Episode Title: Psychological Safety: The Heart of People-First Leadership
Guest: Hay Lam Yau – Managing Director, Siol | Author – Faulty Sucks
What does a psychologically safe workplace really feel like? Hear it from someone shaping one right now. Meet Hay Lam Yau
In This Episode:
In this episode of the BE Inspired Podcast, Seton Walsh-Rose sits down with Hay Lam Yau, a leader and coach who has pioneered a system to measure and improve psychological safety in the workplace. Together, they unpack what psychological safety really means, why it’s more than just compliance, and how it directly impacts team performance, innovation, and organizational success.
Hay Lam shares his journey from high-pressure corporate environments in the UK and Australia, where he experienced burnout firsthand, to creating tools that help organizations foster safe, high-performing workplaces. Listeners will gain insights into the practical steps leaders can take to create trust, alignment, and effective collaboration within teams.
We dive into:
- Psychological Safety and Why It Matters
- Inclusive Leadership in Real Practice
- Allyship and Creating Safe Spaces for LGBTQIA+ Communities
- Building Teams People Feel Safe To Speak Up In
- Human-Centred Leadership Behaviours
- Creating Cultures of Belonging and Trust
- The Role of Empathy in Modern Leadership
- How Leaders Influence Team Wellbeing and Performance
- Everyday Actions That Strengthen Team Safety
- Leading With Authenticity and Courage
Connect and Follow Hay Lam Yau:
LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/in/hay-lam-yau-7171b26
Website:
Takeaways:
- Psychological safety is essential for business performance – research shows safe workplaces increase engagement by up to 30% and team performance by 25% (Deloitte).
- Unsafe environments lead to burnout – it’s not just about working long hours; lack of safety causes self-preservation behaviors that compromise productivity and innovation.
- Artificial harmony vs genuine harmony – real psychological safety allows for robust conversations, vulnerability, and honest feedback, rather than surface-level politeness.
- Leadership matters – leaders set the tone by modeling safe behaviors and encouraging open dialogue, but employees also need to take accountability for their own actions.
- Practical tools for measuring safety – Hay Lam created a system that helps organizations identify gaps in team trust, communication, and decision-making dynamics.
- Empowerment is key – psychological safety and individual accountability together allow teams to solve problems more effectively and flourish creatively.
Chapters:
00:00 – Introduction to Psychological Safety
04:45 – The Importance of Psychological Safety in the Workplace
10:17 – Operational Excellence and Team Dynamics
13:16 – The Role of Leadership in Fostering Safety
18:40 – The Human Element in Organizational Success
22:20 – Burnout: Understanding and Addressing the Issue
23:31 – Navigating Unsafe Environments
24:36 – Understanding Artificial Harmony
27:40 – The Power of Post-Heroic Leadership
30:45 – Creating Psychological Safety in Teams
35:15 – Empowerment and Personal Responsibility
41:17 – Resources for Building Better Teams
Sound Bites / Quotes:
“Psychological safety is not a nice-to-have. It directly affects performance, engagement, and the bottom line.” – Hay Lam Yau
“Artificial harmony is when everyone is polite, but nobody is saying what really matters. Real harmony allows robust conversation and debate.” – Hay Lam Yau
“101 psych safety stuff solves 80% of most organizations’ problems.” – Hay Lam Yau
Referenced in This Episode:
- My book link https://www.faulty.sucks/where-to-buy
- Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni – https://www.amazon.com/Five-Dysfunctions-Team-Leadership-Fable/dp/0787960756
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