Psychological safety is significantly underestimated

Leaders must understand what is happening in their team.

Ask leadership expert Fiona Winter of Capgemini Academy about the key theme for leaders in large organizations, and her answer will focus more on people than on technology or strategy. “It is essential for leaders to create a safe environment for employees. Psychological safety is significantly underestimated.”

Managing change has been a central theme throughout Fiona’s career. For fifteen years, she worked at Capgemini as a change management specialist, supporting organizations through a wide range of transformation initiatives, from restructurings to the implementation of new systems.

In recent years, Fiona has increasingly focused on training and coaching individuals. In her current role at Capgemini Academy, she supports leaders and professionals in the areas of leadership, change, and personal effectiveness.

Fiona notices that the role of leaders is changing significantly. Organizations are facing multiple changes simultaneously. Hybrid work has altered the daily dynamics within teams. Generative AI and other technological advancements are raising new questions about roles, work, and the value individuals bring. Additionally, team members differ often in terms of generation, background, and perspective.

What does all this affect leaders?

Fiona, your career revolves around leadership and change. What keeps you engaged in this field?

“I can apply my experience, but because of the significant challenges organizations face, leadership itself is changing quite a bit. That keeps my work dynamic and exciting.”

“Take generative AI, for example. As a leader, you might develop a new vision and introduce an important new tool. At that point, you have achieved a lot, but in reality, it’s just the beginning. The first question is: how do you ensure that people truly adopt and use this new tool? That’s not an easy question. Generative AI is such a powerful development that it not only changes processes, but also roles while raising the question of where someone’s added value truly lies.”

“On top of that, team members differ more and more in terms of background, generation, and perspective. They have different perspectives and don’t always communicate in the same way. As a leader, you must make a conscious effort to bring everyone along, inspire them, and help them leverage their strengths. It’s a complex puzzle.”

What does this require from leaders?

“In summary: they need to develop their social skills much more than they already have. Employees have different questions and different concerns. Due to factors like a rapidly changing work environment and increased diversity in teams, this is growing exponentially.”

“Moreover, this changing reality demands more from teams. They must collaborate more effectively than ever before, adopt new ways of working, and continuously adapt to keep up. If leaders fail to recognize this, it becomes difficult to bring people along, and the likelihood of change failing increases, along with the risk of disengagement. It is essential for leaders to sense what is happening within their teams. Only then can they determine what is needed to lead effectively.”

What often goes wrong in practice?

“Listening is often underestimated. Research conducted by Capgemini across 500 companies and multiple management levels shows that leaders tend to rate their own listening skills highly, while employees have a very different perception. There is a real gap there.”

How does that mismatch occur?

“Because many people confuse hearing with listening. You may hear what someone says while your attention is actually elsewhere. Or you quickly redirect the conversation back to yourself. In those cases, you are not truly focused on the other person, and you miss important signals.”

What is the impact on teams when leaders fail to listen or miss signals?

“If people do not listen to each other, psychological safety cannot exist.”

“That safety lies in having the freedom to be yourself, share new ideas, ask questions, request help, or admit that you don’t know something or have made a mistake. Especially as innovation becomes more important, this becomes increasingly critical.”

Can you elaborate on why psychological safety is important? What value does it bring to an organization?

“The points I mentioned earlier are more defensive: the world is changing, and everyone must keep up. But there is also a proactive reason why it is important for leaders to foster psychological safety within teams. Innovation requires people to feel free to share new ideas, ask questions, seek help, admit they don’t know something, or acknowledge mistakes. Without that space, innovation is much harder to achieve.”

“Psychological safety becomes more important as innovation plays a larger role. And that brings us back to technological developments. Innovation is often essential these days.”

How can leaders practically build a psychologically safe environment?

“It starts with self-awareness. You first need to understand how you behave in conversations and what your reflexes are. After that comes self-regulation: can you demonstrate different behaviors, such as not reacting immediately but truly listening? The next step is learning to observe others effectively: what is happening, what motivates them, and what they need. From there, you can genuinely support, inspire, and coach people.”

Aside from formal training, what can a leader start doing differently tomorrow?

“Ask an open-ended question, be genuinely curious about the answer, and stay silent while listening. It sounds simple, but it isn’t.”

Finally, what is a second tip leaders can apply immediately?

“Try to turn irritation into curiosity. I often say: don’t get frustrated, get curious. If something irritates you in an interaction, don’t respond out of frustration. Instead, ask a question. That alone can make a significant difference.”

Want to learn more?

Capgemini provides leadership training in emotional intelligence through open-enrollment programs, tailored group programs, team development initiatives, and more. Get in touch with us for additional information!