In the ever evolving landscape of modern business, accountability stands as a foundation for success. Yet, as of late, accountability seems to be taking a serious hit. Why? The root cause most often seems to be tied to an overextended and confused application of empathy, which, if left unchecked, more often than not, leads to underperformance.
So what happens when trust breaks down? Teams low on trust tend to fall apart whenever there is a challenge or difficulty. Members are unwilling to freely and candidly share their views or even information. Offline, they tend to dismiss other teammate’s competence or the value of the team. Even when there is apparent agreement in the room, the outcomes are dismissed, gossiped about, and not acted upon by the membership. This leads to a myriad of other dysfunctions within the team such as forming of cliques and factions, and no camaraderie. A low trust team is also ineffective in conducting meetings and struggles to go beyond discussing issues to deciding actions. And it doesn’t stop there. Low trust teams respond poorly to change, won’t take innovative risks, avoid debating important issues, avoid any form of conflict, treat communication as a low priority and don’t share a common vision and lack alignment on the team’s mission.