Top teams have the collective responsibility to set the tone, challenge the status quo and drive things forward, not just keep things ticking over. But what happens when things look good on the surface, and yet no tangible progress is made?
In our latest podcast episode, ‘Top Team Troubles’, I spoke with Jill Jenkinson about a pattern we’re seeing again and again: false harmony. It’s when a team seems to be getting along on the surface, meetings are smooth, conversations are polite, but underneath, people are holding back. When there’s little challenge and no real debate, teams can become stuck in fixed patterns of behaviour. Without challenge, new ideas go untested, difficult issues remain unspoken, and progress grinds to a halt.
It might seem harmless, on one level who wouldn’t want an easy, drama-free atmosphere at work? But when a leadership team gets stuck in being overly polite on the surface, things start to slow down. The real stuff, the hard calls, fresh ideas, honest feedback, doesn’t happen when everyone’s just trying to keep the peace.
What does false harmony look like?
It’s rarely obvious at first. Meetings feel smooth, conversations feel “positive,” and disagreements are either glossed over or never raised at all. On the surface, it can feel like the team is aligned, but dig a little deeper, and cracks start to show.
Maybe decisions keep circling without landing. Maybe the same problems keep resurfacing because no one feels safe enough to say what’s really going on. Or perhaps new ideas get agreed with but are never really tested fully or challenged.
“If you’re not being challenged, you’re probably not growing. And if your top team isn’t growing, neither is your business.”
Why it matters
False harmony doesn’t just slow things down, it breaks down any trust. Deep down, we can feel and experience when something’s being’ left unsaid’. Avoiding tension doesn’t make it go away, it just gets squished down, where it can quietly fester, draining energy levels and as a result productivity levels can start to decline.
When teams settle for politeness, they miss out on one of the most powerful forces for growth: healthy conflict. Disagreement isn’t a bad thing, when it’s respectful, challenging, and aimed at outcomes, it sharpens thinking and leads to smarter, more effective decisions.
How to shift beyond false harmony
It starts with leadership modelling the behaviours a top team wants to see, hear and feel. Leaders must create spaces where difference isn’t just tolerated but actively welcomed.
That means asking: “What are we not saying here?” or “What feels uncomfortable right now, but needs to be considered?” It’s about naming and tackling the ‘elephants in the room ‘having the courage to speak up and speak out and normalising discomfort as part of the process towards progress.
It also means handling disagreement well. This isn’t about open conflict for the sake of it, it’s about being able to hold opposing views with respect, curiosity, and a shared commitment to the bigger picture.
As we discussed in the episode; “Trust isn’t built by avoiding conflict. It’s built by surviving it together.”
False harmony might feel safe in the short term, but it’s a trap. The teams that thrive are the ones brave enough to have the courage to go beyond surface agreement and have the conversations that matter, even when it feels uncomfortable.
To find out more, listen to the full conversation below. If you’d like to see our Top Team Troubles research in our latest eBook, click here.
