Is Your Team Stuck in a Cycle of Silly Fights and Mixed Signals? Here’s What to Do.

Judy Streicher
Jun 17
3 min read

”We don’t rise to the level of our goals—we fall to the level of our systems.”

– James Clear

Let’s cut to it.

If your business feels more like a soap opera than a high-performing team right now, you’re not alone. Conflict is up. Productivity is down. And some days, it seems like everyone is either taking things personally… or not taking ownership at all.

Here’s the truth most business owners won’t say out loud: It’s not always a strategy problem. It’s a people pattern problem.

And no amount of “soft skills training” will fix it unless you get under the hood and deal with what’s actually going on between your staff.

That’s where Transactional Analysis (TA) comes in. And once you see what it unlocks? You’ll never run another meeting the same way again.

What’s Really Slowing Down Your Business?

Let’s be honest about what you might be dealing with:

Managers avoiding hard conversations (or bulldozing people instead)
Trust eroding behind fake smiles and polite Zoom nods
Team members operating like teenagers—one minute fine, the next in meltdown
Communication loops that feel more like emotional ping-pong
Staff quitting for “vibe” reasons no one can really explain

Sound familiar?

These aren’t just random behaviour issues. They’re patterns. Predictable ones. And until you interrupt those patterns, nothing changes.

So, What is Transactional Analysis—and Why Should You Care?

TA is a simple yet powerful way to understand how people relate to one another. It shows us that every conversation comes from one of three internal states:

👶 Child👨‍👩‍👧 Parent🧠 Adult

The magic happens when we learn how to spot these states—and shift the dynamic before it derails a conversation.

Let’s say an employee reacts defensively to feedback. That’s their “Child” state responding. Or maybe a manager lectures their team instead of coaching. That’s their “Parent” mode showing up. What we want—especially at work—is clear, calm, Adult-to-Adult communication.

TA gives you the playbook to get there. And it’s surprisingly practical.

Why SMEs in South Africa Need This Now More Than Ever

Look, 2025 has been tough.

Staff turnover is up 42%.
Over 60% of people say they’d quit tomorrow if they could afford it.
Global companies are poaching top talent remotely.
Hybrid work has turned teamwork into a trust experiment.
Leadership fatigue is real.

In this climate, emotional intelligence isn’t a nice-to-have—it’s your competitive edge.TA helps you build that edge, fast.

It’s not a soft skill. It’s a survival skill. And it turns culture into a real asset, not just a poster on the wall.

What Changes When Teams Learn TA?

Here’s what happens when you teach your leaders and teams the basics of TA:

Conversations stop spiralling.
Feedback gets heard, not just reacted to.
Conflict gets handled like grown-ups.
Emotional blow-ups get replaced with clear boundaries.
Trust gets built where suspicion used to sit.

The best of all? Your people start solving problems together instead of becoming the problem.

Who It’s For

This workshop is built for:

Business owners and MDs are tired of people drama draining profit
Line managers who want to lead without shouting, ghosting, or guessing
HR leads are trying to embed actual culture change
Teams that work hard but clash often

If your business has between 20 and 500 people and you’re scaling—or trying to—TA will help you do it without losing your sanity (or your staff).

Book Your Team In—Before the Next Blow-Up

Transactional Analysis for Leaders is now open for bookings. It’s one of our most requested workshops, and for good reason.

📧 Pop me an email at judy@highvibeconsulting.co.za

Let’s have a quick chat about what your team needs and whether this workshop is a good fit.

Final Word:

You’re not running a therapy centre. You’re building a business. However, if you don’t get your people dynamics right, everything slows down—sales, morale, delivery, and growth.

This workshop doesn’t just give your leaders tools. It gives them a language. One that finally makes sense of the messy human stuff… and gets your business back in flow.

Are you in?

email me: judy@highvibeco.co.za