THE FIVE DYSFUNCTIONS OF A TEAM

PATRICK LENCIONI

Translation Prof. Claudio Hornos

THE MODEL

As difficult as it is to build a cohesive team, it is not that complicated.

Whether you lead the Executive Staff of a Multinational Company, a small department within a
large Company, or even if you are merely a member of a team that needs improvement, the key
is to keep the topic as close as possible. simplest possible.

It is in that spirit that we have written the Five Dysfunctions Model to provide you with a clear,
concise and practical guide that allows you to improve your Team.

A LOOK AT THE MODEL

In the course of our experience with Managers or Bosses and their teams, two truths clearly
emerge.

1) The first is that genuine teamwork remains as elusive as it has ever been.
2) The second is that organizations fail to achieve teamwork because they inadvertently fall
into 5 natural but dangerous traps , which we will call the five dysfunctions of a
team.

These dysfunctions can be mistakenly interpreted as five different issues that can be treated in
isolation from each other. But in reality they form an interrelated model , which makes them
potentially lethal to the team's success, even if only one of them fails.

A brief review of each dysfunction and the model they comprise will clarify the issue.

1) The first dysfunction is the ABSENCE OF TRUST between the members of the Team.
Essentially this is a consequence of their willingness not to appear vulnerable within the
group. Team members who are not genuinely honest with each other about their
mistakes and weaknesses make it impossible to build solid foundations for team trust.

2) This failure to build trust is harmful because it sets the stage for the second dysfunction:
FEAR OF CONFLICT . Teams that do not trust each other are unable to engage in a
passionate and open debate of ideas. Instead, they resort to veiled discussions and
cautious or measured comments. This does not lead to good conclusions.

3) The lack of healthy conflict is a problem because it will surely lead us to the third
dysfunction: LACK OF COMMITMENT . When opinions are not made clear in the course
of passionate and open debate, team members rarely “buy in” or commit to decisions
even when they feign agreement during meetings. When they walk away from meetings,
they do not feel committed to the resolutions adopted.

4) Due to this lack of real commitment, team members develop AVOIDANCE OF

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 RESPONSIBILITY , the fourth dysfunction. Without a commitment to a clear plan of
action, even the most focused and energetic people often hesitate to call their peers'
attention to actions and behaviors that seem negative for the good of the group. That
way no one is responsible for anything.

5) Failure to hold each other accountable creates an environment where fifth dysfunction
can thrive. LACK OF ATTENTION TO RESULTS occurs when team members place
their individual needs (such as ego, career development, or personal recognition) or
the needs of their departments above the team's collective goals. In this way the
team's goals are not achieved.

Thus, like a chain with a single broken link, teamwork will deteriorate, even if a single dysfunction
prospers.

Another way to understand this model is to take the opposite approach (the positive one) and
imagine how the members of a truly cohesive team behave .

1) Members trust each other.

2) They are not afraid that the open debate of ideas can produce conflicts.
3) They commit to the decisions and action plans resulting from the meetings.
4) They hold each other responsible if someone goes against those plans.
5) They focus on achieving collective results.

If this all sounds simple, that's because it is simple, at least in theory.

In practice however, it is extremely difficult because it requires levels of discipline and

persistence that few groups can achieve.

Before delving into each of the dysfunctions and exploring ways to overcome them, it is useful to
EVALUATE YOUR TEAM and identify where the opportunities for improvement are in your
organization.

HOW TO UNDERSTAND AND OVERCOME THE FIVE TEAM DYSFUNCTIONS.

YO) DYSFUNCTION 1: ABSENCE OF TRUST

Trust is the basis of a cohesive and active team. Without it, teamwork is impossible.

Unfortunately, the word trust is used (and misused) so often that it has lost some of its impact
and depth. That is why it is important to clarify what trust means.

In the context of building a team, trust is the belief that exists among team members that their
peers' intentions are good , and that there is no reason to be cautious within the group. In
essence, that members can be comfortable being vulnerable with each other. They can trust
each other .

