Anton Guinea
Entrepreneur, Speaker, bestselling author, and founder of The Guinea Group of Companies. For over 15 years, Anton has helped leaders move their teams to become psychologically safe, physically safe and overall better versions of themselves.
What does your competence as a leader really say about the safety you create for your team?
I’ve spent more than two decades reflecting on this very question, both through my own near fatal workplace experience and in working with leaders. For me, leadership isn’t just about hitting numbers or finishing projects. It’s about whether your people feel safe, physically and psychologically, when they’re under your guidance. That is the true test of competence.
Why competence should be measured by safety
Competence is often confused with technical ability or decision making speed. But to me, competence shows in the moments when pressure rises. Do you stay composed, or do you let frustration spill over? Do your team members feel comfortable raising concerns, or do they keep quiet to avoid your reaction? That difference tells the real story about your leadership.
There’s evidence to back this up. As one article on new hires shows, psychological safety can disappear within weeks if leaders don’t actively create it. I’ve seen it happen myself, a team that looks strong on paper, but silence and fear spread because the leader hasn’t made safety a priority.
As I’ve written before, safe teams don’t happen by accident. They are a direct result of daily behaviours, from the way you speak to how you react under stress.
How psychological safety strengthens performance
When people feel safe, they perform better. They take initiative, they report risks, and they share their ideas without holding back. And it’s not about being “soft.” As this piece on psychological safety explains, safety isn’t about avoiding conflict. It’s about making space for honest dialogue that actually drives improvement.
I’ve always believed that psychological safety transforms workplaces, and we explored this idea further in one of our articles. Teams where people can speak freely are faster to adapt, better at problem solving, and healthier overall.
Research consistently supports this. One study on psychosocial safety showed a direct link between safety culture and workplace wellbeing. Leaders who ignore this are taking unnecessary risks with both performance and people.
Competence means owning responsibility for safety
I’ve seen too many leaders pass the buck on safety. They assume it belongs to HR or the safety officer. But leadership responsibility for workplace safety cannot be outsourced. If you’re the leader, you set the tone. You decide whether safety is part of daily culture or just something written in a policy.
As I’ve shared before, psychological safety is the foundation of every high performing organisation. You can have the best systems in the world, but if people are scared to speak up, those systems will fail. Competence here means courage, making safety non negotiable.
There’s research to back this too. Authentic leadership behaviours improve safety outcomes. That includes being transparent, showing consistency, and genuinely caring for people. None of this comes from a manual. It comes from how you act in everyday moments.
Practical ways competent leaders create safety
So what does creating safety look like in practice? These are behaviours I’ve seen make the biggest difference:
- Listen with empathy. People need to know their concerns aren’t dismissed.
- Stay calm under pressure. Leaders who explode create fear. Leaders who stay composed create trust. I’ve shared more thoughts on this in this article.
- Model respect. Every interaction sets the tone for what your team believes is acceptable.
- Make courageous calls. Sometimes this means slowing down work to keep people safe, even when there’s pressure to push ahead.
It’s simple in theory but tough in practice. That’s why I remind leaders that safe teams start with brave leaders.
Building competence through training
Leaders often ask me: “How do I strengthen my competence in creating safety?” The answer is to focus on communication and self control. That’s why we developed the speak safe workshop, a program that teaches leaders to speak in ways that protect people and performance.
Many organisations bring me in for leadership training programs where leaders practise staying calm under pressure and making safety focused choices. If you’d like to talk through how we could support your workplace, our contact page is a good place to start the conversation.
Final thoughts
Competence isn’t only about technical skill or strategy. It’s about whether people felt safe under your care. That’s the leadership legacy that really matters. The question I leave you with is this:
Will your team remember you for the results you achieved, or for the safety and trust you created along the way?
Please click the image below if you’d like to chat about what leadership means to you
If you would like to learn more about Anton or The Guinea Group, please click here to book into Anton’s calendar, to:
UPGRADE your Mindset
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