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Hello everyone. Here is Ricardo Vargas, and this is the five 5 Minutes Podcast. Today, I want to talk about fear in projects and the relevance of psychological safety to transform that fear into trust, and mainly into results. Fear in projects can show up in many different ways. We may have fear of making mistakes. Fear of being judged. Fear of losing our jobs. Fear of raising an issue. No one wants to talk about it. I have seen projects where people knew there were serious risks, but they chose to remain silent. The fear of retaliation or the fear of being labeled as negative was stronger than the desire to protect the project. That is exactly where psychological safety comes in. And this concept was created by Amy Edmondson from Harvard Business School. And it's an amazing concept. She has a very powerful book talking about psychological safety. And she always mentioned that when there is psychological safety, people feel they can speak up, they can suggest, they can question, or even disagree without fear of punishment or humiliation, without this safety environment. Fear kills innovation. Fear kills decision and kills your project. People prefer to follow the safe path. They prefer to obey orders and avoid bringing new ideas, even when they know that there is a better way. I believe leadership plays a crucial role in building this psychological safety. A leader who admits mistakes, shows vulnerability, and encourages participation creates an environment where fear loses its power. I've seen teams completely transformed the way they work, when they feel safe to speak up, when they feel safe to speak their minds. When a manager makes it clear that mistakes are leading to opportunities, it is incredibly powerful. And please, I'm not saying that we should stimulate people to make mistakes. We just need to realize that mistakes are part of the life. Of course, nobody wants to make mistakes. I would love to have a mistake-proof project, but you know, reality is not like that. We need to accept, and we need to learn from those mistakes. And this doesn't mean that discipline and accountability will not be in place. It's very important. It means that fear is no longer the foundation of discipline. Discipline is not attached to fear. Respect, clear communication, and trust. They now become the engine of performance. And often fear comes from a command and control culture. And you know this. I am the boss. I dictate the norms, and that's it. Where the leader dictates everything and punishes any questioning. And this. Honestly, this might deliver short-term results, but it completely destroys the team's long-term potential. It's just impossible to cultivate, you know, a strong plant if you when the plant is tiny. If you just do not feed with the right nutrients and trust, is this right nutrient. It's important to remember that fear also paralyzes. It makes professionals hide problems, sugarcoat reports, and avoid tough conversations. Delaying decisions that could save the project. So if you want to reduce fear in your team, stay by truly listening. Ask the team how they feel. Create emotional check-ins. Share your own doubts and struggles. This shows humanity, builds empathy, and inspires people to do the same. I always say that projects are made of people, and people need trust to do their best work. Psychological safety is a fertile ground where courage grows and fear fades away. Think always about that. I hope you enjoyed this episode, and see you next week with another 5 Minutes Podcast.
