It was my first meeting with this team. We’d been talking about what to do next for forty-five minutes. The discussion bounced around several times, while two team mates with strong opinions dominated the conversation. I had trouble getting a word in edgewise.

What’s that expression? “Hindsight is always 20/20.”

If only we had eyes to see. If only we had eyes to see inside our team. If only we had eyes to see the health of our team.

If only we could have seen the weaknesses, the gaps . . . perhaps we would have been able to save our team, our work, our project, and ourselves from all the pain and hardship.

Our team was young and grew fast. We went from four to ten in six months. We had colleagues ranging from age 19 to age 60—some with decades of overseas experience and some without a single day.

We needed help, and we didn’t know it.

We needed eyes to see. We needed a tool, a resource, a coach.

Our team didn’t make it. Only a few months after growing exponentially, our team and our project exploded and died. There were casualties along the way.

It could have all been avoided.

If only we would have known. If only we could have seen. “Hindsight is always 20/20.” If only we would have known the path to take, the road to walk on to build a healthy team.

We first arrived in Morocco with two little boys, ages three and five, in tow. Imagine the scene—piles of suitcases, hungry children, sleep-deprived parents. Our boss and his family were out of the country on vacation, and…