213 - Amy Edmondson: The Truth About Psychological Safety for CEOs to Drive Perfomance

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In this episode of The World Class Leaders Show, host Andrea Petrone  talks with Amy Edmondson, Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at Harvard Business School and top global expert on psychological safety and leadership. Amy is the author of The Fearless Organization and Right Kind of Wrong, and has been ranked #1 by Thinkers50 in 2021 and 2023. She shares why psychological safety is key for learning, teamwork, and innovation, how leaders can handle failure well, and why honesty and trust matter now more than ever in fast-changing times.

 

Amy shares how leaders can build trust by creating a space where people feel safe to speak up with honesty and ideas. She explains why psychological safety is not about being nice but about learning, being real, and taking smart risks. Amy highlights the need for open talk, shared goals, and dealing with failure in a way that drives learning. She also shares how teams can rebuild trust after setbacks and why clear purpose, honesty, and teamwork are key to lead in today’s fast-changing world.

 

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• Why psychological safety helps teams speak up and learn.
• How leaders can build trust through honesty and listening.
• The difference between smart failures and avoidable mistakes.
• Ways to handle pressure and lead with courage in tough times.
• How to rebuild safety and keep teams strong during change.

 

📘Check out Amy Edmondson's powerful books, The Fearless Organization and Right Kind of Wrong & others, available on her website! Visit: https://amycedmondson.com/books/


Timestamps:

[00:00] - Teaser and introduction of Amy Edmondson

[04:01] - How Amy shifted from engineering to studying people and teams

[06:44] - Discovering psychological safety through research on errors

[10:56] - Common myths: psychological safety is not about being nice

[17:48] - Balancing authenticity with work-relevant honesty

[19:22] - How to hold high-quality conversations under pressure

[26:05] - Understanding intelligent vs. blameworthy failures

[29:19] - How to avoid “failure theatre” and promote real learning

[34:26] - Rebuilding psychological safety after it’s been broken

[37:50] - Why systems thinking is the next step for leaders

[40:49] - Amy’s final challenge for CEOs: double down on purpose

Follow Our Guest Amy Edmondson:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amycedmondson/ 

• Website: https://amycedmondson.com/ 

• Books: https://amycedmondson.com/books/ 
  
  
• Harvard Business School: https://www.linkedin.com/school/harvard-business-school/ 

Follow our Host Andrea Petrone on:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreapetrone
• Website: https://www.andreapetrone.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreapetrone_x/

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⭐If you're leading people, facing big challenges, or aiming to grow as a leader, this talk with Amy Edmondson gives clear insights, real stories, and useful tips on building trust, handling failure, and leading with honesty and purpose in today’s fast-changing world.

 

#Leadership #PsychologicalSafety #Teamwork #SmartFailure #AmyEdmondson #HarvardBusinessSchool #WorldClassLeadersShow