No Hard Feelings

Book summary

Mollie West Duffy is a senior organizational designer at IDEO, a design and consulting firm in New York. She helps businesses to think about how to redesign their organizational structures, processes and culture to become more adaptive, creative and successful. Liz Fosslien is responsible for content at Humu, a company that uses machine learning and nudges to make work better. Most recently, she organized and facilitated workshops on how to create inclusive cultures for executives at Google, LinkedIn, and Nike.

Teams thrive when members feel psychologically safe—comfortable sharing ideas without fear of judgment. Research, including Google’s 2012 analysis of 200 teams, shows that psychological safety boosts performance, retention, and effectiveness. Conversely, its absence can lead to costly errors, as seen in a 2017 simulation where ridiculed medical teams made critical mistakes. Leaders can foster this environment by encouraging brainstorming of “bad” ideas to ease tension or anonymously sharing written thoughts to ensure all voices are heard. If psychological safety remains elusive, examining communication barriers within the team is essential.

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