There is another, more common interpretation of the word trust, which focuses on the ability to
predict a person's behavior based on past experience. For example, one can “trust” a certain

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colleague on the team to produce good quality work because he or she has always done so in
the past.

However positive this may be, it does not represent the type of trust that is characteristic of a
good team. The trust we are referring to requires that team members make themselves
vulnerable to each other , trusting that their respective vulnerabilities will not be used
against them. And when we talk about vulnerabilities, we mean weaknesses, skill deficiencies,
mistakes, interpersonal defects, and needs for help.

As simple as this may sound, it is only when team members can feel comfortable being
exposed to each other that they will begin to act without worrying about becoming defensive.
As a result, they will be able to focus all their energy and attention on work, rather than behaving
disingenuously or “politically” toward each other.

Achieving that trust based on vulnerability is difficult because the course of our education and
our work lives have taught us to be competitive with our peers or colleagues, and protective of
our reputation. It is a challenge to deactivate those instincts for the good of the team and that is
what must be achieved.

The costs of failing that mission are great.

Groups that lack trust waste a lot of time and energy trying to manage their aggressive
behaviors and strained relationships within the group. They tend to fear meetings and are
reluctant to take the risk of asking or offering help to others. As a result, morale (climate) in
non-trust groups is low and staff turnover is high.

Characteristics of members of teams with an absence of trust.

1) They hide their weaknesses and mistakes from each other.

2) They resist asking for help or providing positive feedback.

3) They hesitate to offer help outside their areas of responsibility.

4) They jump to conclusions about the intentions and abilities of others without attempting
to clarify.

5) They fail to recognize each other's skills and experiences.

6) They waste time and energy managing their behaviors to impress.

7) They hold grudges.

8) They fear meetings and find reasons to avoid spending time together.

Characteristics of confident team members.

1) They admit their weaknesses and mistakes.

2) They ask for help.
3) They accept questions and proposals about their areas of responsibility.
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 4) They give each other the benefit of the doubt, before reaching negative conclusions.
5) They take risks when offering feedback and assistance.
6) They appreciate and share each other's experiences and skills.
7) They focus time and energy on important issues, not internal politicking.
8) They offer and accept apologies without hesitation.
9) They appreciate meetings and other opportunities to work as a group.

SUGGESTIONS TO OVERCOME DYSFUNCTION 1

How does a group go about building its trust?

Unfortunately, trust based on vulnerability is not achieved overnight. It requires long-term

shared experiences, multiple instances of credibility, and a deep understanding of the attributes
of each team member.

However, a team can dramatically speed up the process and achieve trust in a relatively short
time. Below are some tools that can help you achieve this.

Personal Stories Exercise – In less than an hour, a group can take the first steps toward
developing their confidence. This low-risk exercise requires nothing more than asking a few, not
too personal, questions during a meeting, such as: number of siblings, where you were born and
raised, favorite hobbies, first job, etc. By answering these few questions, group members will
begin to treat each other more cordially, because they will see each other as human beings with
interesting life stories and pasts. This encourages greater empathy and understanding and
discourages inappropriate and unfair behavior.

It's funny how some members know so little about others and how just a small amount of
information begins to lower the barriers. (Minimum time required: 30 minutes).

Group Efficiency Exercise – This exercise is more rigorous and relevant than the previous one,
but may involve more risk. It requires group members to identify the most important contribution
to eliminate, for the good of the group. Then all members provide their opinions, focusing on one
person at a time and usually starting with the team leader.

Although this exercise may seem a little invasive and dangerous at first glance, it is incredible
how manageable it can be and how much useful, constructive and positive information can be
extracted in about an hour. And although the Group Efficiency Exercise already requires a
certain degree of trust to make it useful, even a relatively dysfunctional group can be made to
function with surprisingly little tension. (Minimum time required: 60 minutes).

