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Forward-looking · focused on collaboration
Team coaching that visibly strengthens collaboration, social safety and trust.
The things we leave unsaid to those we see every day take the greatest toll. We analyse what plays out beneath the surface, advise on interventions in structure, team and behaviour, and guide teams toward new norms that stick. For universities, research institutes and corporations that want to move forward.
Scope
What we do, and what we don't
Our work looks forward. We help teams become better at working together tomorrow, not at establishing exactly what did or didn't happen yesterday.
We do
- Analysis of collaboration, undercurrents and barriers
- Advice on interventions in structure, team and skills
- Team coaching focused on five concrete outcomes
- One-to-one conversations within a team coaching programme
- Embedding and (optionally) a shared code of conduct
We don't
- No fact-finding or investigation of specific incidents
- No mediation between parties in a labour dispute
NB: These activities don't contribute to strengthening future collaboration in the team.
The problem
Poor collaboration costs teams and people dearly
Sometimes it is small things: discomfort, misunderstandings, unspoken frustration. Sometimes it is bigger: conflict, lack of trust, an unsafe atmosphere. What they have in common is that things don't change for the better, even though no one likes it.
Patterns emerge in the relationships between people, their roles and the surrounding structure, but not everyone's experience is the same.. People with less positional power, or in a minority position within the team, often carry a larger share of the cost.
What this costs, in numbers
- 17% of Dutch employees experienced inappropriate behaviour at work in the past year. CBS/TNO Working Conditions Survey, 2023
- 40% of Dutch university staff have personally experienced a socially unsafe work environment; 73% name poor leadership as the primary cause. FNV/VAWO, 2019
- Bullying ranks first among forms of inappropriate behaviour reported by Dutch academic staff (~14%). UNL/ICTU, 2025
- Average absence costs from work pressure: € 13,500 per employee per year. TNO Work Stress Factsheet, 2024
What a programme delivers
Five concrete outcomes
Social safety
People feel better protected against inappropriate behaviour, a precondtion for learning and performing.
Inclusion
Differences are actively encouraged and valued. People feel seen and involved.
Connection & trust
Mutual relationships are stronger. The team supports each other under pressure and setback.
More effective collaboration
Less noise in decision-making, clearer roles, faster ownership.
Concrete norms
What is and isn't acceptable is discussed, agreed, and holds after the programme ends.
How do we measure that?
The form of evaluation and impact measurement is decided in consultation with the client. Common options:
- Pre- and post-measurement using the validated Psychological Safety Scale by Amy Edmondson (1999, Administrative Science Quarterly), the international standard for measuring psychological safety in teams.
- Qualitative evaluation at the start, midpoint and end of the programme.
- Other instruments or measurement moments, tailored to the team's question and context.
Analysis
What we look at
A programme always begins with an analysis around three questions, oriented forward and not toward fact-finding. We build on our general analysis approach (sentiment, behavioural and structural analysis).
How do people experience working together?
Confidential interviews and, where useful, a short survey. We are not looking for who is right, but for what works and what jars.
What is happening beneath the surface?
Patterns, unwritten rules and power relationships that are rarely made explicit. We observe, feed back, and make them discussable.
What are the goals and barriers?
What does the team want to achieve, and which of the four barriers (stress, time, trust, skills) stand in the way? Plus structural or process analysis where the barrier originates.
Approach
How we work
Our work comprises two approaches that can be adopted separately or in combination. Sometimes the report is the endpoint: an independent reading you can act on yourselves. More often it is the basis for the team coaching that follows.
Analysis & advice (report)
Based on the analysis we deliver a report with advice on interventions across three levels: structure (what in the design makes patterns inevitable?), team (which agreements and dynamics need attention?) and skills (which capabilities are people missing to show the desired behaviour?).
Team coaching
Facilitated sessions in which the team works on the prioritised outcomes. Combinable with one-to-one conversations, training and, where useful, a shared code of conduct.
Methods
Three methods, focused on collaboration
Our substantive signature. We name our methods explicitly, because the difference between approaches matters to us, and to you.
