The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, by Patrick Lencioni
My notes on this classic fable about how even the most talented teams fail.
📣 REMINDER: Coming up on Wednesday, May 31st, I will be cohosting a live book talk on Crucial Conversations with
, editor of . Come join us!It’s amazing how a relatively simple story of a struggling team can strike so many chords. The characters involved are simplified sketches of real, complex people. Yet their interpersonal dynamics (and behaviors) are familiar to anyone who has spent time working with others in (most) professional environments.
How we naturally avoid holding our peers accountable for delivering excellent work.
How our lack of trust leads many of us to hide our weaknesses, essentially avoiding asking for the help we need to improve.
How our desire for status (team status or individual status) can easily get in the way of really working toward a common goal … and how that is amplified in the face of ambiguity.
My summary (below) focuses on the core concepts for those seeking a refresher. The story in this book, however, is essential for truly understanding the concepts in action. If you don’t yet own a copy of this book, buy it now for yourself. And your team. Here are the links for Amazon or Bookshop.
Introduction
As Lencioni summarizes, teamwork is “the ultimate competitive advantage, both because it is so powerful and so rare.” Dysfunction is common because people are imperfect. While the principles behind strong teams are simple, they are also difficult to put into consistent practice (especially when we are often overwhelmed by “the pace of work and the volume of daily distractions [which] make even the simplest of tasks seem arduous”).
The Five Dysfunctions
[Note the book starts with the story and wraps by describing the Five Dysfunctions; I am presenting my notes in the opposite order. Also, the book includes a valuable team assessment which you can use to diagnose these behaviors within your team. See their website for more information: www.tablegroup.com/dysfunctions]
First Dysfunction: Absence of Trust
Evidence for this dysfunction: people displaying invulnerability in their interactions. In the context of team building, having trust means “confidence among team members that their peers' intentions are good, and that there is no reason to be protective or careful around the group.” (In other words, trust is not about being able to predict a person’s behavior, e.g. trusting someone to do something.) Some tips:
Peers must be able to recognize “weaknesses, skill deficiencies, interpersonal shortcomings, mistakes, and requests for help” with each other. Only when this is possible can people focus wholly on their work and not on protecting themselves.
Strategies to cultivate trust: a) sharing non-intrusive personal histories; b) sharing their greatest strength and biggest weakness with supporting the team; c) discussing their personality profiles (e.g. Six Types of Working Genius, Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, or Everything DiSC); and d) collecting & processing 360-degree feedback (focused on development; not as a basis for performance evaluation or compensation).
Example non-intrusive personal history prompts: “Hometown? Number of kids in the family? Interesting childhood hobbies? Biggest challenge growing up? First job?” —> Brings people together surprisingly well.
Remember (within exercises): you can’t force vulnerability in answers, but you can ensure that any responses are supportive and constructive.
Leaders must lead from the front, demonstrating (not feigning) vulnerability themselves and reinforcing a culture where vulnerability is not punished.
Second Dysfunction: Fear of Conflict
Evidence for this dysfunction: artificial harmony (or unproductive tension). This is magnified when the team lacks trust. The goal is to have passionate ideological conflict, which “is limited to concepts and ideas, and avoids personality-focused, mean-spirited attacks.” This type of debate makes meetings less boring (side note: seek to make meetings as interesting as movies), is more effective at getting to the heart of key issues, and leads to faster decisions with no residual hurt feelings. Some tips:
If conflict doesn’t feel slightly uncomfortable, it’s not yet conflict. (We have an inclination to avoid discomfort, in part out of fear of hurting others’ feelings).
Red flag: when someone asks to take the issue “off-line.” This is a euphemism for avoidance.
Fundamental goal: conflict around ideas, not around people.
Good conflict avoids politics (“when people choose their words and actions based on how they want others to react rather than based on what they think”).
Embrace honest resistance - it’s the kind of productive conflict you’re seeking to elicit.
Strategies to cultivate productive conflict: a) invite people to mine the discussion for buried disagreements to bring them to light; b) remind people (in the uncomfortable moment) how useful and necessary conflict is; c) help people learn about their natural tendencies regarding conflict (e.g. from tools like the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument).
Leaders must stop prematurely interrupting conflict (usually done to protect people from harming their relationships). Exercise restraint and keep it focused on the ideas (only interject if it devolves into personal attacks).
Third Dysfunction: Lack of Commitment
Evidence for this dysfunction: ambiguity. This is magnified when the team fears conflict, which is the best way to ensure everyone contributes fully to the decision (even if not made by consensus). A team that embraces commitment “makes clear and timely decisions and moves forward with complete buy-in from every member of the team, even those who voted against the decision.” Some tips:
Red flags: a) aiming for consensus (instead, consider all perspectives and rally behind the best decision); b) aiming for certainty (instead, seek to act boldly while knowing you may be wrong).
Persistent discord and misalignment between functional teams is usually a downstream result of the executive team’s inability to commit to clear decisions
Strategies for cultivating commitment: a) finish each staff meeting by reviewing key decisions and aligning on what needs to be communicated to other teams; b) set (and honor) clear deadlines; c) set contingency plans (if you struggle to be decisive); and d) hone your decisiveness on lower-risk issues first.
Leaders must develop their own comfort “with the prospect of making a decision that ultimately turns out to be wrong.” [Also, the leader must be ready to disagree and commit to their team when relevant.]
