Session overview

In sectors like social housing, where decisions carry real consequences, the ability to speak up, challenge well and learn from mistakes is not a “nice to have”, it is fundamental to effective leadership.

And yet, in many organisations, it is still harder than it should be.

Leaders are being asked to deliver more in increasingly complex environments, where things do not always go to plan. In this reality, the challenge is not simply to avoid failure, but to understand what the right kind of wrong looks like, and how teams and organisations can learn, adapt and improve as a result.

This is what makes this session so important.

In this special fireside conversation, Amy Edmondson, one of the world’s leading thinkers on psychological safety, will explore how psychological safety and intelligent failure work together in practice.

We will explore what it really takes for people to feel able to speak up, how leaders can distinguish between preventable mistakes and thoughtful experimentation, and how to respond when things go wrong in ways that build learning rather than blame.

This will be a thoughtful, engaging and highly relevant conversation. Members are encouraged to come with their own reflections, questions and observations, and to contribute to the discussion as it unfolds.

You will leave with a clearer, more practical understanding of how to create cultures that are both open and accountable, where people can speak honestly, learn quickly and improve over time.

What the session will cover

We will explore questions such as:

• What psychological safety really looks like in practice
• Why psychological safety is often misunderstood
• How leaders unintentionally silence challenge or openness
• How to balance psychological safety with accountability and performance
• What the right kind of wrong means in practice
• How leaders can respond well when things go wrong
• Why people stay silent, even when organisations say they want honesty
• How to build cultures that are more open, adaptive and human

About the speaker

Amy Edmondson, Professor of Leadership and Management, Harvard Business School

Amy C. Edmondson is the Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at the Harvard Business School.

She is best known for her groundbreaking work on psychological safety in the workplace. Recognized by the biannual Thinkers50 global ranking of management thinkers since 2011, Amy was ranked #1 by that organization in 2021 and 2023. Inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2024, she has published scholarly articles in numerous academic journals, and her books – including Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well and The Fearless Organization – have been translated into more than two dozen languages.

She received her PhD in organizational behavior, AM in psychology, and AB in engineering and design from Harvard University.

Who should attend

This session is ideal for:

• CEOs, executive teams and senior leaders
• Board members and non-executives
• People Services, culture and organisational development leads
• Strategy, transformation and innovation leaders
• Anyone interested in building more open, learning-focused and accountable organisations

If you are serious about creating a culture where people can speak up, learn from what goes wrong and do their best work in difficult conditions, this is a session not to miss.