Ever notice how sometimes the more people you involve, the slower things move? More meetings, more group emails, more shared documents — and somehow, less clarity. It’s as if the very thing meant to make us more collaborative quietly erases ownership. Everyone’s in charge … which often means no one really is.

Don’t get me wrong — teams are how meaningful work gets done. Shared purpose and collective genius matter deeply. But somewhere between the good intentions and the group discussions, context gets blurry. Decision-making drifts. The team’s purpose starts to feel more like process than progress.

So how do we lead teams that are both collaborative and accountable? A few thoughts come to mind.

Make the implicit explicit.

Most team breakdowns aren’t about bad people — they’re about unspoken assumptions. When decisions, roles, and expectations aren’t clear, consensus becomes a convenient disguise for ambiguity. Clarity isn’t control; it’s alignment. The best teams don’t guess who’s responsible — they know.

Lead with the bottom line.

Time is the one resource none of us can replenish. That’s why I love the B.L.U.F. approach — bottom line up front. Start with what needs to be done, who’s doing it, and by when. It’s not rigid; it’s respectful. It honors people’s time and helps everyone move faster toward what actually matters.

Differentiate accountability from responsibility.

Responsibility lives in the present moment — the task at hand. Accountability stretches further. It connects what’s been done with what still needs to happen. It means being willing to say, “Whatever the outcome, I own it.” That mindset changes everything — especially when things get hard.

In the end, great teams don’t just share goals; they share ownership. They know where collaboration ends and accountability begins. And that’s where real performance — and trust — takes root.