The Five Truths of Strong Teams

And How to Use Them to Strengthen Yours

When Fin took over a passionate literacy team, he thought things would click quickly.

Seven staff members welcomed him warmly, and their mission, making literacy accessible to children through creative, community-based approaches, deeply resonated with him.

But a year in, progress was slow. The team kept him at arm’s length. Initiatives stalled. Every invitation to collaborate or innovate was met with surface-level engagement and behind-the-scenes resistance.

Finally, during a team-building session, a few brave team members voiced what had been left unsaid: “We’ve all been through bad leadership before. We’re not quick to trust.”

It wasn’t personal. It was contextual. A pattern shaped by history. Trust had been eroded long before Fin arrived, and no amount of cheerful emails or brainstorming sessions could rebuild it overnight.

As Simon Sinek puts it:

“A team is not a group of people who work together. A team is a group of people who trust each other.”

So if you're a leader wondering how to build, or rebuild, trust, here’s the starting point:

How Do We Build Trust?

Trust isn’t a switch, it’s a process. It’s built in layers, over time, through small signals.

Here are a few unspoken questions your team might be asking as they decide whether or not to trust you:

• Consistency Over Time: Do their actions match their words? Trustworthy people aren’t perfect, but they’re reliable and congruent.

  
  

• Emotional Safety: Can I be myself around them? Can I express vulnerability without fear of judgment or consequences?

  
  

• Respect for Boundaries: Do they respect my time, energy, and limits, or do they override them?

  
  

• Repair After Rupture: Do they own their mistakes? Can they apologize sincerely and make it right?

  
  

• Listening and Curiosity: Do they really listen, or are they just waiting for their turn to talk?

  
  

• Intuition: Does my body feel relaxed or tense around them? Our nervous systems often pick up on what our minds haven’t named yet.

  
  

Trust is both a choice and an observation. It accumulates in micro-moments, and it can be lost just as quickly.

And while trust is foundational, it’s not the whole picture.

When Gallup studied over 1 million work teams globally, five truths emerged, patterns that hold across industries, cultures, and leadership styles.¹

These aren’t soft skills. They’re performance essentials.

Let’s walk through each one and explore how to apply them through a strengths-based lens.

Truth 1: Strong Teams Focus on Results, Not Conflict

Conflict isn’t the enemy. Avoidance is.

We live in a world of differing opinions, values, and needs. Unless you're Tom Hanks in Cast Away, alone, stranded on a deserted island, you're going to face conflict. And even then, he did argue with Wilson.

Conflict is natural. It's energy.

As conflict mediator William Ury reminds us, the question isn’t whether we have conflict, it’s how we transform it into deeper understanding and wiser decisions.²

Gallup’s data backs this up: strong teams aren’t conflict-free; they know how to disagree toward a shared goal.

Team Practice: Define what “winning” means together before diving into disagreement. With a shared goal in place, conflict becomes a tool, not a threat.

Strengths Lens: Understanding teammates’ CliftonStrengths, especially Harmony, Analytical, or Command, can help you balance tone, tempo, and trust in tough conversations.

But here’s the catch: undeveloped strengths can sabotage.

• Harmony may avoid hard truths

• Command or Maximizer may bulldoze over others

  
  

Pro tip: Pair up. Use strengths partnerships to bring both edge and empathy to the room.

Truth 2: They Do What’s Best for the Organization

Strong teams zoom out, then move.

They don’t get stuck in silos or decision paralysis. They connect the dots between daily work and the organization’s bigger picture.

But that clarity doesn’t happen by accident.

At one non-profit serving seniors in Vancouver, the meals and care coordination team was overwhelmed, too many steps, not enough flow.

When they paused to map how each micro-task (packing, phoning, checking in) tied into the mission of dignified, independent aging, energy surged.

Leadership Tip: Regularly connect individual contributions to collective impact. Even a quick “Because of your work, this happened…” can reignite purpose and pride.

Truth 3: They Value Their Personal Lives as Much as Their Work

People-first isn’t just a slogan, it’s a sustainable strategy.

