Teams often struggle with hidden dysfunctions that disguise themselves as positive behaviours, like pretending everything’s fine when it isn't, making decisions in corridors rather than as a team, and heaping blame on a single person rather than addressing systemic issues.

These patterns are particularly insidious because they hide under seemingly good intentions, making them difficult to spot and address.

Noj Hinkins is a team coach and leadership development consultant. He’s been working with senior teams for the past 15-20 years, typically at director level and above, doing one-on-one coaching, team building, and leadership development work. He specialises in identifying dysfunctions that can hold teams back.

Three reasons to listen

• Recognise when toxic positivity is preventing your team from addressing real problems and creating a disconnect between team members
• Identify and eliminate covert processes that override team decisions
• Spot scapegoating patterns where teams blame one person for systemic issues

Episode highlights

• [00:12:50] Team patterns in 2026
• [00:14:19] Toxic positivity
• [00:24:23] Covert process
• [00:30:33] Scapegoating
• [00:41:39] What to do first if you spot these patterns
• [00:43:34] Noj's media recommendation
• [00:44:53] Takeaways from Dan and Pia

Links

• Covert Processes at Work, by Robert Marshak
• So Far So Good, by the Blue Moon – Noj’s media recommendation
• Track and improve your team performance with Squadify
• Leave us a voice note