Most of us don’t recognise it because dogma hides inside conviction. The stronger we feel about being right, the less likely we are to question the beliefs that make us feel that way. And in the world of management and consulting, where confidence sells, this blindness is rewarded.
The Holy Grail of Team Culture – Repairing the Blown Fuse
And so, tension quietly builds, trust erodes, and what was once a cohesive team begins to fracture. We can keep encouraging people to “speak up,” but the real question is how should a team member respond in that very moment when someone crosses their line?
Plan for the Perfect Culture, Then Prepare for the Failure
In workplace teams, everyone nowadays seems to be talking about psychological safety and how an ideal culture protects people within it. But little thought is given to preparing for the daily failures that occur ad nauseam - the small ruptures born of our human fallibility, emotions, and egos. It’s these subtle moments, when someone’s tone sharpens or a correction feels like unfair criticism, that can quietly erode trust.
The Age of Micro-Conflict Intelligence Has Arrived
For years, organisations have been talking up psychological safety, inclusion, and communication culture. But talking isn’t the same as doing, and certainly not the same as addressing and resolving. We’ve mastered the art of reporting major incidents but still struggle with what happens before they escalate, the small moments of friction, tone, or misunderstanding that quietly corrode trust and alignment.
The David Howell Challenge
I figure we’re at the Wright Brothers moment, trying to get this thing called teamwork to truly fly. And I can’t help feeling a bit like one of those amateur bicycle mechanics (perhaps with mild delusions of grandeur).
From Micro-Conflicts to Systemic Harmony: The Emerging Partnership Between SpatzAI and Nøgd
In a long and insightful dialogue between Des Sherlock (the creator of SpatzAI) and his consultant, a powerful alignment emerged — a potential partnership that could redefine how organizations handle workplace conflict....
Protected: From Micro-Conflicts to Systemic Harmony: The Emerging Partnership Between SpatzAI and Nøgd
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Stone-Age Behavior Meets Godlike Technology
The biologist Edward Wilson argued that humanity has Paleolithic emotions, Medieval institutions, and Godlike technology. I think that combination explains why we feel so unstable as a species. Our tools have outgrown both our psychology and our systems.
Disagreeing vs Objecting: How Objectionable Behavior Distorts Objectivity
Most people treat disagreeing and objecting as the same thing, but in my view, they are very different, and understanding the difference changes how we handle micro-conflicts.
The Missing “Roll” in Psychological Safety
Attention all systems thinkers. I’d love your take on all the talk about psychological safety, and just how scientific it really is, especially here on LinkedIn. Even from leading experts, I find plenty of claims but little verifiable science. Don’t get me wrong, achieving genuine psychological safety would be the holy grail of behavioral psychology. But when I search for “the system of achieving psychological safety,” I find a lot of rhetoric and almost no mechanics.
Object123 