Integrity of Agreements: Is Your Team an Orchestra or a 5th Grade Band?

Let’s be honest: every team thinks they’re an orchestra. But some are really just a group of people playing Hot Cross Buns on mismatched recorders - loudly, offbeat, and with someone crying in the background.

The difference? Agreements. 

When leaders don’t take time to create and maintain clear agreements, you don’t get harmony, you get chaos. Missed deadlines, unmet expectations, weird tension in meetings. Cue the off-key tuba solo.

Creating agreements isn’t just a “nice communication skill” - it’s the foundation of high performance. It’s what separates elite teams from those duct-taped together by passive-aggressive Slack messages.

A professional orchestra only works because everyone is individually excellent and aligned around a shared goal. The conductor doesn’t just wave a stick and hope for the best. They’re clear. Precise. They set the tone (literally and metaphorically). That’s your job as a leader: to use clear language, ask for what you need, and invite your team to do the same.

For example:  

“Can you agree to have this done by Friday? If not, let's talk about what’s in the way.” 

This opens the door to real dialogue. Maybe the team replies:

“We’re short-staffued due to the recent layoffs. We could hit Friday if we get support from the other team - or we could do Wednesday if we shift priorities.” 

Now everyone is in sync. Expectations are clear. Drama diffused. 

But skip that conversation? And the leader assumes silence equals agreement. Spoiler: it doesn’t. It equals burnout, missed deliverables, and vague resentment that shows up in team meetings and passive-aggressive calendar invites.

Effective teams don’t just work hard - they talk smart. They check in. They ask questions like:

• “If we were truly invested in each other’s success, what would we need from one another?”

• “What gets better when we collaborate instead of operating like solo acts?”

• “What evidence would we see if we were actually performing at our best?”

Will you always get what you want? No. But if you don’t say it, you guarantee that you won’t.

So ask. Clarify. Make the agreement. And when things shift (as they always do), renegotiate out loud. Not in your head. Not in a late-night email no one reads. In a conversation.

Because without real agreements, you’re not a team - you’re a group project waiting to implode.