Five Dysfunctions of a Team?? Who knew!
Members of a truly cohesive team . . .
1. trust one another
2. engage in unfiltered conflict
around ideas
3. commit to decisions and plans
of action
4. hold one another accountable
for delivering against plans
5. focus on achievement of
collective results
Inattention to
RESULTS
Avoidance of
ACCOUNTABILITY
Lack of COMMITMENT
Fear of CONFLICT
Absence of TRUST
Though this presentation is about
the five dysfunctions of a team,
these dysfunctions should be
flipped around to a positive
approach. If groups can focus on
building up this pyramid and
fighting these dysfunctions, they
can become a team of people
working together effectively for a
common goal.
The dysfunctions are not distinct issues to be dealt with in isolation, but are part of an interrelated model.
Lack of trust:
-Trust in a cohesive team is confidence among peers’ that intentions are good and there is no reason to be protective of
oneself or careful around the group.
-Costs: 1) Wasted time and energy managing behaviors and interactions within the group, 2) Dread of team meetings,
3) Reluctance to ask for or offer assistance, 4) Low morale, 5) High turnover rates
-Ways to overcome lack of trust:
~Personal Histories Exercise
~Personality and Behavioral Preference Profiles
~Experiential Teambuilding Exercises
Fear of Conflict
-Without trust, many teams have members with a fear of conflict or avoid it to spare the feelings of others
-Costs: 1) Being incapable of engaging passionate debate of ideas, 2) Guarded comments,
3) Decision making leading to what may not be the best solution
-Ways to overcome fear of conflict:
~Mining
~Real-time Permission
~Conflict Profiling
Lack of Commitment
-Without trust or the ability to manage conflict, lack of commitment is inevitable
-Costs: 1) Ambiguity among team members, 2) Lack of confidence and fear of failure,
3) Encourages second-guessing among team members, 4) Revisiting of discussions again and again
-Ways to overcome lack of commitment:
~Low-risk exposure therapy
~Deadlines
~Contingency & worst-case scenario analysis
Avoidance of Accountability
-It is extremely difficult to hold others accountable for something that was not bought into or made clear in the beginning.
-Costs: 1) Resentment among team members because of different standards of performance, 2) Mediocrity,
3) Missed deadlines and key “products,” 4) Undue burden on team leader as sole source of discipline
-Ways to overcome avoidance of accountability:
~Publications of goals, standards, and expectations
~Team Rewards
~Simple & regular reviews
Inattention to Results:
-The ultimate dysfunction is team members who care about something other than the collective goals and results
-Costs: 1) Stagnation and lack of growth, 2) Rare “on-purpose” success,
3) Loss of achievement-oriented team members, 4) Encouragement of personal focus
~Ways to overcome inattention to results:
~Public declaration of goals/results
~Results-based awards
~Scoreboard
•
Lencioni, P. (2002). The five dysfunctions of a team: A leadership fable. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
•
Lencioni, P. (2005). Overcoming the five dysfunctions of a team: A field guide for leaders, managers, and facilitators. San Francisco:
Jossey-Bass.