What 'struggling' teams do, that no one talks about

Teams don't set out to struggle. They don’t wake up and decide to avoid accountability or shy away from pressure. In fact, most teams believe they are doing the right things. They work hard. They stay busy. They try to keep the peace.

And that’s exactly where the problem starts.

Because struggling teams may not be obvious. Low performance hides in behaviours that look acceptable on the surface but slowly undermine results.

Here are three of the most common.

1. Avoiding hard conversations

This is the big one.

In teams that are struggling, difficult conversations are delayed, softened, or avoided altogether. Feedback is watered down. Standards slip quietly. Underperformance is tolerated for far too long.

Why? Because it feels uncomfortable. No one wants to upset a colleague or create tension. So people stay polite instead of being honest.

The short-term result is harmony. The long-term result is frustration, resentment, and declining standards.

Mentally tough teams understand that honesty is not optional. They address issues early, directly, and respectfully. They know that one uncomfortable conversation now prevents ten bigger problems later.

They don’t confuse kindness with avoidance.

2. Blaming external factors

When results dip, stuggling teams look outward. It was the market. The timing. The client. The pressure.

Of course, external factors exist. But when they become the default explanation, something more damaging happens. Ownership disappears. If everything is someone else’s fault, there is nothing to fix.

Mentally tough teams take a different approach. They start with ownership. Even when circumstances are challenging, they ask, “What could we have done better?” This isn’t about blame. It’s about control. Because the moment a team takes ownership, it gives itself the power to improve.

3. Confusing busyness with progress

Most teams are busy. Very busy. Calendars are full. Emails are constant. Meetings fill the day. It feels productive. But activity is not the same as progress.

Struggling teams hide in busyness because it feels safe. It avoids the risk of focusing on what actually matters, where results are visible and measurable. They equate effort with effectiveness.

Mentally tough teams are far more disciplined. They focus on outcomes. They are willing to strip away unnecessary work and ask a simple question: “Is this moving us forward?” If the answer is no, they stop doing it.

The difference is not talent. It’s behaviour.

The gap between a struggling team and a mentally tough one is rarely about skill. It’s about standards and behaviours repeated consistently over time.

Mentally tough teams:

• Have the conversations others avoid
• Take ownership quickly
• Focus relentlessly on what drives results

None of this is easy. It requires courage, discipline, and a willingness to be uncomfortable. But it is entirely within a team’s control. And that’s the point. Mental toughness is not something a team either has or doesn’t have. It’s something it builds through the decisions it makes every day.

The question is simple. What are your team’s behaviours really saying?

If you’re looking for a Keynote on Mental Toughness that sticks, not just on the day but long after, we should talk. I help teams understand and apply Mental Toughness in a way that improves performance and wellbeing. Drop me a message at [email protected] or connect with me on LinkedIn.

www.pennymallory.co.uk