Odysseus. A man of many turns, so says Homer in the first line of The Odyssey.

And he truly is a many-turned man, both in his journey and identity. He’s a father, husband, warrior, strategist, king, and beggar. He’s everybody and Nobody.

He’s also a leader. A pretty terrible one, at that.

If we look at the relationship between Odysseus and his crew in Christopher Nolan’s box-office-breaking blockbuster, there’s a lot to learn about trust within teams. Namely, how leaders lose it and the resulting consequences.

Active trust is the most critical ingredient for building resilient organizations (or fleets) that can thrive in the complexity of today’s market (or the Mediterranean Sea). It leads to less stress, more energy, more engagement, and higher productivity.

When that trust ruptures? Teams become vulnerable to dysfunction.

Here are a few lessons from Odysseus’s journey that business teams can learn from…and hopefully avoid the same outcomes:

1. Harboring information—no matter how bad—can destabilize a team

When Odysseus hears a prophecy that all his men will die, he keeps the information to himself, believing he can formulate a plan to save everyone.

Candid comms? Non-existent. And the team knows something is up. By the time Odysseus realizes he needs to tell them the truth, the trust is already gone.

Leaders often discover information that’s hard to tell their team. Layoffs, reorgs, shifting priorities. Maybe they even have valid reasons to keep it hidden. But when leaders aren’t honest, trust still erodes. Walls go up. Backchannel conversations take over. Teams feel unstable, and so does the org.

How to fix it: Candid Comms! Share information—even bad news—regularly and frequently. Be honest, openly admit if there’s info you can’t share or don’t know, and then focus on the best step forward.

2. The narrow-minded pursuit of a goal can backfire

Odysseus knows what he wants—to get himself and his crew home—and he will stop at nothing to achieve it. That mindset actually holds him back.

The goal itself isn't the problem. It’s the linearity with which he pursues it.

He makes decisions in pursuit of his goal that harm team trust: leaving men behind, not honoring their bodies when they pass, not telling the crew about the prophecy. He ignores the humans along the way and dismisses moments where he needs to course-correct.

Leaders are responsible for guiding teams toward a desired outcome. But if you’re so focused on the end goal that you make decisions that harm team dynamics, the goal will get further away.

How to fix it: When one giant goal is taking the spotlight, break it down into Small Bets. This allows you to experiment, learn, and pivot where needed to avoid getting stuck on a path that’s not working.

3. One leader’s hubris can destroy psychological safety

Odysseus is known for his tactical genius and brilliant plans, a reputation that leads him to regularly disregard his crew’s counsel. They learn that input isn’t welcome, which builds frustration and breaks down trust…eventually leading to mutiny.

Ego can be hard to tame, especially in high-power roles. But brushing off your team’s ideas and feedback harms interpersonal relationships and business goals.

When a team doesn’t feel like their ideas matter, they stop offering them up. Innovation stalls. Star talent leaves. Instead, leaders need to invite feedback (and act on it) to create an environment with strong psychological safety.

How to fix it: Schedule time for regular Retrospectives where team members can discuss what’s going well, what’s not, and what to do differently.

At August, we say that trust is built in teaspoons and lost in buckets.

While a breach of trust may happen overnight, rebuilding it takes time, patience, and deep commitment at every level. But the best part of building trust in teaspoons is that you don’t need to have everything figured out before you begin. You just need to start small and stay committed.

At risk of angering the gods with my own hubris, maybe if Odysseus implemented some trust-building practices from August’s toolkit, he could’ve gotten his crew home despite the prophecy…and Poseidon’s curse…and the numerous mythical monsters…

You know what, maybe the simple, repeatable habits are best kept in the workplace, not Ancient Greece.

Karina Mangu-Ward

Partner, August Public

Most teams trying AI start with a tool and hope a habit forms.

We think it works better the other way around: start with a real problem your team has, design a small experiment around it, and let the useful thing earn its place.

Our next AI Learning Lab is just around the corner, and will feature some of the strategies we’ve used to experiment with AI in ways that create immediate value:

Designing A Team-Based AI Experiment on August 11 @ 1 PM EDT

This will be a working session, not a webinar, so bring a problem your team keeps stepping around and we’ll tackle it together.

As a reminder, these labs are for people leaders navigating AI adoption inside their teams, who understand the basics and are eager to dig into harder questions: Where is the real value? What does this mean for team design? What does it take to purposefully absorb AI into your org?

We hope to see you there!