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What you DO matters as a leader
Published 22 days ago • 5 min read
When High-Performing Teams Make More Mistakes (And Why That's Good News)
Hello Reader,
When was the last time someone on your team said "I don't know" in a meeting?
If you're struggling to remember, that silence might be your biggest threat to patient safety.
I sat down with leadership coach Gillian Faith to talk about what separates high-performing healthcare teams from everyone else. What we discovered challenges everything we think we know about mistakes, feedback, and what it means to lead well.
The Counterintuitive Truth About High-Performing Teams
Amy Edmondson's research in hospitals revealed something startling: high-performing teams reported more errors than lower-performing ones.
Not because they were making more mistakes. Because team members felt comfortable admitting when something went wrong, saying they didn't know, or disagreeing with the person in charge.
That's psychological safety in action. And it's built on trust—trust that starts with how you show up as a leader.
Think about the moments after a difficult outcome when everyone looks at the ground and admits, "I guess I should have said something." That's what happens when psychological safety is missing. The warning signs were there. People noticed. They just didn't feel safe speaking up.
Building a Culture Where Feedback Flows
The foundation of psychological safety is surprisingly straightforward: normalize giving and receiving feedback.
Most of us hate both sides of that equation. We're terrified of being judged, embarrassed, or facing retribution. But when feedback becomes an expectation rather than an exception, it loses its emotional charge.
Here's what this looks like in practice:
Ask for feedback regularly. Not just once a year in formal reviews. Make it part of how you operate. "Are you open for a discussion about what just happened?" This simple question creates permission and lowers defensiveness.
Give feedback privately for individuals, openly for teams. When it's about learning together, debrief as a group. When it's personal, take someone aside.
Show you care before you challenge. Kim Scott's Radical Candor framework reminds us that people receive feedback better when they know it's coming from genuine care. "I want you to look good as a leader" creates very different conditions than criticism alone.
I remember a colleague telling me how my communication style was making team members afraid of me. It was hard to hear. But because they framed it as wanting me to succeed, I could receive it. That conversation changed how I show up.
The Real Barrier Isn't Skill—It's Safety
When leaders discover their teams don't feel safe speaking up, the coaching conversation often reveals something deeper. Many are struggling with imposter syndrome, leading from fear rather than confidence, or feeling like they should have all the answers.
Here's what I want you to know: we don't have all the answers, and we're not supposed to.
That expectation—that we should know everything—is especially heavy in healthcare where clinical expertise is essential. But leading a team requires different muscles than diagnosing a patient. It requires curiosity instead of certainty. Questions instead of solutions.
When you're stressed, overwhelmed, or uncertain yourself, creating psychological safety becomes nearly impossible. You get defensive. You make excuses. You close off instead of opening up.
The shift happens when you move from defensiveness to curiosity. From having to know to being willing to wonder together.
Transforming Teams One Conversation at a Time
Gillian and I talk about changing teams "one person at a time." This isn't just a nice phrase that we like to say a lot—it's how transformation happens.
When one leader shifts how they communicate, how they listen, how they respond to uncertainty, it ripples through the entire team. Team members start asking different questions. Dynamics shift. New possibilities emerge.
The hardest part? Sustaining new habits, especially when you don't see immediate results. But asking better questions, pausing before solving, and inviting your team into solutions rather than dictating them—these small shifts compound over time.
Your First Step Tomorrow
If you want to become the leader who transforms your team one interaction at a time, try this:
Pause and step back. When you feel the urge to jump in with answers, take a breath. Ask yourself: Who else could solve this? What am I not seeing? What questions would open this up?
Ask your team what they need. Not just about the immediate problem. About their development, their fulfillment, their goals. "What would make your work more meaningful? What support would help you grow?" These questions signal that you see them as whole people, not just task-completers.
When you create space for others to contribute ideas, you're not abdicating leadership. You're unlocking innovation and agency you didn't know was there.
The Leadership You Need
Building psychological safety isn't a one-time initiative. It's how you show up every day—in hallway conversations, team huddles, and difficult moments when speaking up matters most.
You don't need to be perfect. You need to be present, curious, and willing to create the conditions where your team can do their best work.
Because the question that saves a patient's life might not be a clinical one. It might be the coaching question you ask that helps someone find their voice.
Ready to develop your leadership? We'd love to talk with you about how coaching can support you in transforming your team, one conversation at a time. Learn more about our programs at transforminghealthcarecoaching.com.
Join the conversation. Connect with healthcare professionals navigating similar challenges at medTHRIVE® Connect, our free community with weekly newsletters, webinars, book club, and peer support.
What's one question you could ask your team this week to create more psychological safety? Hit reply—I'd love to hear what you're trying.
Travel to Sedona! Our team retreat at the RESET Retreat is this weekend! Looking forward to aligned energy, creative fun, and working on a new program for you, healthcare-leader-in-development inside medTHRIVE® Stay Tuned!
The Practice: Celebrating Wins
We get more of what we focus on. The practice of gratitude and celebrating the goodness of life is the first step in changing our brains, mindsets, and circumstances for the better.
New year means new habits: Currently using The Five Minute Journal to start the day in reflection, commitment, affirmation, and ending the day in reflection about what I learned, accomplished, and am grateful for. So far so good!
Stay mindful and keep leading, Lillian Founder & CEO
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By Transforming Healthcare Coaching® Lillian Liang Emlet, MD MS CHSE CPC ELI-MP, Founder & CEO
Live well. Lead well. Grow Together. Weekly conversations to help you stay human in healthcare. We share practical ideas, podcast pearls, and curated reads that help you grow. Together, we can transform healthcare, one person at a time.®
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