When Trust Breaks Down: A Tale of a Team That Looked Fine on Paper

On paper, everything looked great.
Talented people. Clear goals. A visionary leader.

But something wasn’t clicking.

If you’ve ever had a team that looks strong on paper but struggles to deliver together, you’re not alone. It happens more often than leaders realize. And more often than not, the root cause isn’t skill. It’s trust.

A Case Study: The Marketing Team That Missed the Mark

Take Sally, a VP of Marketing at a mid-sized SaaS company.

She inherited a team of high performers. The resumes were impressive, and the company had just invested in a big rebrand project. But when deadlines slipped and the work wasn’t connecting, Sally started noticing some unsettling patterns:

• People nodded in meetings but did something different afterward.

• Turf wars broke out between content and design.

• Junior employees stayed silent, even when they had good ideas.

• A high-potential manager started quietly job hunting.

The team wasn’t failing, but they weren’t thriving either. Sally couldn’t quite put her finger on why.

When she brought us in to conduct the Team Trust Snapshot, everything became clearer.

With just one 10-minute pulse survey and a 1-hour leadership interview, Sally finally saw the reality:

• Some team members didn’t feel safe speaking up.
• There were questions about whether deadlines would really be met.
• People weren’t confident everyone was rowing in the same direction.

The Snapshot also gave her something more valuable than just problems. It offered three practical focus areas she could start addressing immediately.

Within 90 days, her meetings were more productive, cross-functional collaboration was up, and that high-potential manager decided to stay.

What Trust Really Means

Here’s the thing: trust isn’t just about “liking each other.” It’s deeper than that.

True team trust shows up in three ways:

• Psychological safety → Do I feel safe to speak up, even when I disagree?

• Reliability → Do I believe my teammates will follow through?

• Shared purpose → Do I trust that we’re headed in the same direction?

When trust breaks down in any of these areas, performance breaks down too.

Google’s landmark Project Aristotle study confirmed this years ago: psychological safety was the #1 factor that separated high-performing teams from struggling ones. Without trust, all the strategy in the world won’t stick.

A Low-Lift Way to See the Truth

That’s exactly why I created the Team Trust Snapshot.

It’s designed for leaders who:

• Know something feels “off,” but can’t quite name it.

• Want to understand how their team really experiences trust.

• Need a quick, honest read without launching a massive culture initiative.

Here’s what you get:

• A confidential pulse survey for your team

•  A 1:1 leadership interview

• A 2-page summary with three recommended focus areas

No fluff. No 50-page report that sits on a shelf. Just the clarity you need to move your team forward.

Ready to See Where Your Team Really Stands?

If you suspect your team isn’t reaching its full potential, don’t guess.
Get a snapshot. Start the shift.

👉 Want to learn more about the Team Trust Snapshot? Let's talk: www.culturegrove.com/call 

Because when trust is strong, everything else gets easier.