Personality and Behavior Preference Profiles – Some of the most effective tools for building trust
in a team are these Profiles, since they help lower barriers by allowing people to better
understand and empathize with each other.

The best Profiling tool is the Myers-Briggs Typology Indicator (MBTI). However, there are others
that are also popular. The purpose of most of these tools is to provide practical, scientifically
valid descriptions of behavior according to the different ways in which a person thinks, speaks
and acts.

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Some of their best characteristics are: a) they are not based on value judgments (no type is
better than another, even if they differ substantially), b) they are based on scientific research (not
on astrology) and c) the good active participation of the involved in identifying their own types
(they do not simply receive a computer sheet or test result that dictates their typology).

Many of these tools require the participation of a licensed consultant (psychologist), which is
important to avoid misuse of their powerful implications and applications (minimum time required:
4 hours).

360 Degree Feedback – These tools have become very popular in the past 20 years and can
produce very good results for a team. They are riskier than any tool or exercise described so far
because peers must make specific judgments and provide each other with constructive criticism.
The key to making this work, in my opinion, is to completely divorce it from the Formal Evaluation
and Compensation System. Instead, it should be used as a personal development tool,
allowing employees to identify their weaknesses and strengths without any repercussions. If it is
even slightly connected to the Formal Evaluation and Compensation Systems, the 360-degree
Feedback system can get into a dangerous problem.

Group Field Activities – Group Field activities have lost their luster in the last 10 years, and it
seems rightly so. However, many teams still do them in hopes of building trust. And while there
are certainly some benefits to rigorous and creative Group Field Activities, including support and
cooperation, those benefits do not always translate directly to the world of work. Having clarified
this, we still think that they can be a valuable tool to increase teamwork, to the extent that they
are supported by other processes.

Validity of these tools and exercises – Since these Tools and Exercises may only have a brief
impact on the team's ability to build trust, they must be accompanied by follow-ups in the
course of daily work. Even in a strong team (and perhaps especially because of that) atrophy
can lead to the erosion of trust.

The Role of the Leader

The most important action a leader should take to help build trust in a team is to demonstrate
their vulnerability first. This requires the leader to risk losing face in front of his team, so that his
subordinates will take the same risk themselves. Even more. Team leaders must create an
environment that does not punish vulnerability, not as happens in some teams that, by punishing
the admission of weaknesses or errors by their members, subtly discourage trust.

Finally, vulnerability on the part of the team leader must be genuine, not feigned, because one of
the ways to lose the trust of a team is to feign vulnerability to manipulate the emotions of others.

Connection with Dysfunction 2

How does all of the above relate to the following dysfunction: fear of conflict ?

By building trust, the team makes conflict possible, because its members do not hesitate to
engage in passionate and sometimes emotional debates, knowing that they will not be punished
for saying something that, under other circumstances, would be interpreted as destructive or
critical.

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 II) DYSFUNCTION 2: FEAR OF CONFLICT

All great relationships, those that last a long time, require productive conflict to grow. This is true
in marriage, in parenting, and certainly in business.

Unfortunately, conflict is considered taboo in many situations, especially at work. And the further
up the management chain you go, the more people we find spending time and energy trying to
avoid the kind of passionate debates that are necessary for any great team.

It is necessary to distinguish ideological and productive conflicts from destructive personal fights.

Ideological and productive conflicts are limited to concepts and ideas and avoid malicious
attacks on personality. However, they can have many of the same external qualities of
interpersonal conflict (passion, emotion, and frustration), which can easily lead an outside
observer to mistake it for unproductive discord.

But teams that engage in productive conflict know that the sole purpose is to produce the best
solution in the shortest time possible . They discuss and resolve issues more quickly than
others, and emerge from the hottest debates without residual feelings or collateral damage, but
with eagerness and readiness to attack the next important issue to resolve.

Ironically, teams that avoid ideological conflict often do so to avoid the feelings of their members
and yet end up with dangerous internal tensions . When members do not openly debate and
tell each other their disagreements about important ideas, they often turn to underground
personal attacks , which are much more malicious and damaging than any harsh open
discussion.

