Building Trust to Prevent Retaliation

I once worked with a team that was, quite frankly, toxic. The same two team members routinely derailed meeting agendas. Eye-rolling was a primary form of communication. Side conversations overtook the official discussion. Most members had disengaged, emotionally checking out while physically present. Trust was nonexistent. This wasn't just unpleasant—it was preventing meaningful work from happening. The transformation began with a deceptively simple intervention: establishing clear community agreements. Not generic "respect each other" platitudes, but specific behavioral norms with concrete descriptions of what they looked like in practice. The team agreed to norms like "Listen to understand," "Speak your truth without blame or judgment," and "Be unattached to outcome." For each norm, we articulated exactly what it looked like in action, providing language and behaviors everyone could recognize. More importantly, we implemented structures to uphold these agreements. A "process observer" role was established, rotating among team members, with the explicit responsibility to name when norms were being upheld or broken during meetings. Initially, this felt awkward. When the process observer first said, "I notice we're interrupting each other, which doesn't align with our agreement to listen fully," the room went silent. But within weeks, team members began to self-regulate, sometimes even catching themselves mid-sentence. Trust didn't build overnight. It grew through consistent small actions that demonstrated reliability and integrity—keeping commitments, following through on tasks, acknowledging mistakes. Meeting time was protected and focused on meaningful work rather than administrative tasks that could be handled via email. The team began to practice active listening techniques, learning to paraphrase each other's ideas before responding. This simple practice dramatically shifted the quality of conversation. One team member later told me, "For the first time, I felt like people were actually trying to understand my perspective rather than waiting for their turn to speak." Six months later, the transformation was remarkable. The same team that once couldn't agree on a meeting agenda was collaboratively designing innovative approaches to their work. Conflicts still emerged, but they were about ideas rather than personalities, and they led to better solutions rather than deeper divisions. The lesson was clear: trust doesn't simply happen through team-building exercises or shared experiences. It must be intentionally cultivated through concrete practices, consistently upheld, and regularly reflected upon. Share one trust-building practice that's worked well in your team experience. P.S. If you’re a leader, I recommend checking out my free challenge: The Resilient Leader: 28 Days to Thrive in Uncertainty  https://lnkd.in/gxBnKQ8n

Most teams aren’t unsafe— they’re afraid of what honesty might cost.👇 A confident team isn’t always a safe team. Real safety feels like trust without fear Psychological safety isn’t about being nice. It’s about building an environment where truth can exist — without penalty. Where people speak up because they believe they’ll be heard, Not just to be loud. Here’s how to create a space where honesty doesn’t feel risky: 10 Ways to Foster Psychological Safety in Your Team 1️⃣ Acknowledge mistakes openly ↳ Normalize imperfection so everyone feels safe owning up. 2️⃣ Ask for feedback on your own performance ↳ Leaders go first. 3️⃣ Celebrate questions, not just answers ↳ Curiosity signals trust. 4️⃣ Pause for the quiet voices ↳ “We haven’t heard from X yet. What do you think?” 5️⃣ Replace blame with ‘Let’s find the cause’ ↳ Shift from finger-pointing to problem-solving. 6️⃣ Speak last in discussions ↳ Let others lead; you’ll hear their raw perspectives. 7️⃣ Reinforce confidentiality ↳ Discuss ideas without fear they’ll be shared publicly. 8️⃣ Encourage respectful dissent ↳ Conflicting views spark creativity. 9️⃣ Admit you don’t know ↳ Authenticity paves the way for others to do the same. 🔟 Offer thanks for honest feedback ↳ Show appreciation for candor, even if it stings. 1️⃣1️⃣ Set clear expectations for respectful communication ↳ Clarity creates comfort and consistency. 1️⃣2️⃣ Create space for personal check-ins, not just work updates ↳ Human connection builds trust faster than status updates. 1️⃣3️⃣ Invite rotating team members to lead meetings ↳ Empowering others signals trust and grows confidence. 1️⃣4️⃣ Support team members who take thoughtful risks ↳ Reward courage even when outcomes aren’t perfect. 1️⃣5️⃣ Recognize effort and growth, not just outcomes ↳ Celebrate the process, not just the win. Psychological safety doesn’t grow from good intentions, It grows from repeated proof that honesty matters more than perfection. ❓ Which one will you try first? Let me know in the comments. ♻️ Repost to help your network create safer, more trusting workplaces. 👋 I write posts like this every day at 9:30am EST. Follow me (Dr. Chris Mullen) so you don't miss the next one.

