Either You Have It or Not

The things that keep a team together have nothing to do with after-work beers, team-building retreats, or open office plans. These three pillars go beyond any workplace gimmick — they’re personal attributes. You can’t force them. As Sinatra and Dean Martin sang, “Either you have it or you haven't got.”

Trust. It’s the team’s foundational bond — knowing someone’s got your back. Without trust, the team falls apart. One of the unwritten rules we learn early in life is not to sell out our own; being a snitch is one of the worst things you can be. Trust shows up in many ways: trusting that a teammate will give you honest feedback, that they’ll help you when you’re in a tight spot, and that they won’t throw you under the bus in front of leadership to cover themselves.

Responsibility. Personal and shared accountability: owning our mistakes as individuals and as a team. Doing our part reliably and professionally without needing reminders. It’s deeply connected to trust — mutual trust drives responsibility, because we don’t want to let others down.

Commitment. Pulling in the same direction by understanding the team’s goals and putting the collective interest ahead of personal agendas. Commitment is the fuel that powers the day-to-day — and it only works if the other two are present.

Everything else — communication, role clarity, mutual respect, psychological safety — rests on these three pillars. They come from personal values and individual character. Without them, nothing else holds.

exit(0);