E17. Grounding Teams in Changing Times

Boi Carpenter

Welcome back to Inquisitive Leader. My name is Boi Carpenter, and I’m truly honored to have you here. I am excited to greet those of you who are new to the podcast. Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of wearing many hats—visionary, advisor, strategist, a leader of large-scale teams, and, more recently, an executive coach. It’s a journey that has spanned over thirty years and has taught me countless lessons about leadership, personal growth, and the power of community.

Boi Carpenter

Today's episode is about what it really takes to keep a team grounded—especially when everything around us seems to be spinning. Now, you may remember in our last few episodes we danced around the power of creativity, alignment, and the necessity of active listening, but today I want to zoom in on a practice that’s honestly the glue holding it all together: grounding our teams in trust and clarity.

Boi Carpenter

So, let’s start by talking about psychological safety. I know, it’s a term that gets tossed around a lot, but when it comes down to it, psychological safety is the air your team breathes. It’s what lets people speak honestly—no fear of backlash or punishment—so instead of just performing, they actually start contributing. I’ve seen the other side too, where folks clam up, and the creativity and candor just vanish. Early in my own career, there was this moment—one of those ‘Oh, this is about to get uncomfortable’ moments—where I made a pretty big mistake in front of my team. I could have hid it, smoothed it over, or blamed a process, but instead, I just... owned it. I remember saying, ‘Yep, that’s on me, and here’s what I wish I’d done differently.’ You know what happened? The entire vibe changed. People started sharing not just what went right, but what was off. It was vulnerable, a little messy, but wow—it built trust that lasted way longer than the moment.

Boi Carpenter

And as leaders, our job is to anchor teams, especially under pressure. That’s where something practical like the 4 Cs framework comes in handy. Clarity—what are we actually trying to achieve? Commitment—what have we actually agreed to do, together? Contribution—how does each person play into this? And Concerns—what’s getting in the way? Simple, right? But so often those questions get lost in the noise during change. It’s not magic, but it cuts through confusion, keeps us focused, and makes space for all the unspoken stuff that can trip us up.

Boi Carpenter

I might be repeating myself from a past episode on alignment, but clarity and trust aren’t side projects—they sit at the core of grounded teams. When people know the purpose, the plan, and they feel seen, things just...flow better. Alright—let’s talk about how we start weaving that foundation into the team’s daily, lived experience.

Boi Carpenter

Consistency is kind of underrated. In a world that loves to celebrate fast pivots and hustle, just having some predictable, meaningful rituals can actually be the most stabilizing thing. I’m not talking, you know, about adding more meetings or forcing team bonding with glitter glue—though, if that’s your style, go for it. I mean easy practices—Monday intention-setting, or Friday wins. Everyone takes a turn sharing one thing, big or small, that they accomplished or learned. Sounds simple, but week after week, that becomes an anchor in the storm.

Boi Carpenter

And here’s something I always want to stress: your presence as a leader is contagious. Even when you think you’re keeping it all together on the outside, your nervous system sets the tone for the whole group. If you’re frazzled and sprinting from fire to fire, your team’s gonna start matching that, consciously or not. I learned to slow down under pressure—pausing before answering questions, checking in with myself before reacting. Modeling that kind of emotional regulation, honestly, it’s sometimes more powerful than anything you actually say. I mean, the best leaders I’ve worked for and with, you could just feel their calm. It almost made you want to breathe a little deeper.

Boi Carpenter

I remember working with a team early in my career where we started doing monthly pulse checks. Super quick, pretty informal—just space for people to say how they’re doing and, if needed, surface any tension or confusion. Over the weeks, morale honestly shot up, and suddenly things that had been festering beneath the surface came to light. We talked through them together, not perfectly, but with more honesty than before. Those rituals, the pulse-checks and end-of-week celebrations, weren’t just ‘feel-good stuff.’ They gave us stability, helped us realign, and made room for meaningful change.

Boi Carpenter

And look, these aren’t grand gestures. Half the work of deepening groundedness is just showing up, with a little intention, every week. Now, I want to talk about where structure meets freedom—autonomy, healthy disagreement, and, crucially, the well-being side of all this.

Boi Carpenter

So, let’s talk autonomy. There’s this temptation, especially when things get choppy, for leaders to grip tighter—add more rules, check-ins, layers of approval. But what actually roots a team, what really grounds folks, is the freedom to own their work. Letting people shape how and when they deliver, rotating facilitation—maybe even designing workflows together—all of that quietly says, “I trust you.” When people feel that trust, it’s like their confidence and creativity just expand.

Boi Carpenter

Now, here’s the thing—grounded teams aren’t about everyone nodding and agreeing with the boss, or each other, for that matter. In fact, some of the best learning and real breakthroughs happen because someone was willing to push back. Healthy dissonance — it’s where we use disagreement as data, not drama. It’s about normalizing different perspectives, surfacing tensions while they’re small, and separating ideas from identity. Cohesion doesn’t mean conformity. Groundedness is about openness to different views, not forced agreement.

Boi Carpenter

So as you head into your next week—or your next big change, whatever’s hurtling your way—remember: grounding your team isn’t about control, and it’s definitely not about systems that chase every mouse click or second of activity. It’s about connection, intention, and steady, daily practices that communicate trust, welcome honest disagreement, and tend to everyone’s well-being. And I promise, these things—these small, brave choices—they build the kind of resilience that will see your team through anything the world throws at you. So, that's it for this episode. Lead gently. Listen deeply and keep your team grounded.