When terms like “toxic culture” repeatedly emerge within organisations, they are rarely only describing interpersonal conflict. More often, they reflect wider systemic and psychological patterns that have developed over time....
Blame can create the illusion of control. If harm can be attributed to one person, organisations can feel psychologically protected from confronting a far more uncomfortable reality......
Conflict at work can often be blamed on interpersonal issues. However, what may look like a personality clash is very often a symptom of something deeper......
When organisations look at staff survey results, they can easily assume everything is OK by failing to dig below the headline data. This is where they can get caught out, as culture problems rarely show up clearly in high-level results alone....
When things go wrong culturally, when people don’t speak up, when behaviour crosses the line, when issues are known but not addressed. At what point does this become a leadership issue?...
In organisations, meetings and discussions can often feel positive and aligned, yet a different conversation takes place outside the formal setting. This can reflect how safe or straightforward it feels to speak openly in certain contexts....
Employees often stay silent in meetings to avoid judgement, not because of agreement. Actual concerns shift to informal spaces, creating gaps that impact decisions, trust, and workplace culture....
When organisations review exit interview data, the reasons often look predictable: Career progression, a new opportunity, better pay. These categories, which appear on forms and reports, don’t always tell the full story....
Psychological safety isn’t about comfort. It is about whether people feel safe to speak up. When this has consequences, people stay quiet. Over time this becomes the norm and risk starts to build...
Decision making in organisations can appear structured and inclusive: Meetings where slides are presented and people contribute. On the surface, it looks like people have a say but often decisions have already been made....
Toxic workplace culture in healthcare rarely appears overnight. A line from a recent report captures this clearly: “Concerns were raised as far back as 2017. They made no difference.” That tells you everything you need to know. This is not about isolated incidents. It is...
Workplace bullying in healthcare is often explained away as an issue with a few individuals. But when 70% of nurses report experiencing bullying, harassment or abuse, that explanation does not hold....
Psychological safety in teams is often judged by what organisations say. They may have values on the wall, policies in place and statements about openness and inclusion. But what matters is not what is written or stated, it is the behaviours that people have learned....
Informal power in organisations often has more impact than formal structure. On paper, everything looks clear, with defined roles and reporting lines. It looks structured, orderly and easy to follow. But that is not how work actually happens....
You hear it all the time. Two people are not getting on. There is tension. The issue gets labelled as interpersonal, so the response is usually simple:Keep an eye on it Let them sort it outSeparate them if needed It sounds reasonable. Low intervention. Low risk. But in...
Culture problems are sometimes described as being about “one or two bad apples”. This framing is understandable as leaders notice behaviour first. But when conflict keeps resurfacing, even after people have been managed or moved, it’s often a sign that something broader is at play....
“We’ve tried training, HR processes, OD support… and nothing has changed.” It's something I often hear when organisations get in touch. This post is the first in a short blog series on culture repair....
During organisational change, employee retention often becomes harder to predict. Emerging evidence suggests that coaching may influence wider organisational outcomes, including employee retention....
Resistance to feedback at work can be interpreted as people being defensive, closed, or unwilling to change. But instead of reflecting attitude or intent, it may relate to how feedback is experienced psychologically within a specific cultural context....
Before teams can collaborate well, challenge decisions, learn from mistakes or improve performance, psychological safety and trust between colleagues have to be in place... teams perform better when people feel safe to speak up, ask for help and admit uncertainty...