Tackling the undercurrent in teams: understand first

January 7, 2026

Can you help us with the undercurrent?" We get this question more and more often. As if the undercurrent is something you can solve briefly, preferably in one day, so that it doesn't bother you afterwards. But the undercurrent does not let itself be eliminated. It wants to be seen. The undercurrent consists of unspoken thoughts, assumptions and feelings. About each other, about work and about the past. They are not expressed, but do determine behaviour: dropping out, cynicism, conflicts or reduced commitment. The origins often lie deeper. In personal experiences, old team dynamics or the organisation's past. Sometimes these patterns have been going on for years. Working effectively with the undercurrent does not require a quick fix, but attention and analysis. Possible entry points are:

  • personal reflection and coaching
  • psychological safety and exemplary behaviour
  • a clear and shared goal
  • Focus on relationships and cooperation
  • a systemic view of team and organisational dynamics

Deliberately slowing down creates space for sustainable change.

Are you experiencing tension, friction or silent resistance within your team? We help teams to bring these underlying currents out into the open and turn them into something manageable.

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Frequently asked questions

Practical answers to questions we often get.

What kind of organisations work with ElevenGroup?

We work mainly with medium-sized and large organisations, often internationally, in sectors where collaboration, leadership and culture are crucial. Our clients range from commercial companies to (semi-)public organisations. What they have in common: the desire to look beyond standard solutions and achieve truly sustainable development.

We combine more than 20 years of leadership and team development experience with systemic work and organisational consulting. This means that we do not only look at behaviour or skills, but also at underlying patterns, dynamics and context. In addition, we always work in a custom way, paying close attention to the reality of the organisation as well as to what happens between people.

Systemic work is about making unconscious patterns and relationships within teams and organisations visible. Consider questions such as: Who takes what place? What gets excluded? By working with these, clarity, movement and relaxation often emerge quickly - without becoming woolly. We always translate insights into concrete steps in practice.

We often get this question. Our experience is exactly the opposite. Systemic work is actually very effective because it gets to the heart of the matter quickly and makes persistent issues open for discussion. We always link it to organisational goals, performance and results. Gentle in the approach, clear in the impact.

We almost always work with custom solutions. Sometimes we build on existing leadership programmes or interventions, sometimes we design something new together. We match the form, pace and content to the organisation, the people and the question behind the question.

Among others for:

Often, assignments start with an exploration in which together we clarify what is really needed.

You work with one or more experienced professionals from our network, always carefully selected for the demand and context. We strongly believe in cooperation and complementarity - also within our own team.

We focus not on 'inspiration alone', but on change that carries through into everyday work. We do this by:

Sustainable growth occurs when insight and doing come together.

An introduction is always non-binding. We listen to your question, share our initial observations and think along about possible follow-up steps. Sometimes one conversation is enough to determine the direction to take; sometimes an in-depth intake follows.

Sure. Many collaborations start with a pilot, a team intervention or an individual coaching programme. From there it can grow - or not. That, too, is fine.

We work in Dutch and English, and are used to international contexts and multicultural teams.

Via the contact page on our site or by calling or emailing us directly. We are happy to meet you in person.

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