Feed Media Group is a music streaming for business company that powers music for fitness and wellness brands around the world. As a company built on music curation expertise, we've learned that great products come from great teams. Here's what we've learned about building psychological safety.
What’s the most important factor in creating high-performing teams? It’s not work ethic, diverse perspectives, or even communication. Google’s 2015 study found that psychological safety takes the top spot.
Psychological safety, which promotes authenticity, ownership of mistakes, and constructive feedback, is at the heart of high-performing teams. At FMG, our core values — Be Kind, Evolve, and Own It — are designed to foster this environment. We believe that true collaboration often means embracing disagreement, taking full ownership, and driving innovative solutions. In short: we’re not new to this, we’re striving to be true to this; making psychological safety a key component of how we work.
Two years ago I introduced an internal newsletter that covers metrics, well-being, team member spotlight, and music hot-takes. This year, to further the embodiment of our core values, I introduced a new ‘Learnings’ section to our newsletter. It’s meant to foster empathy, belonging, continuous feedback, encourage growth, and reinforce psychological safety across our team.
Each quarter team members volunteered to share their learnings and quarter after quarter I was inspired by their expertise, growth, and of course, vulnerability. So I thought, why not extend the gift of learning beyond our organization? See below a short summary of this year’s featured learnings:
Asking for help.
Overcoming the ‘I’ll figure it out’ mentality and asking for help has improved my efficiency. When working in a small HR team, isolation can reinforce the drive to handle things solo, but it can also slow growth. Building a network, like joining Hebba’s Safe Space community, provided tons of inspiration and support. I encourage everyone to find or create these spaces in their fields.”
Daniela Velazquez, People Operations Manager at FMG
Goal setting.
This year, our team got more specific about where we are and where we’re headed. Rory introduced a goal-setting process that shifted conversations to what we want to achieve, not just what needs to get done. It’s kept us laser-focused and ambitious!
Rory Hibbler, Sr. Director of Operations at FMG
Public speaking.
For folks who get nervous before a big meeting or want to avoid Zoom fatigue by making their meetings more dynamic, we’ve got some resources to share. Melissa, Director of Marketing took a few IdeoU courses which helped her transform her presentations and team collaborations. Courses included The Art of Storytelling, Leading for Creativity, and Cultivating Creative Collaboration.
Melissa Clark, Director of Marketing at FMG
Evolving.
At FMG, the core value of Evolve has been both a challenge and an opportunity, shaping our growth in unexpected ways. While some challenges were presented, many are self-identified opportunities. Reflecting on his journey, he’s learned that aligning his skills with the company’s needs requires partnership, especially with Lauren Pufpaf, a vital sounding board. Not every initiative succeeded—some articles had low impressions, standing meetings outlasted their usefulness, and other projects were short-lived. However, learning when to step back and let others take over has been key. Delegating tasks to talented teammates has allowed him to focus on leadership and other strategic work. “The ability to evolve while staying at a company for a long time is a unique privilege and I’m grateful. Let’s continue giving each other the patient support we need.”
Eric Stensvaag, Director of Curation at FMG
Enterprise Sales.
Rob, our team’s sales guru even with 20+ years of sales experience is continuously learning. In this case, he shared his insights on Enterprise Sales: Practice patience, ask the right questions at the right time, preparation is key, bring a village, and build a playbook. “We truly have a remarkable team at FMG and that is why we continue to win deals.”
Rob Kenkel, Director of Sales at FMG
Seeing these learnings over the past year is a testament to our team culture, which truly supports psychological safety. I remember the first time I made a mistake—the grace I was met with was surprising and showed me that mistakes could look different. As a result, I developed my own approach to handling mistakes:
- Own it – Nobody is perfect. As a recovering perfectionist, this takes practice.
- Acknowledge where I went amiss – Reflection here is crucial, as it helps identify solutions and potential adjustments.
- Find solutions and share learnings – What has changed because of this? This could mean introducing new processes, slowing down, or triple-checking your work.
None of this would be possible without our leaders’ investment in professional development, our ambitious team, and the supportive environment we’ve built. Psychological safety fuels innovation, reduces mistakes, and increases productivity—and it’s the foundation of everything we’re working to achieve. Join our team of creatives working remotely, and working together to help everyone experience the power of music!
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