Sean GlazeWorkplace Culture Speaker | Facilitator, Great Results Team Building · Leadership lessons from the locker room that change how your people work together.

PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY IS OVERRATED

30 Jul 2026 · 1 min

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1:09

In this concise talk, Sean Glaze argues that while psychological safety is important, it is overemphasized in modern leadership discourse. He contends that safety without clear standards, trust, and accountability creates comfort rather than high performance. Citing Gallup’s 2024 engagement data—only 31% of employees are engaged, the lowest in a decade—he critiques the common leadership response of adding more surveys and wellness programs. Glaze emphasizes that thriving teams need a balance of safety, trust, and accountability, and that culture reflects leadership actions. The ultimate goal, he says, is to make team members feel capable, not merely comfortable.

Chapters

Psychological safety is overrated. I know that's going to make some people uncomfortable, but think about it. Yes, psychological safety matters. If people don't feel safe speaking up, problems stay hidden until they become expensive. But here's what nobody in the leadership space wants to say: safety without standards, that doesn't build high-performing teams. It builds comfort, and comfortable teams don't get results. Gallup's recent research shows that only 31% of employees were engaged in 2024. That's the lowest level in 10 years. And leaders keep responding by trying to make people more comfortable. More surveys, more wellness programs. And those aren't bad, but they're not the only answer. Teams that win don't just feel safe. They feel trusted and accountable. Those two things have to coexist. Culture is always a symptom of leadership, and the goal isn't to make people comfortable. It's to make people feel more capable. I'm Sean Glaze, and I help leaders build teams that perform.