Tariq Hassan (McDonald's, PetCo, Bank of America) The Power of Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace and at Home #028

In this episode of CEOs & ABCs, Kevin sits down with Tariq Hassan, former Chief Marketing Officer of McDonald’s, to unpack a belief that shaped his entire leadership philosophy: you cannot get to incredible outcomes when fear of failure is baked into the system. Tariq shares how growing up dyslexic quietly wired him for fear and overcompensation, and how that same “paralysis” shows up inside companies as the ideas people never share, the risks teams never take, and the opportunities no one even knows they missed. From Petco turnarounds to leading at one of the most iconic brands in the world, he explains why psychological safety is not a soft concept. It is a performance advantage. You will hear the simple cultural shift Tariq used to make risk-taking real: celebrating “Amazing Almosts”, the best failures of the quarter, so teams could learn, pivot, and build confidence without losing accountability. Kevin and Tariq also bring this conversation home, exploring parenting, long-distance seasons, two high-performing careers under one roof, and the daily practices that help a child keep talking, especially when the stakes get higher. This is a conversation about fear, trust, standards, and the environments we create, at work and at home, so people feel safe enough to grow. In this episode, you'll learn: Why fear of failure becomes invisible, but still drives behavior in high-performing cultures What psychological safety looks like in real meetings, not in theory How to build “risk with guardrails” instead of chaos or blame The “Amazing Almosts” practice, and why celebrating the right failures changes everything Repairing after you miss it as a leader, and why it only feels awkward the first time The parenting parallel: when to catch, when to let them fall, and how trust is built Long-distance parenting, presence vs quantity, and choosing the moments that matter Why this mindset matters even more in an AI-driven world of continuous learning Top Takeaways: You can’t talk a team into psychological safety. You have to prove it through actions and rituals. Fear shows up most in what doesn’t get said: the risks avoided, the debates not had, the ideas withheld. The goal is not celebrating constant failure. The goal is learning fast, staying accountable, and building confidence to take smart swings. Cultural change feels unnatural at first. Keep going until it becomes normal, and the language becomes part of how the team operates. At home, psychological safety is often measured by one thing: they keep talking. Presence is less about quantity and more about intentional moments your family remembers. The best leaders repair quickly, build truth-tellers around them, and stay open to feedback even when it stings. About Tariq Hassan:Tariq Hassan is a senior marketing leader who most recently served as Chief Marketing Officer at McDonald’s. Prior to McDonald’s, he held executive leadership roles at Petco, Bank of America, and Hewlett-Packard, building a career across some of the world’s most recognizable brands. Known for blending performance with humanity, Tariq focuses on the cultural conditions that unlock high-performing teams, especially psychological safety, trust, and the ability to take smart risks without fear. Chapters (00:00:00) - Introduction(00:02:00) - Creating Psychological Safety in Organisation(00:11:42) - Cultural Implications of Fear in Organizations(00:21:35) - Celebrating Failures: The Amazing Almosts(00:31:35) - Balancing Risk and Responsibility in Leadership(00:33:08) - Navigating Parenting Challenges(00:37:49) - Creating Psychological Safety at Home(00:42:47) - Balancing Ambitious Careers(00:48:24) - Maintaining Connection During Absence