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This paper argues that top-team consulting can be derailed by a collusive fantasy of creating a ‘dream team’ for the organisation. Consultants need to understand the psychological role of the top team and how unconscious dynamics can lead the team off task. A consultant called in to work with the team, may be invited into an unconscious collusion by the CEO, even when the ostensible contract is for ‘expert’ consulting, such as strategy development. An understanding of the dynamics of the team and the ‘dream team’ fantasy that the consultant is invited to share, is used to draw out some of the implications for how the consultant takes up their role. This is explored by using case material to illustrate this in practice. The paper concludes that this knowledge should not be restricted to process consultants with a ‘soft’ focus, but are necessary for the ‘expert’ consultant to acknowledge if they are to be able to work with top teams successfully. Thus, top-team interventions are argued to be more effective when they combine attention to the dual aspects of the group's strategic task and its contextual and internal dynamics.