A few years ago, I was coaching a senior leader at a multinational company — let's call her Diane. She had read all the right books, attended the right offsites, and genuinely believed she had built a psychologically safe team. Her direct reports liked her. The energy in team meetings felt warm and collegial. Nobody ever argued. Nobody ever pushed back. She came to me because her team kept missing the signals. Problems that should have surfaced in week one were showing up in
