A well-functioning team is a wonderful thing. But even in communities, friend groups, families, and workplaces where things are going well, there is always the potential for subtle undermining behaviors and communication patterns to emerge. It's important to recognize, name, and course correct for these behaviors before they become insidious, while reducing the burden of this work on individuals who are most affected by subtly negative communication patterns. In this talk I'll share some strategies we've developed as faculty at the Recurse Center, my personal experience adopting them, and how you might apply them to your own workplaces and communities.