The hidden risk of building a leadership team with people you know

You’ve worked together before. You trust each other. You know how the other person thinks under pressure. On paper, it’s the safest move.

In many ways, it is. Shared history creates speed—faster decisions, candid conversations, less time decoding intent. When CEOs bring former colleagues into senior roles, baseline trust feels like rocket fuel.

But familiarity also introduces a hidden risk that undermines executive teams far more often than leaders anticipate.

What...