Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions of a Team - Patrick Lencioni

Patrick Lencioni’s book, Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions of a Team, is a very helpful and practical guide to overcoming the five most destructive traits in teams and learning how to become and maintain the best team possible. Though this book is primary focused on teams that work together in a secular work place, the information is also very applicable to teams found in churches, non-profits, and even within relationship structures like marriage and family. Patrick writes, “Teamwork remains the one sustainable competitive advantage that has been largely untapped.”

A QUICK OVERVIEW OF THE MODEL

     As difficult as teamwork can be to achieve, it is not complicated. And so, if I can’t describe it in a page or two, then I’ve probably made it too complex. Here goes.
     The true measure of a team is that it accomplishes the results that it sets out to achieve. To do that on a consistent, ongoing basis, a team must overcome the five dysfunctions listed here by embodying the behaviors described for each one.

▲ Dysfunction #1: Absence of Trust: Members of great teams trust one another on a fundamental, emotional level, and they are comfortable being vulnerable with each other about their weaknesses, mistakes, fears, and behaviors. They get to a point where they can be completely open with one another, without filters. This is essential because . . .

▲ Dysfunction #2: Fear of Conflict: . . . teams that trust one another are not afraid to engage in passionate dialogue around issues and decisions that are key to the organization’s success. They do not hesitate to disagree with, challenge, and question one another, all in the spirit of finding the best answers, discovering the truth, and making great decisions. This is important because . . .

▲ Dysfunction #3: Lack of Commitment . . . teams that engage in unfiltered conflict are able to achieve genuine buy-in around important decisions, even when various members of the team initially disagree. That’s because they ensure that all opinions and ideas are put on the table and considered, giving confidence to team members that no stone has been left unturned. This is critical because . . .

▲ Dysfunction #4: Avoidance of Accountability: . . . teams that commit to decisions and standards of performance do not hesitate to hold one another accountable for adhering to those decisions and standards.What is more, they don’t rely on the team leader as the primary source of accountability, they go directly to their peers.This matters because . . .

▲ Dysfunction #5: Inattention to Results: . . . teams that trust one another, engage in conflict, commit to decisions, and hold one another accountable are very likely to set aside their individual needs and agendas and focus almost exclusively on what is best for the team.They do not give in to the temptation to place their departments, career aspirations, or ego-driven status ahead of the collective results that define team success.

That’s it.

The author uses a pyramid structure to illustrate the importance and priority of each dysfunction. The first dysfunction that the team must overcome and is illustrated as the foundation is, “absence of trust.” Trust is the foundation of the team as Lencioni states, “No quality or characteristic is more important than trust.”

KEY POINTS—BUILDING TRUST

▲ Trust is the foundation of teamwork.

▲ On a team, trust is all about vulnerability, which is difficult for most people.

▲ Building trust takes time, but the process can be greatly accelerated.

▲ Like a good marriage, trust on a team is never complete; it must be maintained over time.


Secondly, the most important dysfunction to overcome is the “fear of conflict” because without healthy confrontation the team cannot truly grow past their individual disagreements and unify their best ideas.

KEY POINTS—MASTERING CONFLICT 

▲ Good conflict among team members requires trust, which is all about engaging in unfiltered, passionate debate around issues. 

▲ Even among the best teams,conflict will at times be uncomfortable. 

▲ Conflict norms, though they will vary from team to team, must be discussed and made clear among the team. 

▲ The fear of occasional personal conflict should not deter a team from having regular, productive debate.

Next, “lack of commitment” needs to be overcome because if a team is not equally committed to accomplishing their tasks they will never achieve their goals.

KEY POINTS—ACHIEVING COMMITMENT 

▲ Commitment requires clarity and buy-in. 

▲ Clarity requires that teams avoid assumptions and ambiguity, and that they end discussions with a clear understanding about what they’ve decided upon. 

▲ Buy-in does not require consensus.Members of great teams learn to disagree with one another and still commit to a decision.

Second from the peak is “avoidance of accountability” because for each team member to give his or her best to the team they must be personally assessed, critiqued, and encouraged.

KEY POINTS—EMBRACING ACCOUNTABILITY 

▲ Accountability on a strong team occurs directly among peers. 

▲ For a culture of accountability to thrive, a leader must demonstrate a willingness to confront difficult issues. 

▲ The best opportunity for holding one another accountable occurs during meetings, and the regular review of a team scoreboard provides a clear context for doing so.

Lastly, but not the least important, just simply the last thing to do in an effective team, is to overcome “inattention to results” because without team assessments and goal reviews the team cannot achieve its goals and reach beyond them.

KEY  POINTS — FOCUSING  ON  RESULTS

▲ The true measure of a great team is that it accomplishes the results it sets out to achieve.

▲ To avoid distractions, team members must prioritize the results of the team over their individual or departmental needs.

▲ To stay focused, teams must publicly clarify their desired results and keep them visible.

TEAM PROBLEM SOLVING

The book takes time to give practical insight to establishing each level of the healthy team pyramid by correcting the dysfunctions. In other words, the book instructs the reader on what to do right by avoiding the common pitfalls. The book ends with giving the reader a basic “Team Building Field Plan” regarding how to build a successful team on good practices that will help insure a strong foundation. Most of the insight in the plan is common sense and probably will not strike the reader as, “new information.” However, I do believe the chart and brief description regarding “Conflict Resolution” is very good and insightful.

Basically, Lencioni illustrates getting to the “heart of the matter” with circles within circles getting smaller as one gets closer to the resolution. The four main circles are:

1. Individual Obstacles
2. Relationship Obstacles
3. Environmental Obstacles
4. Informational Obstacles

Therefore, when a team can properly understand and move effectively through the various obstacles they can truly resolve the conflict in a beneficial and efficient way for the team to achieve its goals.