It's also ironic that so many people avoid conflict in the name of efficiency, because healthy
conflict is actually a time saver. Contrary to the notion that teams waste time and energy arguing,
teams that avoid conflict condemn themselves to revisiting issues over and over again, with no
final resolution. They ask members to settle their differences outside, which is a euphemism for
avoiding discussing an important topic, only to have the topic come up again at the next meeting.

SUGGESTIONS TO OVERCOME DYSFUNCTION 2

How does a team develop the ability and willingness to engage in healthy conflict? The first step
is to accept that conflict is productive and that many teams tend to avoid it. As long as there are
some members who believe it is unnecessary, there is little chance of it happening. But beyond
simply recognizing this truth, there are some simple methods to make conflict more common and
productive.

“The Mining” – In teams that tend to avoid conflict, there should occasionally be a member who
takes on the role of “conflict miner”: someone who digs through and extracts buried
disagreements in the team and brings them to light. You have to have the courage and
confidence to raise sensitive topics and force the members to work on them. This requires a
degree of objectivity and a commitment to staying with the conflict until it is resolved. Some
teams choose one member and assign this responsibility during a meeting.

Real-Time Permission – During the conflict process, it is necessary to prevent some from

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withdrawing to avoid participating, when they feel uncomfortable with the level of discord. The
leader must be attentive to recognize these symptoms and interrupt to highlight that this
discussion is necessary, although urging people to “calm things down.” As simple as this may
seem, it is an effective tool for draining the tensions produced by a tough but productive
exchange and giving participants confidence to continue. And once the discussion is over, it is
useful to remind participants that the recent conflict is good for the group and should not be
avoided.

Other Tools – As mentioned above, there are a variety of Personality Types and Behavioral
Preferences tools that allow team members to better understand each other. Since most of them
include Conflict Resolution Styles for each Personality Type, they can be helpful in anticipating
your approach.

The Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument , commonly known as TKL, is another tool that
specifically addresses conflict. It allows team members to understand natural inclinations
regarding conflict, so they can make strategic choices regarding which approach is most
appropriate in different situations.

The role of the leader

One of the most difficult challenges a leader faces in promoting healthy or productive conflict is
the desire to protect members from possible harm. This leads to premature interruptions of
disagreement and prevents team members from developing skills to deal with conflict, on their
own. This is similar to parents who overprotect their children from altercations with their siblings.
In many cases this serves only to deform relationships, depriving participants of an opportunity to
develop conflict management skills. It also leaves them anxious for solutions that never come.

Therefore, it is key for leaders to demonstrate restraint when their subordinates enter into conflict
and allow resolution to occur naturally, despite how problematic this may sometimes be. This
can be challenging because many leaders feel that they are somehow failing by losing control of
their teams during conflict.

Finally, as trite as it may sound, the leader's ability to shape appropriate conflict behavior is
essential. When a team leader avoids conflict even though it is necessary and productive
(something many executives do), it can lead to this dysfunction flourishing.

Connection with Dysfunction 3

How does all of the above relate to the next dysfunction, lack of commitment ?

By agreeing to enter into productive conflicts and enter the perspectives and opinions of its
members, the team can confidently compromise and make a decision knowing that it has
benefited from everyone's ideas.

III) DYSFUNCTION 3: LACK OF COMMITMENT

In the context of a team, commitment is a function of two things: clarity and acceptance. Great
teams make clear and timely decisions and move forward with complete acceptance of all their
members, even those who voted against. They leave the meetings confident that no one on the

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team is in doubt about whether they will support the actions that were decided or not.

The two main causes of lack of commitment are: 1) the desire to achieve consensus and 2)
the need for certainty.

1) Consensus – Good teams understand the danger of seeking consensus and find ways to
achieve buy-in even when complete agreement is impossible.

