The Foundation of Every Championship Team
This week I was re-reading Patrick Lencioni’s, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, and I was reminded that the foundation of his model for team success is trust.
Not strategy.
Not systems.
Not talent.
TRUST.
Lencioni defines it this way: “Trust is confidence among team members that their peers’ intentions are good, and that there is no reason to be protective or careful around the group.”
That passage resonates with me because I have seen what happens when trust is missing.
A Story from My Corporate Career
I remember a time in my corporate career when one leader clearly did not trust his teammates.
He constantly validated himself and his actions. He didn’t want support from anyone, especially cross-department support. If you questioned his department’s production, he took it personally. Every conversation turned into a defense. Every suggestion was received as an attack.
As a team, we tried the right things. We did team building exercises. We invested time in the relationship. We created the conditions for trust to grow.
But nothing changed.
Because trust is not built by policies. It is built by people who are willing to be vulnerable. And he wasn’t.
Eventually, he was removed from the company and replaced with someone who had extreme trust in the team from day one. The difference was immediate. The culture quickly improved. Collaboration grew. Productivity increased. The team started winning.
It validated this truth: championship teams have extreme trust in one another.
What Trust Actually Requires
Lencioni explains that trust “requires team members to make themselves vulnerable to one another and be confident that their respective vulnerabilities will not be used against them.”
He’s not talking about vague positivity.
He’s talking about real vulnerability:
weaknesses,
skill deficiencies,
interpersonal shortcomings,
mistakes,
requests for help.
This is where most teams break. Because it is easier to look strong than it is to be honest. And many leaders would rather protect their image than build a healthy culture upon a strong foundation of honesty and vulnerability.
But here is the hard truth: If your team cannot be vulnerable, your team will never achieve greatness.
The Leader’s Job
The most important action a leader can take to build trust is simple, but not easy: demonstrate vulnerability first.
If you want your team to admit mistakes, admit yours.
If you want your team to ask for help, ask for help.
If you want your team to be open, stop acting like you have it all together.
God designed leadership to be rooted in humility. Jesus modeled it perfectly. He led with strength, but He also led with truth. And truth requires vulnerability.
A Simple Challenge This Week
If you lead a team, ask yourself:
Where am I still trying to look strong instead of being real?
What mistake do I need to own?
What help do I need to ask for?
Trust is not merely a soft skill. It is the foundation of every winning culture. And it starts with the leader.
If this encouraged you, please forward it to someone building a team right now. The world needs more leaders who build trust in the right way.
Stay steady.
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God Bless!
~ Schuyler Williamson