Change rarely fails because of strategy. It fails because trust quietly thins out when uncertainty enters the room.
Restructures, new leadership, shifting priorities, AI adoption, none of these automatically destroy trust. What does real damage is how people experience the in-between moments: the pauses, the reactions, the emotional signals leaders may not realise they’re sending.
Behavioral science and organizational psychology research consistently point to one stabilizing force during change: psychological safety.
Not the soft kind. The functional kind.
Psychological safety is the shared belief that it’s safe to speak up, ask questions, challenge ideas, and admit uncertainty without fear of embarrassment or blame. Under change, it becomes the bridge that allows trust to survive ambiguity.
Why Employees Hold Back (Even When the Door Is “Open”)
Many leaders genuinely believe they are approachable. They say things like:
- “My door is always open.”
- “You can be honest with me.”
- “I want feedback.”
Yet employees still stay quiet.
Here’s a common pattern I see in teams:
A leader invites input, but when feedback is shared:
- The idea is quickly shut down without exploration
- The response sounds like justification rather than curiosity
- Or worse, when results aren’t favourable, responsibility subtly shifts back to the employee instead of becoming a shared problem
Nothing overtly harsh happens. But something important is learned.
Employees learn:
- It’s safer to stay quiet than to be wrong
- Raising issues leads to defensiveness, not solutions
- Ownership only flows one way – downward
Over time, people don’t stop caring. They stop contributing.
This isn’t resistance. It’s a rational response to risk.
Trust Is Fragile During Change
Under pressure, teams instinctively move into self-protection mode:
- Feedback becomes filtered
- Questions turn into private assumptions
- Collaboration gives way to compliance
When leaders communicate outcomes but not thinking, or react to problems by assigning fault instead of inviting collaboration, silence fills the gaps. That’s where trust erodes- quietly, gradually, and often invisibly.
Psychological Safety as a Trust Stabilizer
Research shows that during uncertainty:
- Trust is maintained when leaders signal openness, not certainty
- Teams adapt better when learning is prioritised over perfection
- Acknowledging what’s unclear builds more trust than projecting confidence
People don’t need leaders to have all the answers. They need leaders who don’t punish the process of finding them.
A Simple 15-Minute Practice: Narrative Connection Circle
This is one of the most effective ways to rebuild trust without forcing vulnerability.
Purpose Strengthen psychological safety and shared understanding during periods of change.
Group size 4–10 people
Time 15 minutes
How it works
- Ask each participant to share briefly (60–90 seconds): “A moment at work where you had to adapt quickly or figure things out without clear answers.”
- No interruptions. No fixing. Just listening.
- After everyone shares, ask the group:
Why this works
- Storytelling lowers defensiveness and builds meaning
- It normalises uncertainty without turning the session into therapy
- It surfaces trust signals without naming or blaming anyone
This activity doesn’t ask people to expose emotions. It invites reflection, which feels safer and more respectful in professional settings.
A Note for Leaders
Psychological safety isn’t about endless discussion or avoiding accountability.
It’s about how accountability is held.
During change:
- When something doesn’t work, ask “What can we improve together?” before “Why did this happen?”
- Respond to feedback with curiosity before evaluation
- Make problem-solving a shared act between colleagues, not a by-department thing or a post-mortem
Trust isn’t built by keeping doors open. It’s built by how leaders respond when someone actually walks through them.
Change will keep accelerating. The teams that thrive won’t be the most certain. They’ll be the ones that feel safe enough to think, speak, and adapt together.