Rebuilding Confidence in a Team Under Pressure: A Case in Psychological Safety

One of our recent engagements involved supporting a team grappling with unusually low confidence and morale. The root cause? A sustained pattern of criticism and micromanagement from external stakeholders and higher levels of the organizational hierarchy. Unfortunately, this feedback hadn’t been constructive—it created a climate where team members felt scrutinized, undervalued, and hesitant to speak up. Over time, this eroded not only their self-belief but also their willingness to raise concerns—even within the safety of their own team environment.

To address this, we turned to the research of Amy Edmondson on psychological safety. As a starting point, we conducted a confidential assessment by individually interviewing each team member. We asked targeted questions to explore their experiences, fears, and perceptions. The insights were anonymized and shared with the whole group—offering a powerful moment of recognition that no one was alone in their experience.

This became a turning point. Together, we facilitated the creation of a shared set of behavioral commitments that the team would adopt to promote psychological safety. In parallel, we worked with them to surface individual motivation drivers—helping team members better understand how to support and energize each other.

Importantly, we didn’t stop at the team’s internal dynamics. We also engaged their external stakeholders in an open, facilitated dialogue. The aim was to create mutually agreed ‘rules of engagement’—guidelines for more respectful, transparent collaboration. This included a structured process for requesting work, and a shared mechanism to evaluate how new asks would impact the team’s roadmap and priorities. These agreements helped shift the relationship from tension to trust, and from reactivity to joint ownership.

We’re now supporting the team in formalizing a Team Operating Agreement—a living document that outlines expectations, boundaries, and collaboration norms, and is co-owned by both the team and its key stakeholders. As they begin implementing these changes, we’ll continue to coach them through the journey—ensuring that the progress they’ve made becomes a sustainable part of their culture.