If your team’s not speaking up… you’ve already lost. Not ideas. Not productivity. Trust. And once trust is gone? Innovation stalls. Collaboration dies. People check out—or walk out. The fix? Not another tool. Not another policy. But something far more powerful: Psychological safety. It’s not a “nice to have.” It’s the hidden engine behind every high-performing team. Here’s how you build it—one conversation, one decision, one moment at a time 👇🏼 1. Lead with curiosity, not judgment. ↳ “Help me understand…” beats “Why’d you do that?” 2. Admit your own mistakes. ↳ Model the safety you want others to feel. 3. Give credit generously. ↳ Shine the light on others—often and publicly. 4. Respond, don’t react. ↳ Let people tell the truth without fear of fallout. 5. Invite pushback. ↳ Ask: “What am I missing?” 6. Remove silent punishments. ↳ Reward honesty, not just agreement. 7. Normalize “I don’t know.” ↳ That’s how real learning starts. 8. Make feedback feel safe. ↳ Correct with care. Aim for growth, not shame. 9. Start meetings with check-ins. ↳ Connection before conversation. 10. Celebrate courage, not just results. ↳ Applaud the voice, not just the victory. Because when people feel safe, they don’t hold back. They contribute. They challenge. They soar. If you want your team to rise—safety comes first. Which one of these 10 will you lead with this week? ♻️ Share this with your network if it resonates. ☝️ And follow Stuart Andrews for more insights like this.

A senior team leader asked me this in a workshop: “When I focus on being approachable, I feel like I lose control. When I’m strict, I get results but the energy drops.” We unpacked it together as I shared research insight from Amy Cuddy: We judge leaders on two dimensions: ▪️ Warmth (Do you care about me?) ▪️ Competence (Can you lead me?) Without warmth, competence feels threatening. Without competence, warmth feels irrelevant. The trick isn’t choosing one - it’s sequencing: 1. Lead with warmth to open trust. 2. Follow with competence to earn respect. ‼️ BUT for women leaders, this isn’t just sequencing but also navigating the double bind. Show too much warmth → risk being seen as “soft” and incompetent. Show too much competence → risk being called “cold” or “abrasive.” This is where psychological safety 🧠  changes the game. When your team feels safe to speak up, challenge, and make mistakes, you don’t have to work twice as hard to prove you’re both caring and capable - the culture does that for you. 3 ways to balance both trust and respect: 1️⃣ Signal authority through clarity, not volume Be explicit about expectations, priorities, and decision-making rights - this earns respect without creating fear. 2️⃣ Build trust in micro-moments Small acts like asking a genuine question, admitting a small mistake, thanking someone for speaking up compound into lasting warmth. 3️⃣ Pair every standard with support When you raise the bar, also raise the safety net. “I expect us to deliver this and I’ll help remove the obstacles in your way.” 📍 In my Leadership Program: How to Be a Leader Who Builds High-Performing Teams and a Psychologically Safe Culture, I teach leaders how to: - Signal warmth without losing authority - Hold high standards without creating fear - Use psychological safety as a lever for both trust and performance Because when you get this balance right, people don’t just follow you because they have to but they follow you because they want to. P.S.: If you’re a leader, have you found your own way to balance being liked and being respected?

Want to Build a High-Trust Culture? Think Like a Spy Handler. I used to recruit terrorists. Now I recruit trust. Turns out, the tools aren’t all that different. Whether you’re building loyalty in a war zone or in a boardroom, the same rule applies: People don’t follow policies. They follow relationships. When I was in the field, every asset had a story. A fear. A hope. A reason to say yes—and a dozen reasons not to. My job was to figure out what they really needed. And build enough trust that they’d risk their lives to talk to me. Now? The same skills I used to flip foreign agents now help leaders build cultures where people feel seen, trusted, and empowered. Want to retain your top talent? Start acting like a handler: ✔️ Build rapport before you need it ✔️ Ask better questions—and actually listen ✔️ Pay attention to what’s not being said ✔️ Make people feel safe being honest ✔️ Use empathy as your primary access point ✔️ Ditch the ego—you're not the mission, they are ✔️ Stop weaponizing “feedback” if you haven’t earned the right to give it ✔️ And never underestimate the power of a well-timed “I see you, and I’ve got your back.” Because if you don’t know what motivates your people, someone else eventually will. Trust is your early-warning system. Your culture is your counterintelligence program. Trust isn’t built in all-hands meetings or quarterly check-ins. It’s built in the quiet, consistent moments. Start by asking yourself: What does this person need to feel seen, heard, and safe? Then? Deliver. Like your mission depends on it. #Leadership #WorkplaceCulture #PsychologicalSafety #HumanRiskManagement #InsiderThreat #SpycraftForBusiness #EmployeeRetention #Motivation

