Beyond Being Nice: Rethinking Psychological Safety with Michaela Kerrissey

In today’s episode, we’re diving into one of the most
misunderstood and essential foundations of effective teamwork:
psychological safety. Our guest is Dr. Michaela Kerrissey,
associate professor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public
Health and co-author of the recent Harvard Business Review
article, “What People Get Wrong About Psychological Safety.”


What does it really mean? Is it about being nice? Feeling
comfortable? Or getting your way in team discussions? Michaela’s
work dismantles these myths and reframes psychological safety as
something far more powerful: the ability to speak up, question,
challenge, and share critical insights, without fear of ridicule
or reprisal.


Together, we’ll explore how psychological safety applies on the
front lines of emergency care, what leaders and crews can do to
build it in the moment, and why getting this right might just be
the most important culture shift we can make. This conversation
is a game-changer for teams that want to grow, perform, and
protect each other under pressure. You can read the article here:
https://hbr.org/2025/05/what-people-get-wrong-about-psychological-safety?ab=HP-magazine-text-1