In teams where tension cannot be named, it seeks a way out. Sometimes the tension gets a name. Sometimes a face.
What follows seems normal at first glance: one person is increasingly mentioned when something goes wrong. The atmosphere sharpens, glances turn in the same direction. The problem suddenly seems manageable. Human. Controllable.
But it is rarely so.
Tension is rarely individual
When teams are under pressure - due to change, high expectations or unspoken conflicts - there is a natural tendency to reduce complexity. By linking tension to one person, temporary calm is created. The system exhales.
That calm is an illusion.
For what we see as an individual problem is often a collective tension that has no place.
Who carries the tension?
Interestingly, it is rarely the least competent or least motivated people who become 'the face' of tension. Often it concerns employees who:
• work or think visibly differently
• are engaged and take responsibility
• ask critical questions
• have less power or allies
• trying to ease tension through nuance or silence
They carry what actually belongs to the whole.
When tension goes unspoken
In teams where:
• conflicts are avoided
• feedback remains indirect
• harmony is more important than honesty
tension seeks an alternative outlet. It is projected. Not consciously, but humanly.
Thus arises tension-oriented role formation: one person becomes the bearer of what is not said or carried by the group.
What this requires from leadership
Value-based leadership does not intervene by 'correcting the behaviour' of one person. It slows down. It observes. It asks different questions.
Not:Who is the problem?
But:What is this pattern trying to tell us about how we collaborate?
Where tension takes on a face, often missing is:
• psychological safety
• shared responsibility
• space for difference
The silent cost
Teams that allow this pattern to persist pay a price:
• initiative fades away
• critical voices disappear
• involved people mentally disengage
People learn quickly:whoever names the tension becomes the tension.
From problem bearer to signal bearer
The real leverage lies not in pointing out blame, but in recognising signals. The person carrying the tension is rarely the problem. Often, he or she is the messenger.
The question is not who fails, but where the system gets stuck.
Finally
Teams do not grow by avoiding tension, but by learning to carry it together. Where tension no longer needs a face, space is created for trust, difference, and meaningful work.
Sometimes, one delay, one different conversation, one external perspective is enough to bring about movement. Through the link below, you can reflect on the collaboration in your team or organisation via a short scan. If you recognise something of your own team in the statements, this is not a coincidence but information to work with.
A short external reflection often helps to make patterns visible. Schedule an exploratory conversation and investigate together with us where tension is currently carried in your team or organisation - and where it can be shared again.
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