The five dysfunctions of a team

Patrick Lencioni

The first dysfunction is an absence of trust among team members. Essentially, this stems from their unwillingness to be vulunerable within the group. Team members who are not genuinely open with one another about their mistakes and weaknesses make it impossible to build a foundation of trust
The failure to build trust is damaging because it sets the tone for the second dysfunction: fear of conflict. Teams that lack trust are incapable of engaging in unfiltered and passionate debate of ideas. instead, they resort to veiled discussions and guarded comments.
A lack of healthy conflict is a problem because it ensures the third dysfunctions of a team: lack of commitment. Without having aired their opinions in the course of passionate and open debate, team members rarely, if ever, buy in and commit to decisions, though they may feign agreement during meetings.
Because of this lack of real commitment and buy-in, team members develop and avoidance of accountability, the fourth dysfunction. Without committing to a clear plan of action, even the most focused and driven people often hesitate to call their peers on actions and behaviors that seem counterproductive to the good of the team.
Failure to hold one another accountable creates an environment where the fifth dysfunction can thrive. Inattention to results occurs when team members put their individual needs 9such as ego, career development, or recognition) or even the needs or their divisions above the collective goals of the team.

Another way to understand this model is to take the opposite approach - a more positive one - and imagine how members of a truly cohesive team behave:

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

Understanding and overcoming the five dysfunctions

Dysfunction 1: Absence of Trust

Members of teams with an absence of trust...

Conceal their weaknesses and mistakes from one another
Hesitate to ask for help or provide constructive feedback
Hesitate to offer help outside their own areas of responsibility
Jump to conclusions about the intentions and aptitudes of other without attempting to clarify them
Fail to recognize and tap into one another's skills and experiences
Waste time and energy managing their behaviours for effect
hold grudges
Dread meetings and find reasons to avoid spending time together

Members of trusting teams...

Admit weaknesses and mistakes
Ask for help
Accept questions and input about their areas of responsibility
Give one another the benefit of the doubt before arriving at a negative conclusion
Take risks in offering feedback and assistance
Appreciate and tap into one another's skills and experience
Focus time and energy on important issues not politics
Offer and accept apologies without hesitation
Look forward to meetings and other opportunities to work as a group

Dysfunction 2: Fear of Conflict

Teams that fear conflict...

have boring meetings
Create environments where back-channel politics and personal attacks thrive
Ignore controversial topics that are critical to team success
Fail to tap into all the opinions and perspectives of team members
Waste time and energy with posturing and interpersonal risk management

Teams that engage in conflict...

Have lively, interesting meetings
Extract and exploit the ideas of all team members
Solve problems quickly
Minimize politics
Put critical topics on the table for discussion

Dysfunction 3: Lack of Commitment

Teams that fail to commit...

Creates ambiguity among the team about direction and priorities
Watches windows of opportunity close due to excessive analysis and unnecessary delay
Breeds lack of confidence and fear of failure
Revisits discussions and decisions again and again
Encourages second-guessing among team members

A team that commits...

Creates clarity around direction and priorities
Aligns the entire team around common objectives
Develops an ability to learn from mistakes
Takes advantage of opportunities before competitors do
Moves forward without hesitation
Changes direction without hesitation or guilt

Dysfunction 4: Avoidance of Accountability

A team that avoids accountability...

Creates resentment among team members who have different standards of performance
Encourages mediocrity
Misses deadlines and key deliverables
Places an undue burden on the team leader as the sole source of discipline

A team that holds one another accountable...

Ensures that poor performers feel pressure to improve
Identifies potential problems quickly by questioning one another's approaches without hesitation
Establishes respect among team members who are held to the same high standards
Avoids excessive bureaucracy around performance management and corrective action

Dysfunction 5: Inattention to Results

A team that is not focused on results...

Stagnates/fails to grow
Rarely defeats competitors
Loses achievement-oriented employees
Encourages team members to focus on their own careers and individual goals
Is easily distracted

Members of teams with an absence of trust...

Retains achievement-oriented employees
Minimizes individualistic behaviour
Enjoys success and suffers failure acutely
Benefits from individuals who subjugate their own goals/interests for the good of the team
Avoids distractions