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420: The Hidden Force Pulling Your Team Apart (and How to Reverse It) with Matt Poepsel

August 11, 2026 · 30 min

Show notes

Your team isn't falling apart because something went wrong. It's falling apart because that's what teams do by default, drifting toward disconnection unless someone actively counteracts it. Lucky for us, there are four forces that pull people back together. Discover the fast, free actions any manager can take this week to stop the drift before it costs you your best people.


Guest Bio

Matt Poepsel, PhD is the author of Expand the Circle: Enlightened Leadership for Our New World of Work and host of the Lead the People podcast. He serves as Vice President & Godfather of Talent Optimization at The Predictive Index. He holds a PhD in Psychology, an MBA, and a Harvard Business School Certificate of Management Excellence. Matt is a part-time faculty member at Boston College where he teaches in the areas of leadership, human resources, and business spirituality.


Conversation Topics

  • (00:00) Introduction: Why Teams Naturally Drift Apart
  • (01:19) Team Entropy: Why Cohesion Doesn't Happen by Accident
  • (09:46) Counterforce #1 — Creating Hope Through a Shared Future
  • (12:46) Counterforce #2 — Building Mutuality Through Fairness and Transparency
  • (17:17) Counterforce #3 — Strengthening Commitment by Investing in Team Identity
  • (24:43) Counterforce #4 — Creating Synchrony So Teams Work Together Smoothly
  • (27:55) The Manager Who Got It Right & Final Leadership Takeaways


Additional Resources

✨ Read the full transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qGzsoaFZ-5Dz7a8-X8AQEmYHxFrfqAj6q-pziO5kksg/edit?usp=sharing

✨ Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leadershipwithmamie/

✨ Visit my website for more: https://www.themodernmanager.com/

✨ Subscribe to my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7jhYz8b16g1SsLia4EhO5w?sub_confirmation=1


Keep Up with Matt Poepsel

  • Website: http://mattpoepsel.com/
  • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattpoepsel/
  • Book: Expand the Circle: Enlightened Leadership for Our New World of Work: https://a.co/d/08N6iDTp
  • Podcast: Lead the People: https://www.mattpoepsel.com/podcasts/lead-the-people

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The Modern Manager is a leadership podcast that helps you close the gap between knowing what good management is and actually doing it.

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