This One Thing Slowly Breaks Every Team

You won’t see it in a meeting, but you’ll feel it later...

Author

Justin Mecham
April 23, 2025

Hey Full Potential Zoners!

Trust is the first thing to break— and the last thing to come back.

A dysfunctional team won’t change by hoping.

It takes action.

When trust is broken, results fall apart.

Without accountability, nothing moves forward.

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Change takes time, but every small step counts.

The secret? Consistency.

Lead by example.

Help each other.

Without trust, nothing lasts.

Today we are going to help leaders master this by using the:

‘Why Teams Fail - The Five Dysfunctions of a Team', inspired by Patrick Lencioni’s ‘The Five Dysfunctions of a Team’ (give it a read!): 

Let’s dive in!

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Real Scenarios That Break Teams—and How to Fix Them Fast

Absence of Trust

Scenario: A team member stays silent in meetings, even when they’re struggling.

  • They don’t feel safe admitting they’re stuck.

  • Schedule regular “check-in” meetings where the only agenda is sharing progress honestly.

  • As a leader or peer, go first.

  • Say what you’re struggling with to show it’s safe.

  • Set the rule:

    • No judgment, only support.

  • People will ask for help earlier. Mistakes will get fixed faster. The team will get stronger.

Fear of Conflict

Scenario: Two team members disagree on direction, but no one addresses it. Tension builds.

  • Conflict is seen as dangerous, not productive.

  • Set the expectation:

    • Disagreement is part of doing good work.

  • Use structured debates:

    • One person presents their view, the other responds. Then swap.

  • End with a clear decision—don’t let it hang.

  • Discussions will become real. Decisions will be sharper. Tension will turn into progress.

Lack of Commitment

Scenario: A project gets greenlit but people don’t follow through.

  • The team never fully bought in—they just nodded along.

  • Before any decision is final, ask each person what concerns they have.

  • Get vocal alignment:

    • Each person restates what they’re committing to.

  • Follow up individually within 48 hours.

  • People’ll stop “agreeing to agree.” They’ll step in with purpose, not just compliance.

Avoidance of Accountability

Scenario: One team member keeps missing deadlines. Everyone sees it, no one says it.

  • No culture of peer-to-peer accountability.

  • Use a shared weekly task board with owners and due dates visible.

  • Make check-ins public:

    • What got done, what didn’t, why.

  • Train the team to ask “What support do you need to hit this?” instead of pointing fingers.

  • Deadlines will get met more often. Underperformance won’t hide in the shadows.

Lack of Results

Scenario: Projects are busy but nothing feels like progress.

  • There’s no shared scoreboard or clear definition of success.

  • Define success for each major initiative in one sentence.

  • Share results weekly—even if it’s small wins or lessons learned.

  • Celebrate when it’s working, recalibrate when it’s not.

  • The team will move with purpose. Wins will be visible. Progress will become real.

The strongest teams don’t avoid hard things—they face them together.

Trust doesn’t start with a team. It starts with one person going first.

Conflict isn’t the problem—silence is.

Commitment isn’t agreement—it’s follow-through.

Accountability doesn’t require authority—it requires clarity.

When wins are unclear, energy fades.

Results don’t come from pushing people. They come from alignment.

Until next time and with lots of love,

Justin

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