Pressure Doesn't Change Teams- It Reveals Them

By Kathy Gilmore, President, VIA/GCAMP

Lately, I’ve been thinking about how much teams are being asked to hold.   Not just more work — but more change. More ambiguity. More decisions without clean answers.

We’re no longer in a season of change. Many leaders describe this as an Era of Change — where constant adjustment is simply part of the job. I’ve heard this framing most clearly from our friend Erin Ramirez and it resonates deeply with what I’m seeing in our companies and the teams we work with.

​When pressure increases, something predictable happens: people don’t become different — they become more themselves.

• Some ask bigger questions.
• Some generate ideas quickly.
• Some push for action.
• Some slow things down to get it right.
• Some quietly carry the load so others don’t have to.

​None of these responses are wrong. But without shared understanding, pressure turns difference into friction. 

This is where adaptability and Working Genius intersect for me. Pressure doesn’t create new behaviors — it reveals existing ones.

Healthy teams don’t eliminate pressure. They learn how to navigate it together.
That’s why we’ve been evolving Your Genius Guide to look more closely at how each Working Genius shows up under pressure — not just in theory, but in the real, messy moments teams are living through right now.

It’s also why more teams are booking Working Genius team sessions. When pressure is high, understanding how people naturally contribute — and where frustration builds — is often the fastest way to reduce friction, reset how the team works together, and build shared capacity for what’s ahead.

And for leaders who are carrying the added weight of navigating constant change, we’ve partnered with Erin Ramirez on our Adaptable Manager program — to help leaders build the capacity to hold more, lead through ambiguity, and support their teams without burning out.

Different lenses. Same goal: healthier teams that can navigate this Era of Change together.
If this sounds like what your team is experiencing, we'd love to start with a conversation.