Somebody has to say the thing everyone’s thinking. It usually becomes the moment people start trusting you.

Groups get stuck in a shared silence where everyone can see the problem and everyone assumes they are the only one. Naming it breaks that, and the relief in the room afterwards is the evidence that it was widely known. It takes about four seconds of discomfort. What comes back is usually trust, because people now know you will say the real thing.

Notice what nobody in your group is mentioning and say it once, plainly and without drama. Name the situation rather than a person. Then be quiet and let other people talk, since you were probably not the only one holding it.