The Beginning
My first session with this government agency’s executive leadership team revealed a group of capable professionals working through the lingering effects of a significant public scandal. The atmosphere was reserved, with conversations carefully navigated around certain topics. This organisation had been managing this situation for about 18 months, and it had naturally affected how the team communicated and collaborated.
Within the 20-person leadership team, I noticed two distinct perspectives: established members who had experienced the situation firsthand—carrying that knowledge with them—and newer members who had joined during or after these events, still finding their footing in the team’s complex dynamics.
The team’s previous experience with a consultant had left them justifiably wary. As one participant candidly shared during our work together, they felt something akin to “PTSD from consultants using models on PowerPoint.” Their healthy scepticism was both understandable and a sign they weren’t willing to settle for approaches that wouldn’t genuinely address their needs.
Understanding the Context
The team was facing challenges common to organisations after public scrutiny. Trust had been tested, and certain conversations had become difficult to initiate—particularly discussions that referenced the events directly. You could feel the hesitation around these topics, with meaningful glances exchanged when conversations veered toward sensitive ground.
During our first workshop, I observed how thoughtfully they chose their words and which subjects they collectively steered around. This wasn’t dysfunction—it was a professional team that had developed patterns to maintain working relationships during difficult times, but these same patterns were now limiting their ability to move forward effectively.
My Approach
I began by sharing relevant experiences from my own background in government service, including my time as an HR Director in healthcare. This wasn’t just about establishing credentials—it was about connecting with their reality and the particular pressures of leadership in pressured circumstances.
During our first workshop on “Leadership Connection and Momentum,” I offered an observation about what seemed to be happening beneath the surface: the different perspectives between established staff and newer team members, and how these differences might be creating unspoken tensions and communication gaps.
The moment was followed by a weighty silence—the kind that tells you something meaningful has landed (you hope). In facilitation work, sometimes these silences are where the real progress happens.
When the conversation resumed, there was a palpable shift. People spoke more directly, more candidly, with less of the careful language that had characterised earlier discussions.
Between the Workshops
Between our sessions, I maintained regular check-ins with the CEO, Chief of Staff and Head of HR. These conversations revealed subtle but important shifts in team dynamics. The language framework I’d introduced was being used organically in meetings. Conversations were beginning to venture into previously forbidden territory.
What became clear was that the initial breakthrough needed reinforcement and structure to fully take hold.
The Second Workshop
Our second workshop focused on “Values and Behaviours as Leaders,” the shift was visible. Team members engaged more readily with activities and each other. The hesitance to engage with each other had diminished considerably.
We worked through exercises that translated their organisational values into concrete behavioural statements. We discussed how behaviour changes under pressure—sometimes for better, sometimes for worse—and how they might encourage positive responses to stress.
Most importantly, we explored how values could guide decision-making and feedback, using case studies that allowed them to practice these approaches in a safe environment.
One particular moment stands out from our second workshop. During a discussion about behaviours under pressure, a participant made direct reference to the public events—something that hadn’t happened in our earlier sessions. Instead of the room growing tense, the comment was met with thoughtful responses and even moments of gentle humour. Something had shifted—the topic had lost some of its power to disrupt their professional interactions.
The Breakthrough Moment
The CEO’s words near the end of our final session captured what had changed: “I didn’t think we’d ever be able to talk about what happened and be able to move forward so honestly.”
This wasn’t just about feeling better—though that certainly mattered. The practical outcome was a leadership team newly equipped to have conversations they had previously avoided. They even revised their strategic plan following our sessions, addressing issues that had previously felt too sensitive to tackle head-on.
What Made It Work
Looking back, I believe three elements contributed significantly to the progress we made together:
First, genuine connection. By drawing on my own experience, we established a foundation of shared understanding about the unique challenges of leadership under scrutiny.
Second, creating a space where productive discomfort was possible. Sometimes moving through difficulty, rather than around it, is the most direct path to better team dynamics.
Finally, responsive facilitation. When the participant mentioned “consultant PTSD,” I acknowledged their experience while also sharing my rationale for certain approaches. When my planned agenda wasn’t serving the moment, I set it aside to follow what the team actually needed.
Reflection
What I’ve observed is that organisational recovery after difficult events often follows a recognisable pattern: acknowledging what happened, creating space for constructive dialogue, developing shared language and understanding, and focusing on collective growth.
For this leadership team, the progress wasn’t about forgetting past events but developing enhanced capabilities for forthright discussion that acknowledged realities while moving forward constructively.
Perhaps what stood out most was watching these capable professionals reclaim conversations that had previously felt off-limits—demonstrating the resilience and adaptability that effective leadership requires, especially where scrutiny is inevitable and perfect navigation is impossible.
