When "Doing Your Part" Isn't Enough: The Hidden Breakdown in Teams and Relationships

In this episode of The Missing Link, host Linda Perry introduces the concept of the "Definition Gap" — the hidden breakdown that occurs when people use the same words but hold completely different meanings for them. Drawing on 17 years in federal courtrooms and 13 years working with founders and leadership teams, Linda argues that most organizational problems — disengagement, accountability failures, poor execution — aren't capability or culture problems at all. They're symptoms of a deeper, upstream issue: nobody ever explicitly aligned on what key words like "ownership," "proactive," or "leadership" actually mean in practice. She walks through how this gap forms, how it silently compounds into belief systems that damage trust, and what leaders can do this week to start closing it.