Psychological Safety in Mentoring Conversations
- Catherine Hodgson
- Nov 8, 2025
- 3 min read
“Psychological safety is the shared belief that the team — or in this case, a mentoring pair — is safe for interpersonal risk-taking.” — Amy C. Edmondson (MIT Working Paper)
Why Psychological Safety Matters in Mentoring
Mentoring works when both people can be open, honest and imperfect. Without that, even a well-matched pair stays polite but shallow.
Dr Amy Edmondson’s 1999 study, Psychological Safety and Learning Behaviour in Work Teams, proved that groups with high psychological safety engage in more learning behaviours and deliver better results. In The Fearless Organization (2018), she showed that safety is the foundation for innovation, feedback, and growth.
The same principle applies to mentoring. When safety exists, mentees can admit “I don’t know,” mentors can share “Here’s a mistake I made,” and both learn faster.
Recent evidence backs this up:
Teams with higher psychological safety show stronger learning and innovation (PMC 9819141).
A peer-mentoring RCT (Randomized Control Trial) found structured mentoring increased safety scores from 5.6 to 6.1 (p = .005) and deepened reflection (PMC 11360255).
Five Evidence-Based Habits for Mentors and Mentees:
1. Contract Your Relationship
Agree on norms up front: confidentiality, honesty, and how you will handle discomfort.
“Shared beliefs about risk-taking arise from explicit cues and structures.” — Edmondson (1999)
A simple agreement works:
We’ll keep our conversations confidential.
We’ll speak honestly, with respect.
We’ll talk about issues early rather than avoid them.
“In this mentoring partnership, we commit to speak openly, respect differences, and discuss misunderstandings quickly.”
2. Model Vulnerability and Curiosity
Mentors can model vulnerability by doing the following: share one early-career mistake and what you learned.
Mentees can show curiosity and vulnerability by doing the following: ask the question you’re afraid might sound naïve.
In Edmondson’s work, teams learned faster when members felt safe acknowledging error.
Start with: “Here’s a time I misread a situation..... and what I learned was.....”
3. Use Conversation Structures That Invite Honesty
Regular prompts make openness routine. Ask your mentee:
What went well since last time?
What didn’t go to plan — and what did you learn?
What’s one thing you’ve hesitated to say?
What’s one fear holding you back this month?
These questions normalise reflection and signal that learning beats perfection.
4. Repair Small Ruptures Quickly
Missed a meeting? Gave blunt feedback? Name it.
Repairing small breaks strengthens trust (PMC 11360255).
Try: “I realised I interrupted you last time — did that throw you off? How can I do better?”
5. Check the Health of the Relationship Regularly
Every few sessions, rate together:
“I feel safe sharing mistakes and ideas here.” (1 = low → 5 = high).
Discuss low scores with curiosity, not defensiveness.
Common Pitfalls & Fixes
Pitfall | Why It Hurts | Fix |
Mentor dominates | Mentee withdraws | Apply a 70% (mentee),30% (mentor) airtime rule |
“Nice” replaces honest | Learning stalls | Ask “What didn’t go well?” every session |
Hierarchical deference | Fear of judgement | Re-emphasise confidentiality and equality |
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Avoiding feedback | Growth plateaus | Ask permission, give feedback as curiosity |
Closing Thought
Psychological safety is built moment-by-moment. Mentors and mentees who contract clearly, model vulnerability, and repair missteps create relationships where insight and growth thrive.
“Learning and innovation happen through open dialogue and error sharing — never through silence.” — Amy Edmondson, The Fearless Organization (2018)
Call to Action
Download the free SHIFT Mentoring Conversation Contract & Safety Checklist to embed these five habits in your next mentoring meeting:
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