The Power of Psychological Safety: Why Your Team Needs More Than Metrics

Hi Leaders,

One of my top performers…we’ll call him Paul, landed in the hospital in a life-or-death situation. And when it happened, his wife didn’t call his family or his best friend first. She called me.

Out of everyone in his life, she reached for his boss

That call shook me. Because it forced me to ask: What kind of leader do you have to be for someone’s family to trust you in such a private hour? And what does that kind of trust mean for how we lead our teams when the pressure is on?

So here’s what I realized and what we’re going to dive into today: trust like that doesn’t happen by accident. It isn’t built in the big moments, it’s built in the daily ones. And when leaders miss this, the cost is steep.

Because without trust, pressure takes over as the main driver of performance. And pressure might get you short-term compliance, but it will never get you long-term commitment. Your team may nod along in meetings, but inside? Their brains are on high alert.

Neuroscience tells us that when people feel unsafe, the amygdala…the brain’s “fear center”, hijacks attention. It’s like trying to download new software while your computer is running an endless virus scan. Everything slows down.

On the flip side, when people know they’re safe, seen, and valued, the brain shifts gears. The prefrontal cortex…the part that fuels creativity and problem-solving…it switches on. Dopamine rises. People literally think better.

And here’s the irony: you might think, “I don’t have time to build psychological safety, I’m not a therapist.”

I get it but that’s not what I’m asking you to do. I’m just asking you to lead intentionally in building trust over pressure.

As one of my mentors once said, “You can run your team on pressure if you want… just don’t be surprised when they start running away.”

That’s why the first step in my E.A.R.N. Leadership framework is: Establish psychological safety. Because until you have that, nothing else sticks.

So let’s dig into why pressure backfires…and what neuroscience tells us about building teams that don’t just survive, but thrive.

I’m sharing the real story behind how I went from loading luggage on the tarmac to leading a major private jet company, and lessons I learned along the way, all in the Stand Out & Move Up bootcamp. Go watch this video I made for you, and then consider joining me for five days that will change how you lead, communicate, and move your career forward. → Watch the video