Psychological safety isn’t a “nice to have.” It’s the foundation of every high-performing team. But let’s be honest: Most teams don’t feel safe. Here’s what that looks like: — People stay silent in meetings — Mistakes are hidden, not discussed — New ideas are shared in DMs, not out loud — Feedback is rare — or sugar-coated That’s not a sign of weak people. It’s a sign of weak leadership. Here’s how to build real psychological safety: 1. Listen to understand, not respond — Focus fully on what’s said without interrupting — Pause thoughtfully before replying 2. Welcome different opinions — Ask: “How do you see this differently?” — Encourage curiosity, not dismissal 3. Normalize healthy disagreement — Say: “Disagreement helps us grow — let’s explore it” — Stay calm and curious, not defensive 4. Respond to mistakes with learning, not blame — Ask: “What’s the lesson here for all of us?” — Celebrate courage to try, even when it leads to mistakes 5. Be vulnerable first — Share your doubts openly — Say: “Here’s where I’m stuck — any ideas?” 6. Create emotional safety — Make it clear: “All feelings are valid here” — Notice and address emotional undercurrents early 7. Encourage open feedback — both ways — Ask: “What can I do differently to help you succeed?” — Show gratitude for honest feedback 8. Build and maintain trust — Be consistent, honest, and transparent — Say: “Here’s what I’m working on — let’s keep each other informed” 9. Praise publicly, correct privately — Recognize achievements openly — Use the “feedback sandwich” for tough conversations 10. Support autonomy and growth — Say: “Feel free to experiment and learn — I’m here to support you” — Trust your team to build confidence and growth You don’t need to be perfect. You just need to be intentional. Because when people feel safe, they stop holding back — and start showing up. 🔁 Find this helpful? Repost for your network. 📌 Follow Natan Mohart for practical leadership insights.

Most leaders think performance comes from pressure. They’re only half right. Pressure can push output for a week. Safety builds performance for a year. Here are 7 moves to build psychological safety (and a stronger team): 1/ Invite one more voice than usual → Call on someone who hasn’t spoken yet. → Ask them to share what they see that others might miss. 2/ Thank the first person who disagrees → Say “I appreciate you raising that point.” → Show curiosity by asking, “Can you tell me more?” 3/ Say, “I might be wrong. What am I missing?” → Share one assumption you’re questioning. → Pause long enough for people to actually respond. 4/ Share one mistake + what you learned → Tell the story briefly, without sugarcoating. → End with the specific lesson you’re taking forward. 5/ Close the loop on every idea you don’t use → Follow up with the person directly. → Explain why it won’t move forward, and thank them for raising it. 6/ Celebrate questions, not just answers → Call out curiosity in the moment: “Great question.” → Highlight in team recaps the value that came from asking “why.” 7/ Check in before you check on → Start conversations with “How are you doing today?” → Listen fully before moving to deadlines or updates. Great teams don’t fear speaking up. They fear staying silent. Which one will you try first this week? ------ ♻️ Repost to help more teams grow together. 👋 I’m Will - here to help you lead better, grow people, and build real trust at work. Follow for more.

