psychological safety

The Harvard Business Review article “Leading Global Teams Effectively” (May 2025) spotlights a critical challenge: Western leaders, trained in individualistic values like autonomy and transparency, often struggle to engage the 70% of the global workforce shaped by collectivist, hierarchical cultures. While the article identifies four common missteps—too much autonomy, psychological safety, emphasis on differences, and transparency—it stops short of offering a practical roadmap for sustainable change. As a cross-cultural trainer working with leaders from Shanghai to San Francisco, I’ve seen how well-intentioned Western assumptions derail collaboration. To bridge this gap, I developed and teach the Triple A Model—Awareness, Appreciation, Adaptation—a framework that moves beyond stereotypes to foster inclusive, agile leadership. Here’s how to apply it to HBR’s four pitfalls. 1. Too Much Autonomy: Recognize That “Empowerment” Isn’t One-Size-Fits-All Western leaders often assume autonomy universally motivates, but in hierarchical cultures (e.g., Vietnam, Saudi Arabia), unclear directives can signal neglect rather than trust. Triple A Approach: Key Shift: Replace “Why aren’t they taking initiative?” with “How can I clarify expectations in a culturally resonant way?” 2. Too Much Psychological Safety: Respect Silence as Strategy While Westerners equate psychological safety with open debate, many collectivist cultures (e.g., Japan, Ghana) prioritize harmony and indirect communication. Triple A Approach: Key Shift: Move from “We need more candid dialogue!” to “How can we design safe spaces that honor diverse communication styles?” 3. Too Much Emphasis on Differences: Balance Culture with Commonalities While understanding differences is vital, overemphasizing them breeds stereotyping. A Dutch team I worked with labeled their Indonesian colleagues “risk-averse,” missing their innovative approaches to relationship-driven problem-solving. Triple A Approach: Key Shift: Replace “They’re just different” with “How do our differences strengthen our shared mission?” 4. Too Much Transparency: Honor Face and Indirect Feedback Radical transparency can alienate face-saving cultures (e.g., South Korea, Turkey), where public critique risks shame and eroded trust. Triple A Approach: Key Shift: Move from “Why can’t they handle honesty?” to “How can I deliver feedback in a way that preserves dignity?” The Triple A Model in Action: From Theory to Practice The Triple A Model isn’t about abandoning Western leadership principles—it’s about curating them. For example: Global Leadership is a Journey, Not a Checklist Cultural intelligence isn’t about memorizing dos and don’ts—it’s about cultivating curiosity, humility, and the willingness to re-examine your assumptions. As I remind clients: “Your cultural lens is just one way of seeing the world. The magic happens when you learn to see through others’ eyes too.” Download your free copy of the Triple A Cheat Sheet Here Terence is a cross-cultural trainer and founder of Upskill Consulting. He specializes in helping leaders transform cultural friction into innovation. Adapted from HBR’s “Leading Global Teams Effectively” (May 2025), reimagined through the Triple A Model—a practical framework for leaders committed to inclusive, adaptive collaboration. Notice: JavaScript is required for this content.

In my years of coaching teams through cultural transformations, I’ve seen organizations pour energy into “psychological safety” only to stumble over misconceptions that leave them frustrated. They assume it’s about harmony, compliance, or endless validation—but that’s like mistaking a symphony for a metronome. True psychological safety is dynamic, messy, and rooted in collective courage. Here’s what I wish every leader and team understood—and the strategies I use to help them course-correct. Myth 1: “Psychological safety means being nice.” What I See: Teams tiptoe around hard truths, conflating politeness with trust. A healthcare client once said, “We don’t want drama,” but their avoidance of conflict led to unchecked errors in patient care.What I Teach: Discomfort is not danger. I design workshops where teams practice “productive friction”—like role-playing dissent or using red-team exercises. Safety isn’t the absence of conflict; it’s knowing conflict won’t cost you belonging. Myth 2: “It’s a way to get everyone to agree with me.” What I See: Leaders mistake psychological safety for buy-in. A startup CEO told me, “I’ve made it safe to speak up, but they still challenge my decisions!”What I Teach: Psychological safety isn’t a megaphone—it’s a mosaic. I use “perspective circles” where teams map competing viewpoints visually. The goal isn’t consensus; it’s clarity. As one engineer put it, “I don’t need you to agree. I need to know you get it.” Myth 3: “If we’re psychologically safe, no one gets fired.” What I See: Teams equate safety with low accountability. At a struggling tech firm, managers avoided feedback, fearing it would “break trust.”What I Teach: Safety and standards are allies. I introduce “growth contracts”—team agreements that frame feedback as fuel for mastery, not failure. One client rewrote their review process to celebrate “courageous mistakes” alongside wins. Myth 4: “It’s a feel-good perk, not a performance tool.” What I See: Executives dismiss psychological safety as “soft,” until crises expose communication breakdowns. A manufacturing client ignored near-misses for years—until a preventable accident forced a reckoning.What I Teach: Fear is expensive. I audit “silence costs”—the price of unspoken ideas, concerns, or errors. Teams track metrics like meeting participation rates or time-to-flag-risks. One team saved $200K in six months by normalizing early problem-sharing. Myth 5: “HR can policy this into existence.” What I See: Organizations roll out mandatory training, then wonder why nothing changes. A Fortune 500 company’s “Speak Up!” campaign flopped because leaders kept interrupting junior staff.What I Teach: Safety is built in micro-moments. I coach leaders to ritualize vulnerability—e.g., starting meetings with “What’s one thing I might be missing?” One CEO’s habit of publicly acknowledging her blind spots shifted team dynamics faster than any policy. Myth 6: “Leaders alone create it.” What I See: Frontline employees wait passively for “permission” to speak. An engineer told me, “I’ll speak up when management fixes the culture.”What I Teach: Psychological safety is a team sport. I facilitate peer-to-peer “safety sprints,” where teammates co-design norms (e.g., “Assume positive intent” or “Challenge the idea, not the person”). Ownership spreads when everyone holds the mirror. My Coaching Toolkit: Practices That Actually Work The Truth No One Talks About Psychological safety isn’t a destination—it’s a daily practice. I’ve watched teams transform not through grand gestures, but through small, relentless acts: the manager who admits, “I don’t know,” the engineer who says, “That scares me—let’s talk,” the intern who asks, “Can we try this differently?” The most powerful moment in my work isn’t when a team declares themselves “safe.” It’s when someone risks saying, “This still feels unsafe—here’s why.” That’s the paradox: True safety lives in the courage to name its absence. Your move: Where will you—and your team—dare to speak the unspoken today? Terence H Clarke is a psychological safety coach who helps teams build cultures where trust and accountability coexist. He’s worked with organizations ranging from Fortune 100 companies to nonprofit coalitions, and he once survived a team-building exercise involving literal firewalking (but doesn’t recommend it). Notice: JavaScript is required for this content.