Psychological contract - meaning the contract we have with the organisation, the team, the leader we work with, which is unspoken and unwritten and forms over time.
I heard this for the first time earlier this week when the person I was meeting with said they left their old organisation because their psychological contract had been broken.
This can happen for lots of reasons: change of leadership, new people joining an organisation whose behaviours don't align with organisational values; unfair treatment or even bullying.
This is the underpinning of psychological safety, a term popularised by Amy Edmondson to such good effect and key to high performing teams.
What do the psychological contracts look like with your organisation, with your leader, and with your team? Are they intact or in danger of shattering?