Method 1
Appreciative Inquiry
Change starts from what works, not from what is broken. We surface the positive core of the team and build interventions around it through the 5D cycle (Define, Discover, Dream, Design, Destiny). A strong fit when a team is tired of problem-talk.
Cooperrider & Srivastva, 1987 · our AI lead is co-founder Annemarie van Iren, co-author of Waarderend Organiseren, the Dutch tradition of Appreciative Inquiry.Method 2
Lewis Deep Democracy
A five-step method that actively seeks out the minority voice, designed in post-apartheid South Africa to bridge deep group differences. For decisions losing support because dominant voices drown out others, or when people with less positional power consistently carry more.
Lewis & Lewis, 1994 · lewisdeepdemocracy.comMethod 3
Behavior Change Model
For the part where behaviour really has to change, not only be discussed. A scientifically grounded process model in six phases, with the ACDR lens (Architecture, Competence, Drivers, Resistances). This way team agreement also becomes work practice.
We are trained in this model by Behavior Change Group, Nijmegen.Case studies
Three programmes from practice
From silos to team
Situation. Staff turnover, no onboarding processes, conflict avoidance.
Approach. Interviews + team sessions (group dynamics, feedback) with Appreciative Inquiry as the leading method.
Outcome. Mutual trust grew measurably; conversations that had been avoided started happening.
Leadership under pressure
Situation. Unclear communication, low psychological safety, high workload.
Approach. Confidential in-depth interviews + report with intervention advice on structure and skills.
Outcome. A shared frame of reference for discussing problems without individuals having to speak up themselves.
Building social safety
Situation. A large, internationally oriented department with growing pains around communication.
Approach. Interviews + survey + dialogue sessions using Lewis Deep Democracy + draft code of conduct.
Outcome. Shared language, concrete steps during the process, an embedded code of conduct.
Who guides you
Our experts
Annemarie van Iren
Co-founder. Dutch expert on Appreciative Inquiry; co-author of Waarderend Organiseren. Works on leadership and inclusion.
Meet the team →
Rutger Legeland
Co-founder. Registered confidential adviser (LVV), NOBTRA-accredited trainer. Works at the intersection of social safety and inclusive decision-making.
Meet the team →
Michiel Zeegers
Co-founder. Specialises in team and individual development. Conversation facilitator and member of complaints committees for inappropriate behaviour.
Meet the team →
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Do you also do fact-finding investigations or mediation?
No. We work forward-looking and focused on collaboration, not on fact-finding or mediating between parties in a labour dispute. We regularly work alongside independent investigators and mediators, not in their place.
What if the manager is part of the problem?
We always discuss this beforehand, in confidence, with both the client and the manager. We do not work without a mandate from the team.
How do you guarantee confidentiality in interviews?
Conversation content is never reported in a traceable way. Patterns are reported, individual statements are not.
What if we already have a confidential adviser or HR specialist?
Team coaching adds, it does not replace. We agree beforehand where our role ends and theirs begins.
What sets you apart from other team coaches?
Three things: we work systemically (the team plus its context, not only the interpersonal), we make outcomes measurable (pre/post measurement using Edmondson's validated Psychological Safety Scale), and we name our methods explicitly: Appreciative Inquiry, Lewis Deep Democracy and the Behavior Change Model.
What if not everyone wants to take part?
That happens. We always start with one-to-one conversations to understand where the resistance lies. Participation is never compulsory; willingness grows once people see it is safe.
How long does a team coaching programme take?
A short programme is 4 to 6 sessions. More complex situations need several months, with intake, sessions and embedding.
Do you also work in Dutch?
Yes. All programmes are available in Dutch and English.
Get started
Half an hour, and you'll know which kind of guidance fits your team.
In a no-obligation 30-minute introductory call you’ll get answers to three questions: is Human Centric a good fit for your question, what approach would we suggest, and roughly what would a project cost.
Rutger Legeland
Co-founder of Human Centric
“I run our introductory calls. No sales pitch, just an open conversation about what you need.”
Call or message +31 6 53 84 53 39
Not ready for a call yet? read our expertise on social safety or browse the resources.