A coaching podcast with Nils I. Cornelissen and Tobias Weghorn about psychological safety in teams and what it really takes to make high-performing groups speak honestly. Drawing on Google’s Project Aristotle, Nils shares how he helps executive team coaching clients build vulnerability in the boardroom (or offsite) without turning it into “touchy-feely theater.” You’ll hear why he intentionally “stains the white tablecloth” to role-model imperfection, plus two practical feedback methods you can use right away: the Keep Consider feedback method and a laser feedback exercise.

Key Learnings:

• Build psychological safety in teams by role-modeling imperfection: name what you notice (as an offer), normalize reactive vs. creative states, and invite the “stupid questions” early so honesty becomes a habit.
• Use the Keep Consider feedback method as a 3–5 minute micro-ritual (e.g., monthly in exec meetings): each person shares one thing to keep and one thing to consider next time—no debating, just collecting patterns to improve collaboration.
• Run a laser feedback exercise to make behavioral feedback happen more often: pairs give 1 minute of pure appreciation, then 1 minute of “I’d appreciate it even more if…”, rotating partners to build trust and performance in executive team coaching.

Resources:

• Return on Meaning, Nils' consultancy: https://www.returnonmeaning.com/nils-cornelissen
• The Momentum Program of Return on Meaning: https://www.my-momentum.life/
• Nils I. Cornelissen's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nilscornelissen/
• Find your Coaching Tool: https://metaFox.eu
• Coach online with https://metaFox.online
• Connect with Tobi on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/tobiasweghorn

Episode Chapters:

00:00 Failure Culture vs. “No Mistakes” and Missing Behavioral Feedback

01:00 Intro: Psychological Safety in Teams (Google Project Aristotle)

02:10 Entering the Boardroom: Executive Team Coaching Context and Characters

06:00 Individual Journeys, Group Dynamics, and Creating Vulnerability

08:00 Asking “Stupid Questions” to Shift Team Habits

10:30 Contracting and Shared Responsibility in Team Coaching

13:00 Role-Modeling Imperfection: The “Stain on the Tablecloth” Story

20:30 Keep Consider Feedback Method (Fast, Balanced, Repeatable)

26:00 Laser Feedback Exercise: Appreciation + “Even More If…”

30:00 Habits, Feelings, and Getting Rational Leaders On Board