When Teams Don’t Trust Each Other

How to Rebuild Collaboration When Alignment Is Broken

Read Time: 5 minutes

The tools are set.
The goals are clear.
The plan is sound.

But something is off.

Teams are not sharing updates.
Cross-functional meetings are tense.
Handoffs often feel like battles, rather than collaboration.

This is not just a cultural issue.
It is a delivery risk.

Let’s talk about how to lead when trust between teams is the real blocker.

What Misalignment Looks Like

It is easy to miss at first.

But if you are paying attention, the signs are there:

• Stakeholders speak about each other instead of to each other

• Teams hold back context to protect their position

• Project blockers are tied to politics, not execution

• Decisions get rehashed because no one trusted the first one

• Updates are filtered more than shared

This is not just inefficient.
It is corrosive.

Why Trust Breaks Down

Trust is not just about liking each other.

It is about believing the other side will:

• Deliver what they said they would

• Share information early

• Assume positive intent

• Follow through on their role

• Own mistakes without deflecting

When any of that breaks, even once, it creates a gap.
And if that gap is not addressed, it becomes a wall.

How to Rebuild Trust Across Teams

Rebuilding trust begins with clarity, courage, and consistency:

✅ Facilitate direct conversations, not side threads. Say, “Let’s bring this to the group. Alignment only works when everyone hears the same thing.”

✅ Name the elephant. Say, “It seems like we are operating in silos. What would help us feel more aligned going forward?”

✅ Model consistency for yourself. Follow through. Keep people looped in. Do what you say you will. That behavior creates safety.

✅ Reconnect everyone to the shared outcome. Remind the team, “We win or fail together. No one team owns the success alone.”

💬 A PM in our community shared how she pulled product, design, and engineering into a single alignment session after a string of missed handoffs. They stopped using team names and started naming roles by purpose. It reframed the conflict and reset collaboration.

What Aligned Teams Feel Like

When trust is present, you will notice:

• People volunteer for issues early

• Handoffs feel smooth and cooperative

• Stakeholders advocate for each other

• Feedback is shared openly

• Success is celebrated across teams

Trust is not a soft benefit.
It is a hard multiplier.

This Is the Invisible Work That Matters

You can have the best tools.
You can run the best process.
But if people do not trust each other, everything slows down.

And if you rebuild that trust, everything accelerates.

And that's how real delivery happens between the milestones.

👇 Your Turn

Have you had to lead when someone above you was unclear or missing?

👉 Share your story in the comments below or respond to this email.

You might be featured in an upcoming spotlight!