9 February

Somewhere out there, a team member is enraged at his colleagues. They’d planned carefully — naming real concerns about their new manager, agreeing on how to raise them constructively. His peers asked him to speak and promised they’d back him up. But when the manager grew defensive, every one of them retreated. It’s not a big deal, one said. We shouldn’t have brought it up, said another. He leaves the room wondering what just happened — and whether he imagined the risk they all agreed was real.

Somewhere out there, members of that same team are trying to protect themselves. They don’t love the new boss, but they’re uneasy with how fast their colleague pushed, how exposed it made them feel. They wonder if the manager deserves more grace, or if pushing back now will only make things worse. They didn’t mean to leave him standing alone — they just weren’t ready to join the fight.

Consider This:

The instinct to protect yourself can collide with the hope of standing together.