There’s a story unfolding right now in college basketball that every CEO, founder, and leader needs to pay attention to.
It’s not just about wins.
It’s not just about talent.
It’s about culture.
And more specifically… it’s about psychological safety.
Let me introduce you to Dusty May.
The Turnaround That Wasn’t About Basketball
Two years ago, the Michigan Wolverines men's basketball were struggling. They had a losing record and good players were leaving the team to play elsewhere.
Fast forward to today?
They’re the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball National Champions.
A 37–3 season.
One of the fastest turnarounds in college basketball history.
Now here’s the part I want to highlight, the secret sauce of the genius of Dusty May…
It wasn’t just strategy.
It wasn’t just recruiting.
It was how those players felt.
The Hidden Edge: Psychological Safety
May said it plainly:
“In our building, we take pride in psychological safety.”
In a high-pressure, high-performance environment…
where millions are watching…
where mistakes are magnified…
He created a space where players could be themselves.
Where mistakes weren’t punished… they were used.
Where personality wasn’t suppressed… it was embraced.
Where pressure didn’t suffocate… it energized.
He built what one source called a “culture of error”—a place where players are allowed to get it wrong so they can ultimately get it right.
That’s a coach who understands how people learn and grow. That is evolved leadership.
This Is Where Leaders Get It Wrong
I see it every day in the companies I coach.
Leaders say they want high performance…
But they create environments where:
- People are afraid to speak up
- Mistakes get punished instead of examined
- Feedback feels like criticism, not growth
And then they wonder why:
- Innovation stalls
- Accountability disappears
- The same problems keep showing up
You can’t get championship performance from a team that doesn’t feel safe. Google’s Project Aristotle cleared showed that when employees feel seen , heard, known and accepted turnover is reduced by 40% and productivity increases by 30%.
A Personal Reflection
I learned this the hard way. In my mid 30’s, when my business was $600,000 in debt and 60 days from going under…I thought I had a strategy problem.
I didn’t.
I had a leadership problem. I had not yet hired a coach to teach me the leadership skills I needed to employ to turn my business around.
My team didn’t feel safe enough to challenge me.
They didn’t feel safe enough to tell me where I was wrong.
I did not know how to lead them without fear and intimidation because I was unable to implement a culture of accountability and clear communication.
I was the cause of the problems. So, we stayed stuck… until I changed.
That’s when everything turned.
The Real Lesson from Dusty May
This isn’t about basketball.
This is about leadership.
Psychological safety doesn’t lower the bar…
It raises it.
Because when people feel safe:
- They take ownership
- They challenge ideas
- They bring their full selves to the work
And that’s where real performance lives.
Here’s the Challenge
Take 10 minutes today and ask yourself:
- Where on my team are people holding back?
- What conversations aren’t happening?
- And more importantly… what am I doing that makes it unsafe?
Because here’s the truth:
You don’t build a championship team with pressure alone.
You build it with trust.
And if you’re honest…
that’s either your biggest advantage right now…
or your biggest blind spot.
So where do you stand?