They understand that reasonable human beings do not need to have their way to support
a decision, but only need to know that their opinions were heard and considered. Good
teams ensure that everyone's ideas are genuinely considered, which creates a
willingness to support any subsequent decisions the team makes. And when that is not
possible due to an impasse, the team leader is allowed to assert his authority.

2) Certainty – Good teams also pride themselves on being able to unite behind a decision
and commit to taking action, even if there is little certainty about whether the decision is
the right one. That's because they understand the old military axiom that a decision is
better than no decision. They realize that it is better to make a decision boldly and be
wrong (and then change just as boldly) than to hesitate.

Contrast this with the behavior of dysfunctional teams who beat around the bush and delay their
important decisions until they have enough information to feel confident that they are making the
right decision. Although this seems prudent, it is dangerous because of the paralysis and lack of
trust it creates in the team.

It is important to remember that conflict is often due to an unwillingness to compromise without

perfect information. On many occasions, teams have all the information they need, but it must be
extracted through in-depth debate.

Only when all members have put their opinions and perspectives on the table can the team
confidently commit to a decision, knowing that it has captured the collective wisdom of the entire
group.

Regardless of whether it is caused by a need for consensus or certainty, it is important to

understand that one of the greatest consequences for an executive team that does not commit to
clear decisions will create intractable discord deep within the organization. More than any other
dysfunction, this creates dangerous effects for subordinates .

When an executive team fails to achieve the commitment of all members , even though the
disparities may seem relatively small, employees who report to those executives will
inevitably clash when they try to interpret orders that are not clearly aligned with those of
colleagues. in other departments. Like a vortex, small differences between high-level executives
become large discrepancies when they reach the level of employees below.

A team that fails in commitment….

• Creates ambiguity in the team about direction and priorities.

• “Windows of opportunity” are closed due to excessive analysis and delay
unnecessary.

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 • It generates a lack of confidence and fear of failure.
• Go back to having the same discussions and reviewing decisions, over and over again.
• Encourages second thoughts among team members.

A team that is committed….

• Create clarity about direction and priorities.

• Align the entire team behind common objectives.
• Develop ability to learn from mistakes.
• Take advantage of opportunities before competitors do.
• They move forward without hesitation.
• They change direction without hesitation or guilt when necessary.

SUGGESTIONS TO OVERCOME DYSFUNCTION 3

How does a team ensure commitment?

Take specific steps to maximize clarity and achieve acceptance of decisions, resisting the
temptation of consensus or absolute certainty.

We give below some effective tools and principles.

Cascading Messages – One of the most valuable disciplines a team can adopt, it takes just a
few minutes and is absolutely free. At the end of the meetings the team should explicitly review
the key decisions made during the meeting, and agree on what should be communicated to
employees about those decisions.

What often happens during this exercise is that team members realize that not everyone has the
same understanding of what has been decided, and that they need to clarify specific things
before putting them into action. Furthermore, it is clear to them which decisions should remain
confidential and which should be communicated quickly and widely. Finally, by leaving meetings
clearly aligned with each other, leaders send a powerful message to their employees who have
become accustomed to receiving inconsistent and even contradictory orders from managers who
attended the same meeting. (minimum time required: 10 min.)

Deadlines – As simple as it may seem, one of the best tools to ensure commitment is to use
clear deadlines for when decisions must be made, and honor those dates with discipline and
rigidity. The worst enemy for a team that may suffer from this dysfunction is ambiguity and dates
are one of the most critical factors that must be clear. Furthermore, commitment to decision
deadlines and interim goals is as important as final deadlines, because they ensure that
misalignment among team members is identified early before the costs become too expensive.

Analysis of the Worst Scenario and different contingencies – A team struggling to achieve
commitment can overcome this problem by discussing contingency plans or better yet by
clarifying what is the worst scenario that can arise regarding a decision they are about to make.
This usually allows members to reduce their fears by realizing that the costs of a wrong decision
are survivable and much less damaging than they imagined.

