How do I fix a team where deadlines don't matter?

Commitments slip on your team and nothing happens. Deadlines pass, promises go unmet, and there is no consequence. So everyone has quietly learned that the dates are soft, and your reliable people are carrying the unreliable ones until they burn out. You can see the cost, and it is landing on the wrong shoulders. The hard truth is that accountability is set by what you tolerate, not by what you announce. When a missed commitment costs nothing, the team correctly concludes that commitments are optional. This is not a character problem in your people. It is a signal problem, and the signal has been coming from the top, which means it can be changed from there too. Start small and specific. Next time someone commits to a date, follow up on it out loud, and if it slips, ask about it directly and kindly, in a way that shows the date was real. Not punishment, just attention. When people see that commitments are noticed, they start to mean them again. You rebuild accountability one kept promise at a time.