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The Vicarious Trauma and Resilience Podcast

The Vicarious Trauma and Resilience Podcast

Why Won't My Team Speak Up? How to Get Clinicians Talking

Oct 13, 2026 · 21 min · 13 segments

Why does your team stay silent when you invite them to speak, only to have the real conversation somewhere else? In this episode, Dr. Jenny Hughes explores why clinicians hesitate to speak up and how…

Why does your team stay silent when you invite them to speak, only to have the real conversation somewhere else? In this episode, Dr. Jenny Hughes explores why clinicians hesitate to speak up and how leaders can create the conditions for more honest, productive team conversations. Learn how to ask better questions, work with silence, and use the five-rung Engagement Ladder (body, write, pair, table, room) to make participation less intimidating. Jenny also explains the importance of leader inclusiveness, going first, and bringing vicarious resilience into clinical supervision. **RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE** - The BRAVE Method: https://www.braveproviders.com/speaking - The BRAVE Trauma Therapist Collective: https://www.braveproviders.com/brave - Free Vicarious Trauma Tracker: https://www.braveproviders.com/vicarious-trauma-tracker - Related episode on the leader's role: https://youtu.be/0u7AZYxZxnY **RESEARCH & CITATIONS** - Blume, B. D., Ford, J. K., Baldwin, T. T., & Huang, J. L. (2010). Transfer of training: A meta-analytic review. - Brown, B. (2018). Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts. Random House. - Carello, J., & Butler, L. D. (2015). Practicing what we teach: Trauma-informed educational practice. *Journal of Teaching in Social Work, 35*(3), 262-278. - Cooper, K. M., Downing, V. R., & Brownell, S. E. (2018). The influence of active learning practices on student anxiety in large-enrollment college science classrooms. *International Journal of STEM Education, 5*, 23. - Detert, J. R., & Edmondson, A. C. (2011). Implicit voice theories: Taken-for-granted rules of self-censorship at work. *Academy of Management Journal, 54*(3), 461-488. - Edmondson, A. (1999). Psychological safety and learning behavior in work teams. *Administrative Science Quarterly, 44*(2), 350-383. - Lyman, F. (1981). The responsive classroom discussion: The inclusion of all students. In A. S. Anderson (Ed.), *Mainstreaming Digest* (pp. 109-113). University of Maryland College of Education. - Nembhard, I. M., & Edmondson, A. C. (2006). Making it safe: The effects of leader inclusiveness and professional status on psychological safety and improvement efforts in health care teams. *Journal of Organizational Behavior, 27*(7), 941-966.

Why does your team stay silent when you invite them to speak, only to have the real conversation somewhere else? In this episode, Dr. Jenny Hughes explores why clinicians hesitate to speak up and how…

Show signals: Audience≈2k followers

Speakers: Jenny HughesHost

Top entities: Amy Edmondson×5 Vicarious traumatization Digital object identifier×3 Scientific Research Publishing Brené Brown×3

Why Teams Stay Silent0:22 – 1:47

Jenny HughesHost

0:22

If you lead a team, you have felt the awkward tension of asking a question to the group and getting total crickets, right? This may have even happened to you this week.

Jenny HughesHost

0:31

I don't know.

Jenny HughesHost

0:32

Maybe you asked how everyone was holding up and you just got a room full of silent nods.

Jenny HughesHost

0:37

Or how about when you're really trying to support your team, you ask if anyone has any concerns, and you get the pause that goes on just one beat too long before someone inevitably changes the subject.

Jenny HughesHost

0:49

Oh, and, and then you walk past the break room an hour later and you hear the real conversation happening without you, because they'll all talk to each other, but they won't talk to you.

Jenny HughesHost

1:01

Brene Brown actually has a name for this, and she calls it the meeting after the meeting.

Jenny HughesHost

1:06

And this is where the real feedback, the actual worries and frustrations get shared in the hallway outside of the room where you asked for all that stuff.

