Psychological Safety at Work with Mehmet Baha

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What does it really take to create a workplace where people feel safe to speak up, take risks, and perform at their very best?

In this episode, Chris Cooper is joined by Mehmet Baha, known simply as Baha, an international speaker, trainer, and author whose life’s mission has been to make a positive difference in people’s lives.

With over 24 years of global experience across Europe, the USA, Turkey, and Central America, Baha has worked with organisations of all sizes—including being one of the first employees at Facebook in Europe.

A Fulbright Scholar with a Master’s in Conflict Resolution and a graduate of Harvard Business School’s Online Executive Programme in Organisational Leadership, Baha is passionate about helping leaders unlock the power of psychological safety.

His new book, Creating Psychological Safety at Work—praised by Daniel Pink as “a timely book filled with fascinating case studies, robust research, and practical tools for driving change”—offers a roadmap for building high-performing, engaged teams.

Baha has delivered talks and training in more than 28 countries across 5 continents, speaking four languages fluently, and bringing a unique perspective shaped by his multicultural journey.

Beyond his professional work, he is a percussionist, an avid traveller, and a father who enjoys playing basketball with his young daughter.

Here are some insights from the interview you won’t want to miss:

Definition of Psychological Safety: Baha described psychological safety as a workplace environment where employees feel safe to express their questions, concerns, ideas, and mistakes without fear of negative consequences. It’s a core driver of high-performing teams.

Impact on Business Outcomes: Creating psychological safety leads to significant benefits, such as reducing employee turnover (27%), reducing safety incidents (40%), and increasing productivity (12%), according to research cited by Baha.

The Importance of Leaders: Leaders play a crucial role in fostering psychological safety. This includes modeling vulnerability, proactively asking for feedback, and appreciating team members.

Mistake Types and Responses: Not all mistakes are equal. Baha introduced the concept of distinguishing between unacceptable, improvable, complex, and intelligent mistakes—and encourages leaders to respond appropriately rather than resorting to blame.

Feedback Culture: High-performing teams have a 3–5:1 ratio of positive to negative feedback. Leaders should make appreciation a habit and seek specific, feed-forward feedback rather than vague or solely critical input.

Curiosity and Communication: To encourage openness, leaders can use a variety of question types (open, empathetic, advice, clarifying, and more) to invite input and understanding, instead of making judgments.

Vulnerability and Compassion: Sharing mistakes and lessons learned models vulnerability and reinforces trust. Compassion in leadership—demonstrated through genuine care and humane treatment, especially in tough situations like layoffs—helps build long-term respect and psychological safety.

Practical Habits to Build Safety: Baha recommended simple but powerful habits like starting meetings with personal check-ins, getting to know team members as individuals, and taking time to show humanity during both routine and difficult conversations.

Cultural Differences and Adaptability: Both Baha and Chris Cooper discussed their international experiences, highlighting that organisational cultures differ, but the universal need for psychological safety remains. Adapting communication style and humour to the cultural context is also important.

Sustaining Behavioural Change: Awareness, interest, knowledge, action, and sustainability are essential steps in embedding psychological safety into organisational culture. It takes ongoing self-reflection and deliberate practice.

Psychological Safety Beyond Work: The takeaways are relevant not just in business but in families and communities—anywhere open communication, collaboration, and learning from mistakes are valued.

When employees feel that their opinions count, we see 27% reduction in employee turnover, 40% reduction in safety incidents, and 12% increase in employee productivity – Mehmet Baha

Join us for this conversation to explore why psychological safety is not just a “nice to have,” but an essential foundation for team performance, innovation, and wellbeing—and how you can begin creating it in your own workplace

You can listen to this Business Elevation Show interview with Mehmet Baha & Chris Cooper here. Alternatively on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Tunein, Amazon Music, iHeart Radio (latter US only).

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More about Mehmet Baha:

His full name is Mehmet Baha and everyone calls him Baha.

Since his childhood, he has been fascinated by the question: “How can I make a difference in the lives of people?” His interest leads him to win a scholarship from Fulbright and finish his master’s in the USA on the topic of Conflict Resolution.

He has lived and worked in Germany, Turkey, Ireland, Guatemala, and the USA with more than 24 years of work experience.

Baha was one of the first employees of Facebook in Europe. Throughout his life, he has realized the importance of having psychological safety to create high-performing teams. So far, he has delivered training and given talks in more than 28 countries across 5 continents.

Recently, he completed Harvard Business School’s Online Executive Education Programme “Organisational Leadership”. He is fluent in English, Spanish, Turkish, and German. In his free time, he loves to play percussion, travel with his family, and play basketball with his 8-year-old daughter.

“Playbook for Engaged Employees“ is his first book. In September 2024, his second book “Creating Psychological Safety at Work“ was published. Daniel Pink, #1 New York Times bestselling author, describes it as a “timely book filled with fascinating case studies, robust research, and practical tools for driving change.”