Nate’s Notes 144: Amy Edmondson on Psychological Safety | Noticing When The Dog Doesn’t Bark But Should Have

Thanks for listening to this episode of Meikles & Dimes with Amy Edmondson. What great insight Amy shared about her work on psychological safety, which she stumbled into.

When Amy studied hospital teams, she found, to her dismay, that better teamwork was correlated with higher error rates. But then she had a key insight: better teams were more willing to report errors than worse teams.

Most people, most of the time, hold back dissenting views. And because we don’t know what we don’t hear, we have to go on a treasure hunt for people’s dissenting views if we want to hear them.

Psychological safety doesn’t mean being comfortable. Rather, it’s about a willingness to endure discomfort, giving people permission for candor, when we go on treasure hunts.

In summary, strive to notice when the dog doesn’t bark but it should. And then go on a treasure hunt.

It’s a simple idea. Please take it seriously.

Amy Edmondson Bio:

Amy Edmondson is a Leadership and Management professor at Harvard Business School and is world-renowned for her pioneering work on psychological safety.

Amy has been recognized by the Thinkers50 global ranking of management thinkers since 2011, and in 2021 and 2023 Amy was ranked #1 in the world.

Amy is also the author of several books which have been translated into more than two dozen languages. Her most recent book, The right kind of Wrong was named the business book of the year by the Financial Times and Schroders.

Amy earned a BA in engineering and design, an MA in psychology, and a PhD in organizational behavior, all from Harvard University.

I hope you enjoy learning from Amy Edmondson today, because I always do.