Gallup found that strong teams talk about life outside of work.³ Not because they’re unproductive, but because they’re human.

Here’s a small moment with a big ripple: Someone submits a vacation request. It’s overlooked, not answered for weeks, eventually lost in disorganized inbox. No big deal? Maybe. But what message does that send? Your wellbeing isn’t important enough to remember.

These micro-signals always speak louder than policy.

Strengths Practice: If someone leads with Empathy or Relator, personal connection fuels their performance. Recognizing the whole person isn't a soft perk, it’s how you unlock engagement.

Organizations that make space for real life enjoy lower burnout, higher cohesion, and better results.⁴

Truth 4: They Embrace Diversity

Diversity isn't just demographics. It’s difference in how we think, relate, and solve.

Mapping your team's CliftonStrengths Grid can help reveal:

• Who brings ideas or analyzes details

• Who drives execution or thrives in learning

• Who builds connections

• Who sees strategy and numerous alternative routes

  
  

This is diversity in action: inviting contributions intentionally, not randomly.

As a Gallup-Certified Coach, I often talk about talent agility, the ability to stretch across difference, collaborate across styles, and partner beyond sameness.

If everyone on your team brings the same kind of thinking, you’ll get faster agreement, but lower innovation.

Team Practice: Use your team’s Strengths Grid to balance roles:

• Heavy on Executing? Bring in Strategic Thinkers.

• Lots of Relationship Builders? Pull in Influencers to amplify the message.

  
  

Truth 5: They’re Magnets for Talent

Healthy teams attract.

You see it when candidates say, “I’ve heard about your culture.”You feel it when others want to join your meetings. You hear it in the pride: “This is my team.”

High-performing teams become magnets, because energy spreads.

Strong teams have a vibe. They celebrate and reflect. They deliver results and laugh often.

When you’re known for growing people, through coaching, feedback, or development, word travels.

Don’t Just Know the Truths, Use Them

Gallup’s Five Truths can be your team’s compass, not just a concept.

In coaching, we often explore:

• Which truth is already alive in your team?

• Which one feels weak, and why?

• What’s one simple shift that could move the needle?

  
  

The best way to look at a Team Grid is with a goal in mind.

These truths are more than theory, they can be tools for transformation.

Ready to Strengthen Your Team?

If you’re a leader navigating complexity, new team or team resistance, change, or simply wanting to unlock deeper cohesion and clarity, I’d love to support you.

As an executive coach and Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach, I specialize in helping leaders:

• Build trust in diverse and evolving teams

• Navigate difficult conversations with confidence and compassion

• Align strengths with strategy to reduce friction and increase flow

• Lead from a place of clarity, purpose, and presence

  
  

Whether you're onboarding a new team, rebuilding after breakdown, or preparing for a strategic shift, coaching can give you the space to reflect, experiment, and lead intentionally.

Here’s How We Can Work Together:

One-on-One Executive Coaching Tailored sessions to support your leadership journey, grounded in your strengths, challenges, and goals.

Team Strengths Workshops Bring your team together to explore Gallup’s Five Truths, map your team’s CliftonStrengths, and design custom actions that drive trust and performance.

Leadership Retreats or Intensives In-person or virtual deep-dive experiences designed to shift culture, strengthen relationships, and move forward with clarity.

Let’s explore how strong your team already is, and how much stronger it could become.

Reach out to schedule a discovery call or learn more about how coaching can support your leadership.

References

¹ Gallup, Strengths Based Leadership (Rath & Conchie, 2008)

² William Ury, Getting to Yes with Yourself (Harper Business, 2015)

³ Gallup Q12 Employee Engagement Survey, Item #10

⁴ Harvard Business Review, Resilience Is About How You Recharge, Not How You Endure (Bradberry & Greaves, 2016)

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Hi, I’m Monika, Strengths Coach and facilitator. I help individuals and groups cultivate resilience, emotional intelligence, and well-being through strengths-based coaching. Passionate about transformative and creative leadership, I empower leaders to drive meaningful change within themselves, their organizations, and beyond.

I hope you’ll visit often, and I look forward to connecting and working together!