Discomfort as a Growth Catalyst
Psychological safety is continuing to have its moment. From corporate boardrooms to team meetings, leaders are starting to realize that if they don’t have psychological safety they are going to be missing a key ingredient for their future success. But there’s a problem: too many people misunderstand what it really means. They think psychological safety is about comfort.
It’s not.
In fact, the most innovative, high-performing individuals and teams often feel psychologically safe and deeply uncomfortable at the same time.
That paradox is the key to greatness.
Read more about What it is, why it matters & misconceptions HERE
The Misconception: Safety Means Comfort
Many people equate psychological safety with ease. They imagine harmonious meetings where everyone agrees, people have their feelings coddled, and hard truths aren’t part of reality. That’s not psychological safety; it’s avoidance. True psychological safety isn’t mean the absence of discomfort—it’s the presence of connection.
When you feel safe, you’re willing to take risks, share untested ideas, and ask the tough questions. It’s about knowing you won’t be ridiculed, punished, or ostracized for showing up as your authentic self or for making mistakes. And here’s the kicker: those moments of risk are inherently uncomfortable.
High psychological safety is something you create, not the absence of threat. When psychological safety is high we see high intellectual friction, high standards and clear accountability while social friction remains low.
This allows for greater contribution when we aren’t worried about being personally rejected but instead feel obligated to share our ideas, questions and concerns.
Questions like: “Are we focussed too much on this and missing a bigger opportunity?” require courage, openness to being wrong, challenge the status quo. It can be an uncomfortable question. But, if it is received in a thoughtful manner the focus can be on the insight it might help to reveal.
The environment that invites uncomfortable questions is one that allows new knowledge to emerge and be applied.
This is learning.
At work, our ability to get better keeps us at the front of the pack - That’s high performance.
The Role of Discomfort in Learning and Growth
Discomfort is where growth happens.
New thinking can only enter our consciousness when you are open to letting go of your past understanding or when you are open to change.
Like a child continuing to get back up, this process is inherently uncomfortable.
Your capacity to learn is directly correlated to your willingness to be wrong, without feeling guilt or shame, and your tolerance of different perspectives.
On a personal level, learning something new often feels awkward and vulnerable. Think of the first time you tried a skill—whether it was public speaking, coding, or riding a bike. You probably felt exposed, uncertain, maybe even embarrassed. But that discomfort signaled growth.
Discomfort signalled that you cared enough to do your best. Psychological safety ensures that discomfort doesn’t crush you. It whispers, “It’s okay to struggle; keep going.”
For teams, the same principle applies. High-performing teams aren’t the ones that avoid conflict. They’re the ones that lean into it—respectfully. They ask the hard questions, debate ideas, and challenge assumptions. Psychological safety creates the conditions where these uncomfortable conversations lead to breakthroughs instead of breakdowns.
At the organizational level, innovation thrives on risk-taking. No company creates game-changing products by playing it safe. What we have seen time and time again is that organizations that are obsessed with results but lack psychological safety steer towards the middle.
They rapidly become average.
Psychological safety ensures employees feel empowered to pitch unconventional ideas and admit when something isn’t working. But guess what? That often means sitting in the discomfort of failing wisely and iterating quickly.
Safety + Accountability = High performance
Think of psychological safety as the runway and accountability as the plane. The runway provides the foundation, but the plane still needs to take off. Without psychological safety, accountability becomes paralyzing. Without accountability, safety leads to stagnation. It’s the tension between the two that propels us forward.
Productivity and Innovation: Where Safety Meets Risk
Psychological safety isn’t about working without stress; it’s about working with purpose. When people feel safe, they’re willing to put their energy into solving problems rather than protecting themselves from blame. That’s the foundation of productivity.
Innovation, on the other hand, comes from venturing into the unknown. It’s inherently risky, and risk invites discomfort. The most successful organizations balance this tension by creating a culture where it’s safe to be bold, fail, and try again.
If you can predict the outcome and your remove risk the best you can do is become more efficient. Innovation is where you see greater gains and strides towards new ways of working, or solving problems.
Good leaders create an environment where innovation leads, efficiency follows and iteration helps to continue the cycle.
How to Feel Psychologically Safe and Uncomfortable
If you want to achieve this paradox you need to understand that what is modelled, what is rewarded and what gets attention will produce the outcomes you see produced.
Want to change the outcomes? Change one or more of those 3 inputs.
Here’s what you need:
1. Create a foundation of trust - Make it clear that failures are opportunities to learn, not reasons for punishment. Model vulnerability by admitting your own mistakes.
2. Encourage constructive discomfort. - Challenge yourself and your team to step outside their comfort zones. Frame discomfort as a signal that you’re stretching, not failing. Hold people accountable to a higher standard if discomfort comes from disrespect.
3. Balance empathy with accountability - Safety isn’t about lowering the bar—it’s about creating the conditions where people can reach it without fear. Try this simple phrase: “I’m giving you this feedback because I believe you can do better and I’m here to help you achieve that outcome”
4. Celebrate risk-taking - When someone takes a bold leap, recognize the courage it took—even if the result wasn’t perfect. I like the phrase “catch people doing things right and bring it into focus”. If you highlight not just the behaviour but the impact as well you will be signalling to everyone that more of what you’re sharing is a good thing.
The Takeaway
Feeling psychologically safe and uncomfortable at the same time isn’t a contradiction—it’s the hallmark of growth, learning, and innovation. At a personal level, it’s how you unlock your potential. Within teams, it’s how you move from mediocrity to greatness. And for organizations, it’s the engine that powers productivity and disruption.
Stop chasing comfort. Instead, build the kind of safety that gives you and your team the courage to embrace discomfort. That’s where the real work—and the real rewards—begin.
Neil Pretty - CEO
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