When a team is struggling, a common response is to organise a team building day. But when trust is low, relationships are strained or people feel psychologically unsafe, a traditional team-building day may not be the best approach....
When poor behaviour or conflict emerges in a team, leaders often feel pressure to respond quickly. But it’s important to understand what’s driving the situation and sometimes that needs specialist help....
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....
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....
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...
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....
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...
Fear of lost revenue or performance if they go. “Too hard to replace” skills or client relationships. Leaders avoiding conflict. Mistaking bullying for “drive” or “high standards.” Managing up well while managing down badly. Results trump respect. Rules are...
When most people think of workplace bullying, they picture shouting, insults or open confrontation. But bullying can also be subtle - hidden behind gossip, cliques and social exclusion. This is called relational aggression. Relational aggression in teams uses relationships as the weapon....
A curt interruption in a meeting. An eye-roll when someone speaks. Leaving a colleague out of a decision they should be part of. These behaviours might seem harmless in isolation. But together, they corrode trust. Micro-behaviours are subtle actions that communicate disrespect or exclusion....
Most people try to handle conflict by staying calm, rational, and solution-focused. It’s a reasonable instinct after all, staying composed should help, right?But in team dynamics, especially when tensions are high, this approach can actually escalate things.During a recent team development...
A recent LinkedIn post I shared on this topic reached 40,000 impressions and was seen by 30,000 professionals, mostly senior leaders and HR professionals working in regulated sectors like finance, insurance and healthcare. Clearly, the message hit a nerve.....here's why....
Psychological safety suffers when people bottle up issues. If a team avoids difficult conversations, it often leads to resentment, frustration and poorer working relationships. When I’ve worked with teams in this situation, what they’ve really needed is a clear, safe way to have those tough conver...
One issue that comes up repeatedly in team culture work is cyber incivility. Not the obvious kind - no aggressive messages or full-blown arguments. It's the low-level, often unintentional stuff that chips away at trust....
You’ve probably heard a lot about building trust at work by listening better. Listening is important, but it’s only half the equation....