STRATEGIC TEAMWORK

This morning one of my favourite clients explained the challenges she is facing in supporting one of her own clients. She has been called into to help fix and support a dysfunctional team.

As I listened, I noted this team has low trust and an absence of real collaboration. Despite strong technical capability in the leader, the team is not functioning well and the strain is showing up in both performance and morale.

Three patterns stood out.

Despite appearances, the first was a lack of authenticity from the business owner. The owner leads in a tough, boss-like way and rarely shows any genuine vulnerability. While this may feel protective or necessary to her, it means the team never truly trusts her. People comply with instructions, but they don’t commit emotionally or intellectually. Without authenticity, trust never takes root.

The second pattern appeared to be a lack of empathy. This leader, through no fault of her own, has had to protect herself from the world for much of her life, and that self-protection has come at a cost. When self-love and self-compassion are limited, empathy toward others becomes difficult. The team mostly feels unseen and uncared for, which quietly erodes motivation, loyalty and discretionary effort.

The third issue seems to be an absence of clear direction. The leader bounces from project to project, with constant changes in scope, scale and theme. Much of the work arrives through ad hoc contracts and politically driven funding cycles, which only add complexity and uncertainty. There is no coherent narrative about why the team exists or what they are trying to create together.

Without shared purpose, work becomes reactive, fragmented and exhausting.

Listening to all of this, it was clear the problem wasn’t skill, intellect or drive. It was a strategic teamwork problem.

I shared the Five Pillars of Strategic Teamwork with my client, as a way to both diagnose what was happening and offer a path forward.

1. The first pillar is 'trust before performance'. Teams don’t trust strategies; they trust people. Trust is built when leaders demonstrate authenticity, empathy and sound judgement under pressure.

Psychological safety isn’t about being soft. It is performance infrastructure. Without trust, collaboration becomes compliance.

2. The second pillar is 'collaboration by design', not hope. Winning teams share a compelling direction, the right mix of skills, a supportive context and a mindset that eliminates silo or them vs us thinking.

Collaboration doesn’t happen by accident. It must be intentionally designed.

3. The third pillar is ‘difference as fuel’. Diversity without skill creates friction. Diversity with skill creates advantage. Winning teams make thinking styles explicit, agree on how they communicate and ensure quieter voices are heard. Difference is not the problem. Unspoken difference is…

4. The fourth pillar is 'accountability that runs sideways'. The strongest accountability is peer-to-peer, not top-down. Clear standards, visible progress and simple rituals keep teams honest and aligned.

5. The fifth pillar is 'learning at the speed of reality'. Teams rarely fail from lack of intelligence. They fail from slow learning. Fast feedback and reflection turn experience into momentum.

Most teams aren’t broken. They’re simply under-designed. With the right leadership shifts and tools, they can become winning teams.