Psychological safety – not a concept bandied around much in the 80s when I entered teaching. It entered workplace and organisational discourse in 1999, when Dr. Amy Edmondson, a professor at Harvard Business School, published her foundational research on the topic. This was when I accepted my first principalship. Her research showed that teams with high psychological safety were more likely to engage in learning behaviours, like speaking up with ideas, admitting mistakes, and asking for help, which in turn led to better performance and innovation. Let me clear about what I have come to know and understand since 1999, psychological safety isn’t about comfort, it’s about freedom. The freedom to say, “I’m not sure.” The freedom to raise a concern. The freedom to challenge a decision, without risking reputation or inclusion. In high-performing schools and organisations, psychological safety isn’t a ‘nice to have’. It’s foundational. It’s what gives people permission to take interpersonal risks, without second-guessing whether they’ll be sidelined for doing so. But here’s the misstep I see too often ➡️ Leaders confuse safety with softness. ➡️ Kindness replaces candour. ➡️ Harmony gets prioritised over truth. And when that happens, we create silence, not safety. Real psychological safety is built when people know that robust discussion won’t cost them credibility. 🤔 That disagreement, when offered with respect, won’t be met with defensiveness or quiet punishment. 🤔 That their voice has a place, even when it’s uncomfortable. 🤔 The challenge isn’t “How do I keep the space safe?” The real question is - “Have I built a culture where speaking truth is expected and protected?” We don’t build trust by skirting hard conversations. We build it by showing, consistently, that tough conversations are worth having. That candour is welcome. That honesty will be met with curiosity, not critique. So, a prompt as you reflect this week ❔ Can your people challenge you, without consequence? ❔ Are you mistaking silence for consensus? ❔ Do you model courage, or just ask for it? In leadership, safety and candour aren’t in conflict. They’re interdependent. #LeadershipMatters #PsychologicalSafety #CultureAndCandour #Trust #EducationalLeadership #StrategicLeadership

Leaders, Are You Building a Safe Space or Breeding Fear? The Line Between Leadership and Bullying Here’s the hard truth: The real test of leadership is how you respond when someone disagrees with you. Do you shut them down or invite them in? Psychological safety and challenge safety are not just buzzwords—they are fundamental to creating a thriving team. If your team feels afraid to speak up or challenge your ideas, you may have a problem on your hands. ❗ Warning Signs You’re Leading Through Fear: People agree with everything you say, no matter what. You notice a lack of diverse ideas or innovation in meetings. Your team gives you the bare minimum instead of their best work. So, how can you create an environment where people feel safe to disagree? 3 Tips to Build a Culture of Psychological Safety: 🧠 Invite Dissenting Opinions: Actively ask for opposing viewpoints in meetings. Show your team that differing ideas are not just tolerated—they’re welcomed. You might be surprised at the innovative solutions that arise when you foster a space for debate. 🗣️ Listen Without Judgment: When someone disagrees, resist the urge to react defensively. Pause, listen, and ask clarifying questions. Leaders who can manage their ego and avoid defensiveness build trust and respect. 💡 Encourage “Challenge” Moments: Create dedicated times where team members are encouraged to challenge ideas, processes, or even you as the leader. This can be done in a structured, respectful manner, ensuring everyone’s voice is heard and valued. The Bottom Line? Leaders who embrace disagreement aren’t weak—they’re the ones who create environments where creativity and innovation flourish. What’s your strategy for encouraging healthy disagreements in the workplace? Drop your thoughts in the comments below! #Leadership #PsychologicalSafety #Innovation #ChallengeSafety #TeamCulture #EffectiveLeadership

The most dangerous thing in a meeting isn’t a heated debate—it’s silence with a fake nod. In low trust teams, they don’t speak up in meetings, then vent in private. They smile at the plan, but quietly ignore it. They avoid conflict, and call it being “a team player.” The best teams? They debate. They challenge (the ideas) They raise their hand and say, “I see it differently and here’s why.” Because real alignment only comes after real conflict. If your team never disagrees, they’re not aligned—they’re avoiding. So, what do you do? 1️⃣ In decision-making meetings, try designating someone to challenge the prevailing view—even if they agree with it. It normalizes dissent. It protects the team from groupthink. And it gives quiet voices permission to speak truth without fear. Because when conflict is expected, it becomes productive. 2️⃣ Ask each person privately: “What’s one thing you think but haven’t said out loud in our meetings?” Then just listen. No defending. No fixing. When people feel heard without punishment, trust starts to grow. Invite them to share more of those views in group settings. And when they do, welcome it. Say, “This may feel uncomfortable for some of you, but I want us all to welcome more debates over ideas. It’s not me vs you, but me and you vs the problem.” If they still aren’t voicing dissent in team meetings, it may not be that they don’t care— but because they don’t feel safe. Then try going first and modeling the behavior you want with vulnerability. In your next meeting, say: “Here’s where I might have dropped the ball. What am I not seeing?” Or, “Here’s where I might be wrong. What am I missing?” Vulnerability builds trust. And trust invites truth. And when disagreement is safe, alignment gets real. How do you build a culture of healthy conflict over ideas?