Introduction

Don’t Be Afraid to Disagree

In this last article of the series, we will cover the highest stage of psychological safety: challenger safety. At this level, individuals feel confident speaking up, questioning existing practices, and offering new ideas without fear of blame, ridicule, or negative consequences. This type of safety is essential for innovation, continuous improvement, and creating a workplace where open and respectful dialogue  takes place.

Timothy R. Clark in his book about the 4 stages of psychological safety describes this stage as granting people “permission to challenge in good faith.”⁽¹⁾ In practice, this means team members can communicate honestly and directly, knowing their intent to improve outcomes will be respected.

Set the Boundaries

Building this environment requires leaders to establish clear expectations. Diverse perspectives must be welcomed, all questions treated as valid, and egos set aside when exploring better ways of working. 

Equally important is ensuring that constructive disagreement is not only allowed but valued, and that dissenting opinions are met with curiosity rather than punishment. ⁽¹⁾

This does not mean leaders need to agree with everyone’s input, and they certainly should not tolerate problematic behavior. Sanctions for bullying, harassment, disrespect, and unethical conduct are vital to ensuring a positive learning environment. ⁽²⁾ The key is that individuals feel that their ideas were considered and understand why it could not be implemented.

Silence is Dangerous

The consequences of silencing voices are well documented. In industries such as finance, aerospace, and nuclear energy, major failures might have been avoided if employees had felt safe to question decisions and raise concerns early.

When people withhold their ideas, questions and doubts, their team’s risk of making mistakes and experiencing failure increases. ⁽³⁾

Make it a practice to thank team members who speak up.

Innovation: The Greatest Benefit of Challenger Safety

Encouraging enriching conversations within the work team, where members share different opinions and perspectives, leads to the emergence of new ways of doing things or performing tasks more efficiently. Challenger safety leads to innovation because it transforms fear into courage, silence into dialogue and individual insights into actionable improvements. Teams that operate under this stage are more agile, creative and competitive.

Leading Your Team with Psychological Safety: Are you ready?

Psychological safety is not a policy that is imposed. As a leader, you create the conditions and set the tone to build it within your team, interaction by interaction, by:

• Creating an environment that welcomes everyone and promotes belonging
• Communicating clearly the vision, goals, and expectations
• Building a culture of continuous learning
• Ensuring every voice is heard and respected
• Empowering autonomy once readiness is demonstrated
• Encouraging new ideas and honest dialogue

If you want your team to succeed, psychological safety is essential. As Amy Edmondson notes, it is a key driver of learning and performance.⁽⁴⁾