Fourth Dysfunction: Avoidance of Accountability
Evidence for this dysfunction: low standards. This is magnified when the team lacks commitment, because others haven’t bought into the standards. Accountability is different from empowerment in that it centers around team members being willing to “call each other on performance or behaviors that might hurt the team.” Some tips:
Opt for embracing interpersonal discomfort over politics. Seek to “enter the danger.”
Individuals often avoid holding each other accountable out of fear of damaging the relationship. However, this failure leads to resentment, erosion of standards, and loss of trust.
Cultivate constructive peer pressure to maintain excellence. One side benefit is that it also helps to avoid reliance on top-down performance management (when peers handle it instead).
Lencioni captures the reality well: “Some people are hard to hold accountable because they are so helpful. Others because they get defensive. Others because they are intimidating. I don’t think it’s easy to hold anyone accountable, not even your own kids.”
Strategies for cultivating accountability among team members: a) publicly commit to goals and standards of behavior; b regularly check in for team members to hear how peers think they are doing against stated objectives and standards; and c) rewarding team-level performance rather than individual performance.
Leaders must cultivate accountability between peers so they don’t rely on the leader to handle the discomfort for them. [However, I assume the leader sets the accountability bar by example.]
As Lencioni captures perfectly: a good team will “challenge each other about what they are doing, how they are spending their time, and whether they are making enough progress. [….] Push with respect, and under the assumption that the other person is probably doing the right thing.”
Fifth Dysfunction: Inattention to Results
Evidence for this dysfunction: when people care more about something other than the collective goals of the group, such as status or ego. This is magnified when peers fail to hold each other accountable for their contributions (and also when the group is ambiguous about what they are trying to accomplish together). Results are usually captured as the ultimate desired outcomes of the business. Some tips:
Misalignment of goals typically lean toward a) team status (being more concerned about belonging with the team, with “achievement of specific results as desirable but not worth the inconvenience”); or b) individual status (seeking to enhance their own position at the expense of the team).
Strategies: a) publicly declare the results you’re seeking; and b) reward the achievement of (collective) results over individual achievement.
Leaders must keep the team focused on results and call out behaviors which deviate from this focus (including their own).
As Lencioni concludes: “Teamwork ultimately comes down to practicing a small set of principles over a long period of time. Success is not a matter of mastering subtle, sophisticated theory, but rather of embracing common sense with uncommon levels of discipline and persistence.” Doing this helps us overcome our natural inclinations which make high quality teamwork so elusive.
The Fable
[In the bulk of the book, Lencioni provides a fictional story to illustrate a team navigating their journey from dysfunction to cohesion. It centers around Kathryn, who takes over as CEO of DecisionTech. While each of the members of her executive team is somewhat of a caricature, as a narrative it is a highly effective way to demonstrate the key concepts being applied.]
Observations from Parts 1 & 2 - Introducing concepts to the team
As a new leader, take time to observe the existing team in action to see how they operate and work with each other before introducing new ways of working.
Moments of truth (tests of your resolve) are best handled face-to-face, even if started via email.
Good framing (when reinforcing your decision in light of opposition): “I understand your opinion, and I’m fine with you disagreeing with me, especially when you tell me face-to-face.”
It is difficult to change fundamental behaviors of a team, however talented they might be.
Recognize when you need to “enter the danger” and directly confront behavior that you are trying to root out. Don’t miss these fleeting opportunities. Acknowledge the issue as a behavioral issue (which can be changed).
When conflict does arise, resist the temptation to make artificial peace by stepping in as a leader and putting people in their place (see Avoidance of Conflict).
The goal is to “create the best team possible, not to shepherd the careers of individuals.”
Learning the concepts alone will never be enough to break long-standing patterns of behavior. Be persistent and practice the concepts within the context of your everyday work.
Observations from Part 3 - Reinforcing concepts and working through consequences
Emphasize the importance of not speaking poorly of people who aren’t in the room (not okay).
Pay attention to what (and how) people bring information back to their respective teams. That behavior - and those decisions - speak volumes.
Critical for leadership: the executive team (your peers) must be your first and most important team; your functional team you lead is secondary. Lack of loyalty and commitment to your peers leads to downstream disarray and conflict.
When discussing hot topics like resource allocation: “Okay, let’s have this out. And let’s not pretend we’re doing anything wrong. We owe it to our shareholders, and our employees, to figure out the right way to use our money. This is not a religious battle. It’s about strategy.”
Sometimes the best thing is to demystify the mystery. E.g. map out your part of the organization and explain what each team is working on so you can talk about priorities.
Remember: it’s not the toxic employee’s behavior that hurts performance or morale, it’s management’s tolerance of the toxic behavior. Confidently remove them.
Expect departures of even difficult employees to “provoke some degree of mourning and self-doubt among their peers.” Enter the danger and address it head-on.
Observations from Part 4 - Hitting your stride with the concepts
Periodically assess & discuss where you are as a team with respect to the five dysfunctions.
When first adopting this model, anticipate periods where you wonder whether it’s working (before you see tangible results). Find the discipline and persistence to keep going.
Introduce any new hires to the model. Use their joining the team as an opportunity to reinforce the concepts for everyone, and embrace many of the same trust-building exercises.
Remember the ultimate goal from discussions: passionate debates, crystal-clear agreements, and “no sense of lingering bitterness.”