The Billion-Dollar Leadership Skill You Can’t See

A few weeks ago, I found myself inside a private jet showroom on Park Lane.

Yes, you read that right. Being a psychologist puts me in some pretty remarkable rooms.

It’s basically a showroom for people who treat jet shopping like buying a new sofa, except the sofas come with engines and a seven-figure price tag.

But I wasn’t there to buy a jet.

(Not really my bag and I know some people find me expensive, but I’m not that expensive.)

I was there to interview the founder of Summa Equity, a billion-dollar impact fund backing companies tackling global challenges.

We met to talk about performance, purpose, and what it really takes to lead well when the stakes are high.

And what kept coming up?

Not strategy.
Not capital.
Not even smarts.

Psychological Safety

The Safety You Can’t See

We don’t often link safety with high performance.

We think of pressure, precision, pushing harder.

But it’s important to remember that behind every idea, question, or hard conversation… is someone with very real fears and doubts and they will be quietly asking:

“Is it safe to say this?”
“What happens if I mess up?”
“Will I be blamed… or backed?”

Psychological safety is the belief that you can take interpersonal risks - speak honestly, make mistakes, challenge the status quo - without fear of embarrassment or punishment.

It’s not immediately obvious, but you can tell when it’s there and when it’s not.

What does it look like in practice?

In teams where safety is present, you’ll notice:

People speak up early, not just after something’s gone wrong
Feedback flows both ways, not just top-down
Colleagues admit when they’re stuck instead of hiding it
Conversations feel real,  not like everyone’s acting “professional”

And when it’s missing?

No one speaks up. The mood’s tense. Everyone agrees publicly but privately, they’ve already checked out.

The Hidden Cost of Shame

Where there’s no safety, shame fills the gap.

When someone gets shut down for a bad idea, publicly blamed for a misstep, or made to feel stupid for speaking up, shame kicks in.

And once shame enters the room, people don’t get braver.
They get quieter.

They start hiding. Second-guessing. Opting out.

Brené Brown says it best:

“Shame corrodes the very part of us that believes we are capable of change.”

A culture of shame doesn’t just damage individuals, it shrinks a team’s capacity to learn, adapt, and grow.

Shame shuts people down.

Safety opens people up.

So what can leaders do?

The brain doesn’t problem-solve when it senses threat, it prepares for survival.

And in survival mode, clarity, connection, and good decisions are the first things to go.

Psychological Safety is the foundation that lets people stretch, stumble, and still feel secure enough to contribute at their best.

Here are 3 practical shifts leaders can make to build it:

1. Normalise “I don’t know.”

Psychologists call it intellectual humility, the ability to admit what you don’t know without losing credibility. When leaders do this, they create a culture where uncertainty isn’t feared, it’s explored. Research shows this kind of openness builds trust, deepens collaboration, and encourages more thoughtful decision-making.

2. Praise the risk, not just the result.

According to Carol Dweck’s work on Growth Mindset, praising effort and strategy encourages people to keep learning, while focusing only on outcomes makes them more likely to avoid failure. When you recognise the courage to try, especially when there’s risk involved, you create a climate where people don’t wait for certainty, they engage and participate. That’s the foundation for creativity, innovation, and the kind of trust that turns teams into problem-solvers, not passengers.

3. Set high standards, and high support

People aren’t afraid of being challenged, they’re afraid of being left to fail alone. If you push people hard without the psychological scaffolding to hold them, it turns quickly into pressure and fear. Self-Determination Theory shows that when people feel competent, supported, and in control, pressure becomes purposeful. This is your role as a leader. You shape how people feel. Your words, your presence, and how you respond in key moments all send a message. And through it all, I encourage you to remember that real performance doesn’t come from fear (have a look at my previous blogs on stress and fear if you’re not convinced)… it comes from psychological safety, meaningful challenge, and the trust that you’re not in it alone.

This Week’s Reflection:

As you move through your team, your family, your life, ask yourself:

Do I check in on people, or just check up on them?

How do I respond when someone makes a mistake?

What would make this space feel safer to speak up?

You can fill a room with brilliant minds.

But if they don’t feel safe? You’ll never hear their best ideas.