Workforce Engagement Hinges on Psychological Safety
Psychologically safe teams are more willing to learn, collaborate, and improve. Google’s 2016 workplace research, Project Aristotle, identified psychological safety as the most important characteristic of high-performing teams, topping dependability, structure, personal meaning, and even impact. So, why are so many security teams still failing to use this essential element to build workforce engagement?
It may be a lack of understanding of what psychological safety is and why it is important. Amy Edmondson, who coined the term, defines psychological safety as “a belief that one will not be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns, or mistakes, and that the team is safe for interpersonal risk-taking.” In other words, psychological safety is the feeling that you are free to say what you really think within a team. When psychological safety exists, team members do not fear ridicule or retaliation for speaking up. They feel safe enough to share ideas, raise concerns, give feedback, admit mistakes, and ask for help when they need it.
Psychological safety is built over time through observation of team dynamics.
People watch what happens when someone speaks up. If that person is listened to respectfully, others learn that it is safe to contribute. If they are embarrassed, ignored, or punished, everyone else learns to stay quiet. Before long, silence becomes the culture.
In security operations, silence can carry far greater consequences than poor morale. A missed intelligence report, an unreported near miss, or a security officer choosing not to challenge an unsafe instruction can expose an organization to significant operational and reputational risk. Psychological safety is therefore not simply an employee well-being issue. It is a risk management issue.
But what does this have to do with workforce engagement? Everything.
Every leader wants an engaged workforce. He or she wants employees who take initiative, solve problems, care about the organization’s success, and willingly go the extra mile. But engagement cannot thrive where people are afraid to speak their minds.
When people feel that their ideas do not matter, they gradually withdraw. If every suggestion is dismissed or every concern is met with defensiveness or anger, they begin to wonder why they should bother speaking at all. Over time, their confidence and self-esteem gradually erode. They stop contributing, not because they have nothing to offer, but because they have learned that speaking up carries more risk to them than remaining silent.
Eventually, they do exactly what is expected of them and nothing more, and they come to resent the environment that silences them. That is what fear does.
In many organizations, employees see problems long before leaders do. They notice unsafe practices, inefficient processes, dissatisfied customers, or emerging risks. But if previous attempts to raise concerns have been met with ridicule, punishment, or indifference, those observations remain unspoken.
The result is costly mistakes that could have been prevented.
This is particularly relevant in the security profession. Security officers, controllers, analysts, and supervisors are often the first people to notice vulnerabilities or evolving threats. If they do not feel safe raising those concerns, organizations lose valuable intelligence simply because people choose silence over potential embarrassment or punishment.
Fear also traps people in the bare minimum.
When employees feel they can never get anything right, they stop trying anything new. Innovation disappears because curiosity feels dangerous. Why suggest a better way of doing something if failure will be punished? Why ask a question if people will think you are incompetent?
Psychological safety creates the opposite environment. It permits people to be curious, to test new ideas, and to admit when something is not working. Innovation rarely begins with certainty. It begins with someone saying, “What if we tried this instead?”
There is another consequence of fear that leaders sometimes overlook: Fear prevents connection.
The strongest teams are built on honesty, transparency, and authenticity. Team members can discuss difficult issues, disagree respectfully, and admit mistakes without damaging relationships. That kind of openness builds trust.
In fearful workplaces, people wear masks. They say what they think leaders want to hear instead of what they actually believe. They become cautious, guarded, and emotionally detached. It is difficult to feel committed to a team when you cannot be yourself within it.
Psychological safety creates fearless organizations where employees can challenge ideas and the status quo respectfully, where mistakes become opportunities for learning rather than occasions for blame, and where difficult conversations happen early instead of after problems have grown.
So, how can security leaders increase workforce engagement through psychological safety? It starts with listening.
Listen without interrupting. When employees raise concerns, take them seriously. If a suggestion cannot be implemented, explain why rather than dismissing it. People are far more accepting of no when they know they have genuinely been heard.
Reward honesty, especially when it is uncomfortable. If someone has the courage to point out a risk, admit a mistake, or challenge the status quo respectfully, thank him or her instead of punishing that person. The rest of the team is watching, and they will learn from your response.
Treat mistakes as opportunities to learn. Accountability still matters, but the goal should be to understand what happened and prevent it from happening again, rather than to assign blame.
Leaders should also model vulnerability. Admitting when you are wrong or when you do not have all the answers gives your team permission to do the same. Ironically, people often trust leaders more, not less, when they see humility.
Finally, speak last. Ask questions before offering your own opinion. The moment a leader speaks first, many people begin editing their own thoughts to match the leader’s view. Allowing others to speak first often leads to richer discussions and better decisions.
At its heart, workforce engagement is about whether people feel that they matter, and psychological safety tells employees that their voice matters.
Security leaders often invest heavily in technology, processes, and physical controls to manage risk. Yet one of the most powerful risk controls is creating a culture where people feel safe enough to speak. When people know their voices matter, they do more than follow procedures. They think. They question. They warn. They innovate. And that is the foundation of both workforce engagement and organizational resilience.
Barbara Okumu is a human resources professional and director of people and culture at Lady Askari. She is particularly interested in psychology and its role in creating positive, fearless workplace cultures where both people and organizations can thrive. She is currently completing her master’s degree in clinical psychology, with her thesis exploring whether psychological safety can reduce burnout among security officers.
