One of the biggest challenges I see in leadership teams isn’t a lack of intelligence, experience, or ambition, it’s typically communication. I worked with a senior leadership team, they were a group of highly skilled, driven professionals. But despite their expertise, they were struggling to move key projects forward. The problem wasn’t strategy or resources, it was how they were talking (or not talking) to each other.
"A fearless organization is not one that is purely nice. It is one where people feel safe to speak up with ideas, questions, concerns, or mistakes."
Amy Edmondson
Building Trust: The Foundation for Change
The first thing we worked on was psychological safety and trust. Harvard professor Amy Edmondson’s work on psychological safety highlights that the best-performing teams create environments where people feel safe to speak up without fear of embarrassment or criticism. I could see that many team members were holding back, protecting themselves rather than fully engaging. Instead of speaking up in meetings, they aired frustrations in private conversations. It was clear they didn’t completely trust each other yet.
So, we started by creating a space where they felt safe to be open and invited them all to share a bit more about themselves so they could get to know each other on a deeper level. This being the start of encouraging vulnerability in their leadership and trust.
The question I asked of them next was ‘What behaviours would you like to see from each other to make this time truly effective?’ Comments such as being able to challenge ideas without fear of judgment or backlash. This meant setting some new expectations, addressing unspoken tensions. Slowly, they started to realise that honest conversations weren’t about winning or losing, but about making better decisions together.
Finding Common Ground
Next, we focused on getting them aligned on a shared purpose. Each leader had strong opinions about how things should be done, but they weren’t always pulling in the same direction. Without a clear, collective purpose, collaboration felt more like a tug-of-war than teamwork.
Studies have found that teams who rally around a strong shared purpose tend to be more productive and engaged, as alignment helps collaboration rather than competition. We spent time revisiting their core mission and long-term vision, helping them see that, deep down, they all wanted the same thing. Once they could rally around a shared goal, disagreements became easier to navigate, because now, they had a common reason to find solutions rather than just defend their own positions.
Creating a Healthier Way to Communicate
With trust in place and a shared purpose agreed, we turned our attention to how they actually communicated. Three key changes made all the difference:
1. Listening to Understand, Not Just to Respond: Instead of waiting for their turn to speak, leaders were encouraged to properly hear each other out. Simple techniques, like paraphrasing what someone else had said before adding their own view, helped shift conversations from discussion to effective dialogue.
2. Recognising Different Communication Styles: Some are naturally direct and outspoken, others were more considered and analytical. Effective leadership research suggests that recognising and adapting to different communication styles enables teams to work together more smoothly. Once they recognised these differences, they could adapt their approach instead of talking past each other.
3. Bringing the Real Conversations Into the Room: We set a new rule: no more important conversations behind closed doors, discussions needed to happen in meetings, where everyone had a voice. It took some getting used to, but over time, this shift led to more honest, productive discussions.
Turning Challenges into Progress
As they started applying these changes, the impact was undeniable. Meetings became more focused, yes of course there was still tensions at times, but decisions were made more quickly, and the team felt more aligned and energised. The initial resistance turned into trust, and instead of working against each other, they were now working together.
Ultimately, great communication isn’t about saying more, it’s about saying the right things, in the right way, at the right time. When leaders build trust, align on a shared purpose, and truly listen to each other, they create a culture where teams don’t just function, they flourish.
So, if you’re feeling stuck in your leadership team, take a step back and ask: Are we really listening to each other? Are we having the right conversations in the right places? Because more often than not, that’s where the real breakthroughs happen.
Citations
· Amy Edmondson on Psychological Safety
- Edmondson, A. C. (1999). Psychological Safety and Learning Behavior in Work Teams. Administrative Science Quarterly, 44(2), 350–383.
- Edmondson, A. C. (2018). The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth. Wiley.
· McKinsey & Company on Shared Purpose
- McKinsey & Company. (2020). Purpose: Shifting from Why to How. Retrieved from McKinsey & Company
- McKinsey & Company. (2017). How to create an agile organization. Retrieved from McKinsey & Company
· Leadership Effectiveness and Communication Styles
- Goleman, D. (2000). Leadership That Gets Results. Harvard Business Review.
- Glaser, J. E. (2014). Conversational Intelligence: How Great Leaders Build Trust and Get Extraordinary Results. Bibliomotion.