For many organizations make-or-break projects have become the norm versus the exception. There are a variety of drivers behind this trend, including disruptive innovation, the need for speed across most every business function, and fierce competition in global markets that drives up buyer expectations. Organizations motivated to excel in this environment often respond by investing in and deploying expert teams – and expecting exceptional outcomes from them. For those teams, the pressure to perform comes from a combination of shared accountability, a high-level of scrutiny, and significant consequences of the projects outcome. These expert teams find the combination of high-stakes and elevated expectations to be strongly motivating. Yet, a paradox ensues. The same pressures that motivate these teams to perform, may also result in behaviors that undermine their performance.