Teams don’t collapse in dramatic fashion.
There’s no explosion. No mass resignations. No single moment you can point to and say, “That’s when it broke.”

Decay is quiet. Slow. Almost polite.

It starts when tension disappears.
The healthy kind. The kind that forces people to challenge ideas, defend positions, and push back.
It gets replaced by comfort. By being agreeable. By not wanting to be “that person.”

That’s the first sign of rot.

Rot phase #1: Activity without intent

Meetings multiply.
Decks get cleaner.
Roadmaps get longer.

But ask one simple question and the room freezes:

Why are we doing this now?

When a team measures busyness instead of impact, process becomes a substitute for thinking.
What looks like “strategy” is often just a post-hoc justification for decisions that were already made, a pattern I break down in Strategy vs. Justification.

Rot phase #2: Alignment theatre

Everyone is “aligned.”
Everyone agrees.
Everyone nods.

Then, behind closed doors:

  • “This won’t work.”
  • “Yeah, but it’s already decided.”
  • “Not worth fighting it.”

No conflict means no truth.
No truth means no correction.
No correction means the team isn’t moving forward. It’s decomposing in place.

Rot phase #3: Talent stays, standards leave

This is the dangerous part.

The people are still smart.
Still experienced.
Still well paid.

But:

  • Bad decisions pass without consequence
  • Mediocrity becomes acceptable
  • “Good enough” replaces “this has to be right.”

The team doesn’t lose capability.
It loses its spine.

Rot phase #4: Cynicism becomes culture

At this stage, no one believes the big words anymore.

Vision = a slide
Strategy = buzzwords
“Innovation” = a new tool, same problem

People show up emotionally detached.
Not because they’re lazy, but because they cared once, and learned what caring costs here.

How teams actually die

Not from bad hires.
Not from lack of resources.
Not from the market.

They die because:

  • No one says “this is stupid” anymore
  • No one pushes for real clarity
  • No one pulls the brake while it still matters

Rot is what happens when truth is absent for too long.

If this makes you uncomfortable – good!

That discomfort is recognition.
And recognition means it’s not too late.

But here’s the cold part:
Teams don’t get saved by motivation.
They get saved by cuts.

  • Cuts to tolerated ambiguity
  • Cuts to fake harmony
  • Cuts to processes that exist only to justify someone’s role

If you’re not willing to do that, don’t pretend you’re “building a team.”
You’re just managing decay.