent, and reminding people why their voice and their work matters. In our article, we highlight three key practices. Talk openly about the challenges your team is facing. That signals it's safe and necessary for everyone to contribute. Admit what you don't know, ask questions, show that learning is part of the job. Give people feedback on how they respond to input, because it's not just about speaking up. It's about how we respond when others do. These everyday behaviors shape the team's climate, one interaction at a time. When people feel safe to speak up, teams learn faster and make smarter decisions. For more on what psychological safety really looks like in practice, read the full article in Harvard Business Review.

**SPEAKER_5** (2:37)
That refresh you've been putting off until the right deal came along? It's here. Wayfair's Black Friday in July sale is happening now, so you can finally get the style you've been waiting for for less. Get up to 80 percent off area rugs and up to 60 percent off outdoor and bedroom furniture. Shop Wayfair's huge selection of styles and find the piece to fit your style, budget, and space, plus free shipping. Black Friday in July ends July 27th. Shop today at wayfair.com.

**SPEAKER_6** (3:07)
This episode is brought to you by Snapdragon.
Take the leash off your laptop with the processor that gives you long battery life. Work on the go. Jump between back-to-back calls. Stay locked in from morning to midnight. Get maximum performance even when unplugged. Finally, the freedom to move across the room or across the world is here. Snapdragon. That's how. Go to snapdragon.com/laptops. Snapdragon branded products are products of Qualcomm Technologies Inc. and or subsidiaries.

**SPEAKER_7** (3:37)
The right window treatments change everything. Your sleep, your privacy, the way every room looks and feels. At blinds.com, we've spent 30 years making it surprisingly simple to get exactly what your home needs. We've covered over 25 million windows and have 50,000 five-star reviews to prove we deliver. Whether you DIY it or want a pro to handle everything from measure to install, we have you covered. Real design professionals, free samples, zero pressure. Right now, get up to 50% off with minimum purchase, plus get a free professional measure at blinds.com. Rules and restrictions apply.