Great Teams Can Still Drift
If you’ve been leading for any length of time, you have come across the moment when a strong team stops being strong.
It usually doesn’t happen because the talent disappeared.
In reality the people are still capable. They still know their jobs. They still have the résumé, the experience, the instincts.
A disconnect begins to show up. You feel it in meetings. You hear it in one-on-one conversations. You notice it in the subtle disengagement.
The team begins to forget why it came together in the first place.
That was one of the things we talked about in this conversation with Lillian Victoria Ng.
Most leaders think underperformance is a talent issue. Sometimes it is. But often, it’s an alignment issue.
People start leaning too heavily on what they’re good at. They protect their lane. They work hard, but not always toward the same thing.
That’s when a leader has to step back in and define reality.
Not vision first. Not what used to be.
Reality.
Where are we?
What has changed?
What are we pretending not to see?
Who is ready for what’s next?
Who needs to grow into it?
The best teams don’t stay great because everyone is talented. They stay great because the leader keeps resetting the standard without losing the human side of the work.
Lillian and I also get into AI, culture, retail, private equity, coaching, and why too much information can actually make teams less decisive.
In our current climate, the real leadership test isn’t whether your team can move faster.
But whether they can remain present and still think clearly while everything around them is moving faster.
That’s why this conversation is worth watching.
Because it gets into the part of leadership that most people feel but don’t want to address.
Your team may not be broken. Your talent may not be the problem.
You, as the leader, need to reset the reality. They are waiting on you.
