In this episode of Burn the Blueprint, Tony Franklin (Tony Tidbit) and Dr. Bridget Cooper (Dr. B) dismantle one of corporate America’s most abused leadership concepts, Psychological Safety. Often mislabeled as “soft,” mistaken for comfort, or confused with forced agreement, Psychological Safety has become a buzzword that many leaders talk about, but few truly practice.

Grounded in the original research of Amy Edmondson, Tony and Dr. B clarify the truth. Psychological Safety is not about being nice. It is about creating environments where people can speak up, challenge ideas, admit mistakes, and engage in productive conflict without fear of retaliation.

The conversation exposes how leadership ego, poor feedback responses, and unspoken power dynamics quietly silence teams and stall performance. Through real-world examples and practical leadership behaviors, the hosts outline what leaders must unlearn, what they must model, and how accountability, clarity, and trust drive engagement, innovation, and revenue.

If your team is quiet, disengaged, or telling you what you want to hear, this episode explains why. More importantly, it explains what real leaders must change.

00:00: Introduction to Burn the Blueprint Podcast

00:31: Defining Psychological Safety

01:02: Misconceptions About Psychological Safety

01:46: Creating a Safe Environment for Open Dialogue

03:34: Challenges in Leadership and Psychological Safety

05:08: Gender Differences in Feeling Valued

13:50: Assessing Your Team's Psychological Safety

16:08: Leadership Training and Ego Management

20:29: The Cost of Low Engagement

21:09: A Story of Psychological Safety

22:49: Empowering Employees

24:04: Core Needs and Problem Solving

27:00: Creating a Psychologically Safe Environment

34:44: Final Thoughts and Call to Action