THE 5 DYSFUNCTIONS OF A TEAM : PATRICK LENCIONI (2005)
Nobody’s perfect. Human beings are fallible. This is a fact of life so when we throw several human beings together and instantly call them a “team”, that’s a bit unfair. Get teamwork right, and you can dominate any work task, market, industry. However, such a prize requires much skill. This model explains one approach to evaluate why things go wrong, there are many in existence.
This is about the root causes of politics and dysfunction on teams, and it offers some tools for overcoming them.
Best Advice Lencioni gives:
If you are a leader, start by ensuring your teams trust one another and are comfortable in open conflict. There is no substitute for trust. The technique uses fables to illustrate points and the weighting of each dysfunction is relative.
Enabling a team to be to be functional and cohesive requires levels of courage and discipline that appears to be beyond some. Addressing these dysfunctions starts with 5 simple questions:
- Do team members openly and readily disclose their opinions?
- Are team meetings compelling and productive?
- Does the team come to decisions quickly and avoid getting bogged down by consensus?
- Do team members confront one another about their shortcomings?
- Do team members sacrifice their own interests for the good of the team?
The finest teams/organisations can answer “yes” to all these questions. If no, then address each of the 5 dysfunctions one by one. The prize of getting this right?
- Avoidance of wasted time (talking about wrong issues over and over again)
- Higher quality decision-making;
- More accomplished in less time with less distraction and frustration;
- Retention of star players – they don’t like to leave “excellent” teams!
Top Tips:
This is about embracing common sense not sophisticated theory. Watch the YouTube video referenced overleaf. This is similar to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs but at a team not individual level. Goals and goal setting activities set standards for accountability. Mutual trust and open communication are the foundation stones. Personal histories build trust and spending time together is invaluable for getting things done. Communicate often and openly. It takes time to mature into a top team. Leadership is highly relational. Talent is not enough!
“A single twig breaks, but a bundle of twigs is strong” Chief Tecumseh (supposedly)
Check out the technique on You Tube via: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dRKa700RaQ and then check below to see what sort of team you currently belong to. You might get a surprise!
WHAT BEHAVIOURS DO YOU SEE REGULARLY FROM THE LIST BELOW?
DYSFUNCTIONAL TEAM |
FUNCTIONAL TEAM |
Absence of Trust:
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Trusting Teams:
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Fear of Conflict:
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Healthy Conflict:
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Failure to Commit:
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Strong Commitments:
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Avoiding Accountability:
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Effective Accountability:
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Not Focussed on Results:
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Collective Results:
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