A sports team where everyone feels accountable to each other dramatically outperforms one where everyone feels accountable to the coach. Yet in business, what’s supposed to be a support system (colleagues) typically functions as a group all accountable to the boss. When accountability flows to one person, the support feeling disappears entirely — it becomes hierarchy or an accountability process, not genuine support.
The key is that everyone is responsible for themselves while knowing they’re there for each other. Leadership should rotate rather than being fixed. Explicit agreements about how to interact prevent power struggles — without them, someone inevitably tries to be in charge because the ambiguity is uncomfortable.
This also means avoiding social climbing in building support systems. If you only recruit people you admire, you create implicit hierarchy and lose the benefit of teaching others (which integrates your own learning). Little kids naturally teach each other what they just learned — a support system where you never get to teach anyone doesn’t work.
Related Concepts
- Empower people decentrally
- Management communicates distrust
- Functional teams are measured by wanting to be there