Jenny HughesHost

1:15

And if you have stood at the front of any room as a leader, you know what that silence feels like.

Jenny HughesHost

1:20

I mean, you took this job to lead people, and leading means responding to what your people actually need.

Jenny HughesHost

1:27

But you cannot respond to what nobody will tell you.

Jenny HughesHost

1:31

So you guess, and sometimes you guess wrong.

Jenny HughesHost

1:35

And then you watch someone that you're responsible for, someone you care about, get worse while you keep asking the, quote-unquote, "right question" into a room that already decided not to answer it.

Amy EdmondsonPersonAmerican scholar
94%5 mentions
Vicarious traumatizationEntity
83%1 mention
Digital object identifierEntity
72%3 mentions
Scientific Research PublishingCompanyPublishing company
61%1 mention
Brené BrownPersonAmerican academic and writer
50%3 mentions
Journal of Organizational BehaviorPeriodicalPeer-reviewed journal
39%1 mention
Random HouseCompanyPublishing company
28%1 mention
Academy of Management JournalPeriodicalPeer-reviewed journal
17%1 mention
Administrative Science QuarterlyPeriodicalPeer-reviewed journal
6%1 mention

Group dynamicsPsychology > Social psychology
Communication skillsPersonal Development
Team communicationBusiness > Management > Leadership
Leader-led psychological safetyBusiness > Management > Leadership > Team communication
Evaluation apprehensionPsychology > Social psychology > Group dynamics
Speaking up in hierarchical groupsPsychology > Social psychology > Group dynamics > Evaluation apprehension
Active learningEducation > Pedagogy
Progressive participation structuresEducation > Pedagogy > Active learning
Body-write-pair-table-room engagement ladderEducation > Pedagogy > Active learning > Progressive participation structures
Trauma-informed practiceHealthcare > Mental health services
Clinical team supervisionHealthcare > Mental health services > Trauma-informed practice
Vicarious resilience in case discussionHealthcare > Mental health services > Trauma-informed practice > Clinical team supervision
Facilitation skillsPersonal Development > Communication skills
Managing silence in groupsPersonal Development > Communication skills > Facilitation skills
Specific questions and deliberate wait timePersonal Development > Communication skills > Facilitation skills > Managing silence in groups
ManagementBusiness
LeadershipBusiness > Management
PedagogyEducation
Social psychologyPsychology
Mental health servicesHealthcare
Personal Development
Education
Psychology
Business
Healthcare

Why Teams Stay Silent0:22 – 1:47

Jenny HughesHost

0:22

If you lead a team, you have felt the awkward tension of asking a question to the group and getting total crickets, right? This may have even happened to you this week.

Jenny HughesHost

0:31

I don't know.

Jenny HughesHost

0:32

Maybe you asked how everyone was holding up and you just got a room full of silent nods.

Jenny HughesHost

0:37

Or how about when you're really trying to support your team, you ask if anyone has any concerns, and you get the pause that goes on just one beat too long before someone inevitably changes the subject.

Jenny HughesHost

0:49

Oh, and, and then you walk past the break room an hour later and you hear the real conversation happening without you, because they'll all talk to each other, but they won't talk to you.

Jenny HughesHost

1:01

Brene Brown actually has a name for this, and she calls it the meeting after the meeting.

Jenny HughesHost

1:06

And this is where the real feedback, the actual worries and frustrations get shared in the hallway outside of the room where you asked for all that stuff.

Jenny HughesHost

1:15

And if you have stood at the front of any room as a leader, you know what that silence feels like.

Jenny HughesHost

1:20

I mean, you took this job to lead people, and leading means responding to what your people actually need.

Jenny HughesHost

1:27

But you cannot respond to what nobody will tell you.

Jenny HughesHost

1:31

So you guess, and sometimes you guess wrong.

Jenny HughesHost

1:35

And then you watch someone that you're responsible for, someone you care about, get worse while you keep asking the, quote-unquote, "right question" into a room that already decided not to answer it.

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