June 5th, 2025

NOTICING AND WONDERING

Something disturbing happened in our town this weekend: a body was found in the woods. The news traveled fast - first through town gossip, and then, strangely, through my 11-year-old’s Apple Watch as her friends messaged each other in real time trying to piece together what had happened. The details were incomplete, unsettling, and mostly inaccurate but that didn’t stop the swirl. As a parent, I found myself in the same position so many leaders are in: trying to figure out how much to share when there is bad news to ease anxiety, and how much to withhold to protect, even while having only sparse and imperfect information.

At first glance, this experience may seem disjointed from the world of work but it’s not. In fact, I notice it’s strikingly similar. There is a lot of parallel between leadership and parenting. Authority figures are always tasked with leading through difficult times and how they do so impacts how the people around them feel and act.

Leaders today are facing immense pressure to strike the right balance between honesty and protection. The most common words we’re hearing from our customers lately are “stressed” and “uncertain.” Teams are feeling on edge - whether due to shifting priorities, layoffs in adjacent departments, or quiet changes in leadership - and leaders are wrestling with what to say (and what not to) when things are unclear, hard, or unresolved. In the absence of clarity, many leaders default to silence, leaving their teams to fill in the gaps, often ruminating on worst-case scenarios with incomplete or inaccurate information. The result? Heightened anxiety and eroded trust in leadership.

What I noticed with my daughter is something I see every day in my work: when people don’t receive clear, calm information from a trusted source, they make up stories. And often, those imagined stories are far more anxiety-producing than the truth. But when someone in authority steps forward with transparency - even imperfect transparency - it builds trust. It signals: “You can rely on me to tell you what I know, when I know it.”

That kind of grounded honesty doesn’t require oversharing, it requires presence, care, and thoughtful timing. It means sharing as much as you can, when you can, in a way that respects both the needs of your team and the responsibilities of the business. Saying, “Here’s what I know right now, and I’ll share more when I can,” helps steady the system and signals reliability.

It makes me wonder: what would shift if we embraced thoughtful, timely transparency as a core leadership skill? How might that help us build teams that feel safer, steadier, and more capable - especially in uncertain times, which many people are in right now?

A QUOTE TO THINK ABOUT

“Uncertainty is the breeding ground for anxiety.”

— Dan Harris, journalist and author of 10% Happier

DEEP-ish QUESTIONS

As an organization, do you tend to withhold information (0) or share openly (10)? Why?
What do you fear with sharing information - and what evidence do you have that is true?
How do you balance protecting your team / organization with being transparent enough to build trust? What does that look like in your organization?

SOMETHING TO TRY

This week, try a short reflection and conversation to reduce team stress and anxiety on your team through intentional transparency.

Step 1: Think about the thing your team feels most uncertain about right now - a change (like looming layoffs), an unpopular decision (to return to office), or open question (whether funding will come through).

Step 2: On a scale from 0–10, how much uncertainty do you feel about it? How much do you think your team feels?

Step 3: Ask yourself: Am I sharing openly or holding back? Why? What impact might that be having on team trust, clarity, or stress?

Step 4: Bring it to your team. Try language like: “I know there’s been some uncertainty around [topic]. I want to share what I do know, what’s still in motion, and what I’m thinking about. I’d love to hear what’s coming up for you too. I’ll keep sharing more as things unfold - and in the meantime, my door’s always open if you want to talk or ask questions.”

You don’t need to have all the answers. Just showing up with presence, care, and truth (stating explicitly what you can and cannot share) can calm the noise and build lasting trust. Lastly, notice how the conversation impacts the tone on the team.

ANNOUNCEMENT: NEW TEAM INSIGHTS EXPERIENCE

We’re excited to share that Groops is now offering a deeper layer of support for teams: personalized assessments that form the foundation of more customized, high-impact coaching programs.

What to expect:

Team Style Profile
A personality snapshot of your team - showing how individual strengths, preferences, and dynamics combine to form your unique team identity. This helps teams better understand how they work together and where they naturally shine.
Individual Profile
A self-reflective assessment to help each person understand how they show up on teams—their interpersonal style, preferences, and strengths. It’s like a user manual, designed to support clearer communication and stronger collaboration.
Cohesion Index
A research-backed measure of how your team is functioning across core dimensions like connection, alignment, trust, and communication. Because cohesion is a key predictor of both performance and wellbeing, tracking it helps teams know when things are clicking—and when a reset might be needed.

These insights allow us to tailor the coaching experience to your team’s real-time needs. Because team growth isn’t one-and-done, we’re building programs designed for lasting change - with rhythm, reflection, and momentum.

Each team member will also receive 1:1 coaching sessions with a Groop Guide (Master’s or Doctorate in psychology) on top of team coaching and the usual insights.

This is team development with depth - custom, human, and grounded in the science of cohesion.

Thanks for reading and keep on connecting.

Best,

Bobbi

Bobbi Wegner, Psy.D.
Founder and CEO of Groops: helping teams feel and function their best
Lecturer at Harvard University in Industrial-Organizational Psychology

If you are curious about a workplace dynamic or issue, send me an email at drbobbiwegner@joingroops.com and I will anonymously post it and respond. If you are thinking it, others are too. We can learn from each other. Also, if you are curious about the cohesion and health of your team, book a complimentary 30-minute consultation HERE with one of our Groop Guides.