How Not to Build a Team  (adapted from The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Patrick Lencioni, 2002)

Keith Starcher
DayStar Consulting

I would venture a guess that at some point in your life you have either been responsible for a team or have served on a team.  Patrick Lencioni’s fable provides an interesting narrative for how NOT to form a team by leading us through the five dysfunctions of a team.  Let’s face it; there are probably as many possible dysfunctions within a team as there are numbers of teams.  But the author frees us from “analysis paralysis” by focusing our thoughts on a manageable five.

Dysfunction #1 – Absence of Trust

Trust can be likened to a light switch position.  It’s either on or off.  So you can’t really survey your team members and ask them to rank “trust within the team” on a scale of 1-10.  It’s much easier to determine.  Are you ready?  Think about your team within the organization you serve (whether you lead the team or serve on the team).  Do you fully trust each and every member of your team?  Does each member of the team fully trust you?  I’m not talking about the “falling backwards into the arms of your team” type of trust.  I’m talking about a rock-solid, straight-to-the-gut trust.  If you waffle in any way on your answer, your team has a problem. 

You cannot build a cohesive team without trust.  The author defines trust this way, “Trust is the confidence among team members that their peers’ intentions are good, and that there is no reason to be protective or careful around the group.  Teammates are comfortable being vulnerable with one another.”

When team members begin to trust one another, they can “focus their energy and attention completely on the job at hand rather than on being strategically disingenuous or political with one another.” 

By the way, this carries over into our spiritual walk with Christ as well.  Isn’t it strange that we Christians have decided to trust our eternal destiny on Christ and His Word, and yet we many times do not trust Him with our day-to-day lives?

Dysfunction #2 – Fear of Conflict (Leads to Artificial Harmony)

Boy, I wish I had learned this one 30 years ago.  Here’s the principle: the right kind of conflict is beneficial, even necessary, for a team to function well together.  However, an absence of trust on any team will lead to fear of conflict of any sort.  And the lack of productive conflict means the team will not produce the best possible solution in the shortest amount of time.  And how do you recognize “productive” conflict?  Team members emerge “from heated debates with no residual feelings or collateral damage.”  Instead, they’re charged up and eager to meet the latest challenge.  Think about it.  When’s the last time you experienced productive conflict with your team.  Or are your meetings “conflict free?”

Dysfunction #3 – Lack of Commitment (Leads to Ambiguity)

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that Dysfunctions 1 and 2 will lead to #3.  The author also contends that “the desire for consensus and the need for certainty” lead to lack of commitment.  Most of us, if we’re thinking rationally, don’t need to get our way in order to support a decision.  We just need to know that our opinions have been heard and considered.  “Great teams ensure that everyone’s ideas are genuinely considered, which then creates a willingness to rally around whatever decision is ultimately made by the group.”  Also, great teams are willing to commit without perfect information.   

Dysfunction #4 – Avoidance of Accountability (Leads to Low Standards)

Here again the author has a specific definition in mind for accountability: “the willingness of team members to call their peers on performance or behaviors that might hurt the team.”  This dysfunction is usually associated with our general tendency to avoid difficult conversations.  “Members of great teams improve their relationships by holding one another accountable, thus demonstrating that they respect each other and have high expectations for one another’s performance.”  In effect, peer pressure becomes very effective in holding team members to a high level of performance.  No one wants to let down respected teammates.  You can see how you will need to work on the first three dysfunctions before addressing #4.

Dysfunction #5 – Inattention to Results

“The ultimate dysfunction of a team is the tendency of members to care about something other than the collective goals of the group.”  In other words, team members focus on their own careers and individual goals.  Usually, there are more individual incentives than team incentives.  As a result, a great deal of suboptimization occurs (e.g. my department met our goals but the company still lost money last year). 

The author focuses his attention on team building at the executive level, and for good reason.  “Like a vortex, small gaps between executives high up in the organization become major discrepancies by the time they reach the employees below.”

Thus, although this Weekly Insight applies to all teams, it is especially meant for you if you are an executive. 

Remember, effective teams trust one another, engage in unfiltered conflict around ideas, commit to decisions and plans of action, hold one another accountable for delivering against those plans, and focus on the achievement of collective results.

What will you do this week to overcome the dysfunctions of your team? 

Keith

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