Creating Psychological Safety Within Yourself as a Leader
Have you ever felt like you are creating calm in the storm for others around you—while secretly feeling like you’re drowning inside? As leaders, we’re conditioned to be steady, composed, and always “on.” But the truth is, many of us carry the weight of impossible expectations, private doubts, and constant pressure. As an Executive Coach, I want you to know leadership doesn’t just require us to create psychological safety for our teams—it requires us to create it within ourselves first.
What Does It Mean to Create Safety For Yourself?
Creating psychological safety within yourself is about offering the same compassion, acceptance, and trust to yourself that you strive to create for your people. It means:
Allowing space to feel rather than pushing emotions aside.
Permitting mistakes without labeling them as failures.
Offering yourself trust—that you are capable, resourceful, and doing your best.
This is not self-indulgence. It’s leadership at the deepest level. When you create safety inside yourself, you unlock the resilience and clarity that allows you to show up steady and strong for others.
Practical Ways to Start
Here are three practices you can try this week:
Pause and Check In
Take 2 minutes between meetings to ask yourself: “What do I need right now to feel safe and supported?” Maybe it’s a deep breath, maybe it’s stepping outside for fresh air. The question itself reminds your nervous system that your needs matter.Rewrite Your Inner Script
Notice your self-talk when under pressure. If you hear: “I can’t afford to mess this up,” try shifting to: “I’m learning and I trust myself to navigate this.” Leaders thrive when their inner voice is an ally, not a critic.Set Micro-Boundaries
You don’t need sweeping lifestyle changes. Start small: no emails after 9pm, five minutes of morning quiet before the day begins, or saying “not right now” to a non-urgent request. These boundaries tell your nervous system: “You’re safe with me.”
Why This Matters?
The truth is—teams can only feel as safe as their leaders are grounded. If you’re running on adrenaline, self-doubt, or constant tension, it ripples outward. When you model self-safety, you’re not only protecting your own wellbeing—you’re showing your people what sustainable leadership looks like.
If this article resonates with you, I invite you to take one small step today toward creating psychological safety within yourself. And if you’d like to go deeper, join me in my upcoming Radical Resilience and Navigating Change 6-week Group Coaching Program, where I share the tools that have supported me as a Master Certified Coach, a brain injury survivor, a cancer widow, and a leader who has navigated profound change. Email me NOW to receive the PDF with all the details for this amazing group coaching program that is being offered at a never-before promo rate of $799 if booked before October 25th!
The bravest thing a leader can do is to make themselves safe enough… to keep leading with heart.
