Picture of Amy Edmondson

Amy Edmondson

Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at Harvard Business School

Professor Edmondson is the Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at Harvard Business School, a chair established to support study of human interactions that lead to the creation of successful enterprises and the betterment of society. She studies leadership, psychological safety, and organizational learning.

Amy Edmondson

Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at Harvard Business School

Professor Edmondson is the Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at Harvard Business School, a chair established to support study of human interactions that lead to the creation of successful enterprises and the betterment of society. She studies leadership, psychological safety, and organizational learning.

Edmondson has been recognized by the biannual Thinkers50 global ranking of management thinkers since 2011, and most recently was ranked #1 in 2021; she also received that organization’s Breakthrough Idea Award in 2019, and Talent Award in 2017.  She studies teaming, psychological safety, and organizational learning, and her articles have been published in numerous academic and management outlets. 

Her book, The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation and Growth (Wiley, 2019), offers a practical guide for organizations serious about success in the modern economy and has been translated into 15 languages. Edmondson’s latest book, Right Kind of Wrong (Atria), builds on her prior work on psychological safety and teaming to provide a framework for thinking about, discussing, and practicing the science of failing well.

Why we like Prof Edmondson’s research:

“When anyone’s voice can be mission critical, it’s imperative that people are willing to take on the interpersonal cost of speaking up to raise concerns and questions as a means of identifying problems immediately, before they cause physical or economic harm.”

Amy Edmondson, Extreme Teaming

Amy Edmondson pioneered the concept of Psychological Safety and its critical role it plays in allowing teams and entire organizations to function at a high level.

Psychological Safety describes a state where people feel comfortable voicing their concerns and challenging authority. It does not describe an environment where there is no conflict. Rather, Psychological Safety takes place in an environment where constructive conflict is encouraged, addressed openly, and managed productively.

Teams and organizations that demonstrate high levels of psychological safety are better able to cope with challenges and avoid risks of group think and blind spots.

Contributions to Starling Insights

Contributions to The Starling Compendium

External Materials

The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth
The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth

Conquer the most essential adaptation to the knowledge economy

The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth offers practical guidance for teams and organizations who are serious about success in the modern economy.
Extreme Teaming
Extreme Teaming

Lessons in Complex, Cross-Sector Leadership

Today’s global enterprises increasingly involve collaborative work by teams of experts operating across different professions, organizations, and industries. Extreme Teaming provides new insights into the world of complex, cross industry projects and the ways they must be managed.