How to Build a Team Where People Feel Safe to Speak Up
3 ways to create psychological safety
👋 Hey, Carlos here! Welcome to “The Holistic Leader”, your weekly source of simple and honest leadership, Agile, Management & team insights.
Let me ask you a question. Have you ever been in a meeting where no one speaks up?
You ask for ideas.
You ask for feedback.
You ask if anyone has questions.
Silence.
But later, you hear that outside of the meeting, the team is full of ideas, laughing, and talking openly.
That happened to me. (Many times and in many teams)
A team lead once told me:
"Carlos, after the retrospective, the team had a meeting without you.
Me: and?
Team Lead: They’re relaxed, they laugh, share ideas, and talk about everything they didn’t say before.
At first, that stung. But then I realized something important:
Not everyone feels safe speaking up in front of their leader or Manager —and that’s okay.
It doesn’t mean the team is broken. It doesn’t mean people don’t care.
It means there’s work to do.
As leaders, we have to understand that silence isn’t the absence of ideas—it’s the absence of safety.
And that’s actually good news.
Because now?
You don’t have a communication problem. You have a new challenge to solve.
So, how do we create a space where people feel safe enough to bring their real thoughts to the table, instead of saving them for later?
1️⃣ Make It Safe to Fail
If you’ve been following me for a while or know me in person, you know that I’m passionate about fitness.
In the gym, failure isn’t a bad thing—it’s how you grow. You push your muscles to their limit, and when they fail, they rebuild stronger. If you never push yourself, you never improve.
Teams work the same way.
If people are afraid to fail, they’ll stop pushing limits, stop sharing ideas, and stop getting better. Instead of taking smart risks, they’ll play it safe and stick to what’s comfortable. And just like in training, playing it safe means no growth.
What I do:
We talk about what didn’t work—not to blame, but to learn.
We ask: “What went wrong? What can we do differently next time?”
We treat failure as a lesson, not a mistake—just like a missed rep or a tough workout, it’s all part of the process.
Ask your team: “What’s one thing we tried that didn’t work, and what did we learn from it?”
Because just like in fitness, progress comes from learning, adjusting, and trying again.
2️⃣ Encourage Honest Conversations
If people only tell you what you want to hear, you’re not getting the full picture.
What I do:
I ask direct but simple questions, like: “What’s one thing we could improve as a team?”
I set up anonymous feedback options to remove the fear of speaking up.
I listen, without jumping in to fix everything immediately.
Next time you ask for feedback, wait 5 seconds before saying anything. Let people process. Silence gives them space to speak.
3️⃣ Normalize Rejection
If every idea gets approved, your team probably isn’t pushing hard enough.
What I do:
I challenge my team to go for rejection—it means we’re stretching beyond what’s easy.
We track rejected ideas and look for patterns.
We focus on what we learned, not just whether it was a yes or no.
Set a goal to get one idea, a pitch, a suggestion. Not to fail, but to keep taking shots.
Final Thought: Respect is the Glue
You can have the best tools, best plans, and best people but if your team doesn’t feel safe speaking up, nothing will improve.
Respect is the glue.
Respect for different opinions.
Respect for learning through failure.
Respect for each other.
If you want a strong team, start here. Make it safe for people to speak, to challenge even if you are the Manager.
Note: If your team stays quiet, it’s a sign they don’t feel safe. Your job? Make it safe to speak up.
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See you next week!
- Carlos✌️
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