Exploring how leadership-followership dynamics contribute to psychological safety in workplace settings

Abstract

This research examined how leadership-followership dynamics contribute to the co-construction of psychological safety in workplace settings. Psychological safety emerged as a relational climate shaped through continuous, bidirectional exchanges: leaders set the tone through encouragement and humility, whilst followers sustained this climate through constructive engagement and voice behaviours. Situated within an interpretivist paradigm, semi-structured interviews across diverse organisational sectors explored the relational conditions enabling or constraining safety. Thematic analysis revealed psychological safety as not being a fixed state, but as a negotiated process shaped by the agency of both leaders and followers. Key themes included encouraging behaviours, open communication, followership styles, and the influence of power distance. The study extends Leader–Member Exchange (LMX) theory by positioning psychological safety as a relational outcome instead of a leader-driven construct. It further advances followership theory by demonstrating how followers actively reinforce emotionally safe environments through trust-building and shared decision-making. Practical recommendations for stakeholders are offered, alongside avenues for future research.