Most Teams Fail for This Simple Reason

A manager recently told me:
“Everyone’s so busy protecting their own workload that nobody’s willing to jump in and help.”

She wasn’t describing a lazy or disengaged team. These were high performers, sharp, capable, and driven. But without shared expectations or trust, support felt optional. The result?
Work stalled. Frustration built. Nobody felt safe leaning on one another.

Vanessa Druskat’s research on team emotional intelligence reveals a counterintuitive truth:
The smartest people don’t automatically make the best team.

In fact, brilliant individuals underperform when they operate in silos.

What separates average teams from exceptional ones isn’t capability, it’s connection.
High-performing teams cultivate shared norms: trust, care, and mutual support. They don’t just tolerate differences, they leverage them. When someone falters, others step in. When the pressure rises, they rally, not retreat.

In one study, two equally skilled project teams were observed. The only difference?
One team had norms around helping each other. The other defaulted to every-person-for-themselves.

The result?
The supportive team produced better work, stayed motivated, and performed consistently under pressure.
The other? Burnout. Low morale. Missed goals.

Technical skills are table stakes.
The real edge? A culture of support.

Process (3 Ways to Build It):

1. Model Visible Support
   Step in when it matters, remove a blocker, clarify a decision, offer a hand.
   Your actions signal what’s normal and what’s valued.

2. Celebrate the Assists
   It’s easy to praise closers. But spotlight the quiet contributors too—those who debugged at 11 pm, coached a teammate, or prepped the deck behind the scenes.

3. Debrief for Support
   After a project, ask:
   → Where did we support each other well?
   → Where did someone get left hanging?
   Over time, this makes support a norm—not an exception.

Your Move This Week:
Watch for moments where your team backs each other up—or doesn’t.
Ask yourself:
Am I creating a culture where support is the default… or the exception?

Because great teams don’t win by outworking each other.
They win by moving as one.

Cheers,

Jeff