Making a team high performing – i.e. high-functioning, collaborative, cohesive, aspiring, engaging – requires self-discipline, courage and stamina. Lencioni’s ‘The Five Dysfunctions of a Team’ (2002) dives into how to create a well-functioning team, and is an instrumental read in helping professional services organisations reach their full potential. According to Lencioni, “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. In essence, teammates must get comfortable being vulnerable with one another.”

A firm in trouble

The first part of Lencioni’s bestseller tells the fictional story about DecisionTech, a Silicon Valley-based firm in deep trouble. Kathryn is a 57-year old traditional manager who has a “an amazing gift for building teams”. However, “what she could not have known when she accepted the job, however, was just how dysfunctional her executive team was, and how they would challenge her in ways that no one before had ever done.” (p. 18) Slowly she succeeds in showing her colleagues – who failed to have worked as a cohesive unit – that teamwork is key to overcome any organisational shortcomings. 

Lencioni’s 5 dysfunctions

The second part of the book zooms in on Lencioni’s “five dysfunctions". Throughout the fable of Kathryn’s journey towards team-based leadership, Lencioni sums up the five dysfunctions that are impeding the firm’s growth:

• Dysfunction 1: The Absence of Trust

The fear of being vulnerable prevents the building of trust. In this case, managers can ask help from their team members when admitting their own weaknesses. Once the team manager takes the lead, others will hopefully follow. Repeat this cycle and trust will slowly become the foundation of the pyramid.

In a nutshell, members of trusting teams:

o   Admit weaknesses and mistakes

o   Ask for help

o   Accept questions and input about their areas of responsibility

o   Give one another the benefit of the doubt before arriving at a negative conclusion

o   Take risks in offering feedback and assistance

o   Appreciate and tap into one another’s skills and experiences

o   Focus time and energy on important issues, not politics

o   Offer and accept apologies without hesitation

o   Look forward to meetings and other opportunities to work as a group (p. 197)  

• Dysfunction 2: The Fear of Conflict

Without trust there is no serious debate about important organisational topics. This will affect decision making. Conflicts are therefore helpful in team discussions. Yet, most people tend to fear conflict and hence team members are likely to repress anger or frustration and will avoid confrontation. Therefore, each team member must be able to speak up and provide feedback in an atmosphere of trust. “Trust lies at the heart of a functioning, cohesive team.”(p. 195)

• Dysfunction 3: The Lack of Commitment

  A lack of conflicts results in barriers to commitment in decision making. Subsequently, team members will lack any sense of direction and spend valuable time chasing the wrong objectives. Teams need clarity – clear deadlines, clear decisions and clear communications.

• Dysfunction 4: The Avoidance of Accountability

  Without a clear plan, team members will not feel committed to achieving results. Progress will be slow and the outcome will become mediocre. However, if team members hold one another accountable, difficult issues will be brought to the table. Progress reviews, clear standards and team incentives may be helpful in this process.

• Dysfunction 5: The Inattention to Results

  Often, team members will put their individual interests first, including ego, career development, etc. – ahead of the team goals. This will impede team objectives and hence harm business objectives. Teams whose objectives are built on trust, healthy conflicts and team accountability will be committed to the organisational performance.    

A useful questionnaire

Lencioni’s book ends with a questionnaire to evaluate teams and specifics to help one understand and overcome common shortcomings. Obviously, there are multiple ways to run and coach a team and the book provides actionable steps to overcome dysfunctions among teams. One of the practicalities is the list mentioned in the final pages of the book (p. 222):  

• Annual planning meeting and leadership development retreats (three days, off-site):

Think of budget discussions, major strategic planning overview, leadership training, succession planning, and cascading messaging.

• Quarterly staff meetings (two days, off-site):

Including major goal reviews, financial review, strategic discussions, employee performance discussions, key issue resolution, team development, and cascading messages.

• Weekly staff meetings (two hours, on-site):

A key activity review, goal progress review, sales review, customer review, tactical issue resolution, cascading messages.

• Ad hoc topical meetings (two hours, on-site)

Topics might include strategic issues that cannot be adequately discussed during weekly staff meetings.

On a final note

Teamwork is about practicing a small set of principles over a long period of time, Lencioni says. “Success is not a matter of mastering subtle, sophisticated theory, but rather of embracing common sense with uncommon levels of discipline and persistence.” The book is a must-read for teams willing to achieve their goals – it indeed takes ‘teamwork to make the dream work’.

 About the book

“The Five Dysfunctions of a Team – A Leadership Fable” (first edition) by Patrick Lencioni was published by Jossey-Bass (2002) and forms the foundation for his “The Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team” system.

 About the author

Patrick Lencioni (1965) is founder and president of The Table Group, a firm dedicated to providing organisations with ideas, products and services that improve organisational teamwork, and employee engagement. Website: www.tablegroup.com.