The FIVE DYSFUNCTIONS of a TEAM

by PATRICK LENCIONI

Prashant Rajopadhye
Zahid Maqsood
Jean Pierre Clement
Miguel Edwards
The FIVE DYSFUNCTIONS of a TEAM
by PATRICK LENCIONI

Absence of Trust
The FIVE DYSFUNCTIONS of a TEAM
by PATRICK LENCIONI

Members of teams with an absence of trust…

-Conceal their weakness and mistakes from one another
-Hesitate to ask for help or provide constructive feedback
-Hesitate to offer help outside their own area of responsibility
-Fail to recognize and tap into one another’s skills and
experience
-Hold grudges
-Dread meetings and find reasons to avoid spending time
together
The FIVE DYSFUNCTIONS of a TEAM
by PATRICK LENCIONI

Overcoming absence of trust

• Personal Histories Exercise
• Team Effectiveness Exercise
• Personality and Behavioral Presence Profile
• 360- Degree Feedback
• Leader role
The FIVE DYSFUNCTIONS of a TEAM
by PATRICK LENCIONI

Members of trusting teams….

- Admit weaknesses and mistakes
-Ask for help
-Take risk in offering feedback and assistance
-Appreciate and tap into one another’s skills and experiences
-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
The FIVE DYSFUNCTIONS of a TEAM
by PATRICK LENCIONI

Fear of Conflict
Absence of Trust
The FIVE DYSFUNCTIONS of a TEAM
by PATRICK LENCIONI

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 perspective of team members
• Waste time and energy with posturing and interpersonal risk management
The FIVE DYSFUNCTIONS of a TEAM
by PATRICK LENCIONI

Teams that engage in conflict ...

• Have lively, interesting meetings
• Extract and exploit the ideas of all team members
• Solve real problems quickly
• Minimize politics
• Put critical topics on the table for discussion
The FIVE DYSFUNCTIONS of a TEAM
by PATRICK LENCIONI

Overcoming Fear of Conflict…

• Acknowledge that conflict is productive, and that many teams
have a tendency to avoid it.
• Mining Team Members must occasionally assume the role of a
“miner of conflict” -- someone who extracts buried disagreements
within the team and sheds the light of day on them.
• Ream-Time Permission Team members need to coach one
another not to retreat from healthy debate. Remind them what they
are doing is necessary.
• Other Tools Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument (TKI)
The FIVE DYSFUNCTIONS of a TEAM
by PATRICK LENCIONI

Lack of Commitment

Fear of Conflict
Absence of Trust
The FIVE DYSFUNCTIONS of a TEAM
by PATRICK LENCIONI

A Team that lacks commitment…

•Create ambiguity on direction and priorities
•Misses opportunity by too much analysis and
delay
•Breeds lack of confidence and fear of failure
•Discusses and reviews decision again and again
•Encourage second guessing among team
members
The FIVE DYSFUNCTIONS of a TEAM
by PATRICK LENCIONI

Teams that are committed…

• Have clear directions and priorities
• Are aligned around objectives
•Develop an ability to learn from mistakes
•Seize opportunities before the competition
•Moves forward without hesitation
•Changes direction without hesitation or guilt
The FIVE DYSFUNCTIONS of a TEAM
by PATRICK LENCIONI

Overcoming Lack of Commitment…

• Cascading messaging: reformulate action plan, communicate
quickly and comprehensively, and align the meetings with each
other
•Set and honor deadlines, including interim milestones.
•Contingency and worst case scenario analysis: remove the fear
from mistakes
•Low-risk exposure therapy: practice quick decision making with
limited analysis
The FIVE DYSFUNCTIONS of a TEAM
by PATRICK LENCIONI

Avoidance of
Accountability

Lack of Commitment

Fear of Conflict
Absence of Trust
The FIVE DYSFUNCTIONS of a TEAM
by PATRICK LENCIONI

A Team that avoids accountability…

•Creates resentment and different performance standards
•Encourage mediocrity
•Misses deadlines and deliverables
•Push all the burden of discipline to the leader
The FIVE DYSFUNCTIONS of a TEAM
by PATRICK LENCIONI

Teams that are committed…

• Ensure that poor performers feel pressure to improve
• Identify quickly problem by questioning one’s approach without
hesitation
•Establish respect among the team who are held to the same
standard
•Avoid excessive bureaucracy around performance management
and corrective action
The FIVE DYSFUNCTIONS of a TEAM
by PATRICK LENCIONI

Overcoming Avoidance of Accountability…

• Publication of goals and standards: no one can ignore them and
we know who is responsible for what
• Progress review simple and regular: team member should
comment on their peer performance against objectives and
standards
• Reward team instead of individuals
• Do not relegate accountability to consensus approach: shared
team responsibility with individual responsibility
The FIVE DYSFUNCTIONS of a TEAM
by PATRICK LENCIONI

Inattention
to Results

Avoidance of
Accountability

Lack of Commitment

Fear of Conflict
Absence of Trust