Even if you’ve managed to avoid getting sucked into The Traitors and losing the 10 + hours of your time to it, you’ve probably heard the chatter: Capes. Candlelight. Claudia in sequins. A castle full of people trying to spot who’s secretly stabbing them in the back – what’s not to love?
But beyond the drama, tears and plotting over porridge, The Traitors is basically a masterclass in group psychology. It’s got everything a founder needs to understand about trust, communication and how fragile team dynamics can be when people stop feeling safe.
And while your office might not have a round table or a daily “banishment ceremony” (tempting though that might be!), every workplace has its own version of Faithfuls, Traitors and the grey area in between.
Trust: the invisible glue that holds it all together
The most interesting thing about The Traitors isn’t who wins, it’s how people behave when trust starts to wobble or when they’re put under the microscope. Once suspicion creeps in, logic goes out the window. If you’ve heard just one round of explanations of why someone has acted ‘suspiciously’, you’ll have seen just how flimsy any ‘evidence’ is for voting someone out. People draw conclusions from the most spurious of observed behaviours, communication breaks down, alliances crumble, and emotions run the show. Sound familiar?
In businesses, the same thing happens when team members don’t trust each other or their leaders. People start holding back ideas, avoiding accountability or second-guessing motives. Decisions slow down, meetings get tense and “just checking in” emails multiply by the dozen.
Trust isn’t a fluffy concept; it’s the quiet foundation that allows speed, creativity and accountability to exist. And once it’s cracked, it takes more than an apology and a croissant to rebuild.
As leaders, that means creating what psychologists call psychological safety — an environment where people can be honest without fear of humiliation or punishment. It’s the difference between someone saying “I’ve made a mistake” versus keeping quiet and hoping no one notices.
Inclusion: the antidote to groupthink
One of the big dynamics in The Traitors is how quickly the group falls into “us vs them” thinking. Once a few loud voices dominate, it’s game over for quieter contributors. The Faithfuls, desperate for consensus, often gang up on whoever seems different, emotional or slightly out of sync.
Swap the castle for your company’s Monday meeting and you’ll see the same thing play out. Someone with a different communication style, background or approach can be misread as “not a team player” — and quietly side-lined.
This is where the I in your MAGIC framework comes in: inclusion. Creating space for different perspectives isn’t just the right thing to do — it makes teams sharper and more resilient. The best leaders make a habit of asking, “Whose voice haven’t we heard yet?” or “What might we be missing here?”
When everyone feels seen and safe to contribute, the team makes better decisions — and you’re far less likely to end up metaphorically “banishing” your best thinkers.
Accountability: how to spot (and stop) subtle sabotage
Every series of The Traitors gives us a few master manipulators — charming, calm, and brilliant at diverting blame. In the real world, we call this corporate sabotage lite. It’s the team member who quietly spreads doubt about a project, deflects feedback, or avoids owning their mistakes.
Accountability doesn’t mean finger-pointing — it’s about clarity. Everyone should know what’s expected of them, how success is measured, and what happens if things go off-track. When expectations are vague, so is responsibility — and that’s when “traitor energy” creeps in.
As a founder, one of your biggest jobs is to model accountability from the top. Admit when you get it wrong. Ask what you could have done differently. Celebrate people who take ownership rather than hide behind process. It sets a tone that says: we don’t need perfect people, we need honest ones.
Communication: how suspicion fills a silence
If there’s one thing The Traitors teaches us, it’s that when people don’t talk, stories fill the gap. Half the drama of the show is people whispering about what they think they saw. In teams, the same thing happens — just with fewer cloaks and more Slack threads.
When leaders don’t communicate clearly or regularly, people make up their own narratives. That’s how a simple restructure becomes “the company’s in trouble” or a quiet founder becomes “something must be wrong”.
You can’t stop gossip entirely (it’s human), but you can drown out speculation with openness. Regular updates, visible decision-making and explaining why things are changing are simple but powerful trust-builders.
What founders can take from all this
Watching The Traitors is a fun reminder that human behaviour doesn’t change much — whether we’re in medieval castles or co-working spaces. Teams thrive when they feel included, trusted and informed. They fall apart when they feel ignored, judged or blamed.
The best leaders don’t waste energy pretending mistrust doesn’t happen — they get curious about it. They ask what’s fuelling the doubts, surface the elephants in the room, and create small rituals that keep the connection alive.
In the end, The Traitors isn’t really about deceit — it’s about belonging. The players who do well are those who form genuine connections, listen more than they talk, and balance self-interest with collective success, exactly what you want from any high-performing team.
Final thought
You might not be cloaked in black at breakfast, but you’ll definitely recognise a few Faithfuls and Traitors in your own workplace. The trick is spotting which is which — and creating a culture where trust wins out over fear.
If you’d like help strengthening that culture in your business — or just making sure no one’s plotting your “banishment” — drop us a line at hello@thehrhub.co.uk or call 0203 951 1208.
Or for more insights on building calm, capable teams, have a read of my book, The MAGIC of HR.
