In this episode of The World Class Leaders Show, host Andrea Petrone sits down with Amy Edmondson, Novartis Professor of Leadership at Harvard Business School and the world's #1 ranked management thinker (Thinkers50), to challenge what most people get wrong about psychological safety. Amy explains why psychological safety isn't about being nice or comfortable. It's about candor. She and Andrea talk through the "skunk at the picnic" story behind a failed acquisition, the real difference between blameworthy and intelligent failure, and how organizations fall into what she calls "failure theater," celebrating mistakes without ever building real accountability. They also get into how leaders can protect high quality conversations under pressure, how to repair psychological safety once it's broken, and why systems thinking might be the next big skill leaders need to develop. Amy Edmondson is the author of "The Fearless Organization" and "Right Kind of Wrong," winner of the Financial Times & Schroders Business Book of the Year award. ⏱ TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Introduction to Amy Edmondson 02:41 How Amy accidentally discovered psychological safety through a hospital study 09:51 The biggest misconception: it's not about being nice 13:45 Why "safe" doesn't mean "comfortable" 17:05 The "skunk at the picnic" story 19:05 Protecting psychological safety under pressure 24:06 Why stress triggers self-protection, and how teams can counter it 26:46 Blameworthy failure vs. intelligent failure 31:05 "Failure theater" explained 35:19 How to repair psychological safety after it's broken 39:43 Beyond psychological safety: systems thinking 42:48 Amy's challenge for every CEO listening 📘 PRE-ORDER MY NEW BOOK Reinvention at the Top: The Playbook for CEOs to Lead Under Pressure (Wiley) is available for pre-order now. 👉 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Reinvention-Top-Playbook-Under-Pressure/dp/1394430426 🚀 JOIN WCL21 WCL21 is a private community for CEOs leading mid-market companies, featuring confidential peer roundtables, masterclasses, and leadership conversations. 👉 https://andreapetrone.com/wcl21 📩 NEWSLETTER Join 183,000+ leaders receiving Andrea Petrone's weekly leadership insights. 👉 https://www.andreapetrone.com/newsletter/ CONNECT WITH ANDREA PETRONE LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreapetrone/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreapetrone_x Connect with Amy Edmondson LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amycedmondson/ Subscribe for weekly conversations with researchers and executives on leadership, teams, and organizational change.

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