This week, I saw two very different sides of psychological safety play out, and both left a mark.
First up, a team meeting.
It started off well; people were being honest, surfacing tough stuff that clearly needed to be aired. You could feel the bravery. But it didn’t stay safe for long.
Emotions bubbled up, a few defensive reactions crept in, and the mood shifted fast. One minute we were leaning into discomfort, the next we were skirting around it. That tipping point is delicate, and once it goes, it’s hard to pull things back without making it worse. Definitely one to watch closely and navigate carefully if you ever find yourself in that space.
Then there’s the flip side.
This week also happens to be Mental Health Awareness Week, and across the wider company, we’ve organised a handful of people to share deeply personal stories in public Slack and Teams channels to help raise awareness. Stories about anxiety, grief, burnout, endometriosis, and more. These weren’t easy reads.
But the response? Honest, heartfelt, and overwhelmingly supportive. People replied with love, related experiences, and a whole lot of respect.
I even reached out to someone who shared their journey with endometriosis, something I’ve only really started to understand after supporting my wife through her own experience in the past few years. That one message turned into a really valuable and unexpected connection that will probably last. Just from showing a bit of humanity.
It reminded me of something important:
Vulnerability doesn’t guarantee safety. But it can create it if we handle it right.
There’s a real difference between being open and being supported.
In smaller team spaces, emotions run closer to the surface, and without the right care or facilitation, brave honesty can quickly feel exposed.
In bigger spaces, especially when there’s no immediate expectation for a reaction, people can sit with the words, reflect, and respond with more empathy.
Here are a few things I’m taking away from all this:
Vulnerability is a gift, not a guarantee. You can’t force it, and when someone offers it, you’ve got a responsibility to hold it well.
Psychological safety isn’t created in one meeting. It’s a rhythm, a culture, a series of responses that say “you’re safe here” over and over again. Nurture it.
Bravery isn’t just speaking up, it’s how we respond when others do. That’s the bit that really matters.
We talk a lot about psychological safety like it’s a checkbox. But it’s more like a muscle: always being used, and only stronger with practice.
Let’s keep practising.