An entrepreneurial culture needs people who feel able to speak up, challenge assumptions and put ideas forward. When relationships are damaged, trust is low or harmful behaviour goes unchecked, that potential can remain hidden.

At Vibe, our work with Professor Nicola Graham-Kevan brings academic insight into some of the most difficult aspects of human behaviour—and how organisations can begin to address them.

A Professor of Criminal Justice Psychology and Chartered Psychologist, Nicola’s expertise spans aggression, coercive control, trauma, victim vulnerability and behaviour change. Through TRAC Psychological, she also leads the development of research-informed training and interventions.

Understanding what sits beneath the surface

Bullying, harassment, racism, sexism and persistent conflict can damage relationships throughout a business. Sometimes the warning signs are visible. Elsewhere, they emerge through silence, withdrawal, guarded conversations or teams that have stopped working effectively together.

Understanding these situations requires careful listening and a willingness to examine behaviours, power dynamics and organisational conditions.

Nicola’s research provides a valuable perspective on how harmful patterns develop, how people experience them and what meaningful behaviour change involves. Within Vibe, that expertise helps inform our approach to difficult workplace relationships and the barriers that prevent people from contributing.

Bringing research into practice

Nicola’s work addresses deeply challenging experiences, including abuse, trauma and repeated victimisation. Through TRAC Psychological, she has helped develop behaviour-change programmes for criminal justice, social care and education settings, connecting research with practical interventions and professional training.

She also co-authored a review of relational practice across health, education, criminal justice and social care. This examined approaches that place relationships at the centre of organisational practice, while highlighting the need for clearer definitions and stronger evidence of effectiveness.

For Vibe, this reinforces an essential principle: understand the context, choose an appropriate response and evaluate what changes.

Rebuilding relationships with accountability

Our approach combines employee feedback, interviews and organisational insight to understand where trust has broken down and what is sustaining the problem.

Depending on the findings, support may include leadership coaching, facilitated conversations, clearer behavioural expectations and work to realign teams around shared responsibilities and goals. Serious allegations require appropriate investigation and accountability; relationship work must support a fair response.

The aim is to help organisations address harmful patterns, rebuild working relationships where possible and establish credible, sustained changes in behaviour.

Creating the foundations for innovation

When people can raise concerns, disagree constructively and trust that their contribution will receive a fair hearing, there is more room for initiative.

That is the connection between relationship resolution and commercial growth. Addressing barriers to participation can help teams collaborate, share knowledge and explore opportunities with greater confidence.

Nicola’s contribution strengthens Vibe’s commitment to connecting academic research with practical organisational change: helping businesses build the foundations for a healthier, more entrepreneurial and creative culture.

If conflict, damaged trust or harmful behaviour is holding your organisation back, speak to Vibe about understanding the issues and creating a practical route forward.

More about Nicola’s research

Relational practice in health, education, criminal justice, and social care: a scoping review (2023). A co-authored examination of how relationship-focused approaches are understood and used across services. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13643-023-02344-9

Repeat Victimisation, Retraumatisation and Victim Vulnerability (2015). Co-authored research examining vulnerability and repeated experiences of victimisation.

The CAT: A Gender-Inclusive Measure of Controlling and Abusive Tactics (2015). A co-authored paper on assessing controlling and abusive behaviours.

‘I get knocked down, but I get up again’: A qualitative exploration of posttraumatic growth after multiple traumas (2021). Co-authored research exploring people’s experiences of growth following adversity.

These publications concern their specific research settings; they provide relevant perspectives rather than direct proof of workplace programme outcomes.

Explore Nicola’s publications: https://knowledge.lancashire.ac.uk/view/creators_id/ngraham-kevan.default.html