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Low Exposure Therapy – Another important exercise for commitment-phobic teams is
demonstrating firmness or resolve in low-risk situations. When teams are forced to make
decisions after important discussion but with little analysis and research, they come to realize
that the quality of the decision they made is better than they expected. Furthermore, they realize
that the decision would not have been very different if they had dedicated themselves to a long
and expensive study. This does not mean that research and analysis are not necessary and
important, but rather that some teams that suffer from this dysfunction tend to overvalue them.

The role of the leader

More than any other member of the group, the leader must be comfortable with the prospect of
making a decision that may ultimately be wrong. And the leader must be constantly pressuring
the group to close ranks on certain issues, as well as staying on the schedule that the team has
already set. What the leader cannot do is place too high a premium on absolute certainty and
consensus.

Connection with Dysfunction 4

How does all this relate to Dysfunction 4, the avoidance of responsibility ?

To hold team members “accountable” for their behaviors and actions, they must have a clear
sense of what is expected of them. Even the most ardent believers in responsibility are generally
reluctant to hold someone responsible for something that was never agreed upon or made clear.

IV) DYSFUNCTION 4: AVOIDANCE OF RESPONSIBILITY

Responsibility is a resounding word that has lost much of its meaning by being overused like
other words: Empowerment and quality. In the context of teamwork, however, it specifically
refers to the willingness of members to hold their peers accountable for their
performance and behaviors, which may harm them . The essence of this dysfunction is the
unwillingness of team members to tolerate the interpersonal discomfort that accompanies
holding their peers accountable and the general tendency to avoid “ difficult conversations.”
Members of good teams overcome this natural inclination and choose to enter that “danger
zone.”

Of course this is easier said than done, even in cohesive teams with strong interpersonal
relationships. In fact, members who are particularly attached to each other sometimes hesitate to
“hold each other accountable” precisely because they fear jeopardizing a valuable personal
relationship.

Ironically, this position causes the relationship to deteriorate because members tend to resent
each other for not living up to expectations and for allowing group standards to erode. Members
of good teams improve their relationships by holding each other accountable, thereby
demonstrating that they respect each other and have high expectations for each other's
performance.

As politically incorrect as it sounds, the most effective and efficient way to maintain high
standards of performance in a group is social pressure. One of the benefits is the reduction of
the need for excessive bureaucracy for performance management and corrective actions.
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Nothing motivates people to improve their performance more than the fear of failing their
respected colleagues.

A team that fails in responsibility

• It creates resentment among its members because they have different performance
standards.
• Promotes mediocrity.
• Fail to meet deadlines and key deliverables.
• Places undue burden on the group leader as the sole source of discipline.

A team that holds its members mutually accountable

• It ensures that underperforming members feel pressure to improve.

• They quickly identify potential problems by asking each other questions without
hesitate regarding their different approaches.
• Establishes respect among its members by all being at the same high level of
performance.

• Avoid excessive bureaucracy with respect to performance management and corrective

actions.

SUGGESTIONS TO OVERCOME DYSFUNCTION 4

How does a team ensure accountability? The key to defeating this dysfunction is to adhere to a
few classic management tools that are as effective as they are simple.

Posting Goals and Standards – A good way to make it easier for team members to hold each
other accountable is to publicly clarify what exactly the team needs to accomplish, who needs to
deliver what, and how everyone needs to behave to be successful. The enemy of accountability
is ambiguity , so even if a team has initially committed to a plan or a certain type of behavioral
standards, it is important to keep those agreements exposed so that no one can ignore them.

Simple, Regular Progress Reviews – A little structure goes a long way in getting people to take
actions they otherwise wouldn't take. This is especially true when it comes to giving people
feedback about their behavior or performance. Members should communicate regularly with
each other, either verbally or in writing, to tell each other how they feel their colleagues are
performing in relation to set goals and standards. Trusting them to do it on their own, without any
structure, is to encourage the avoidance of responsibility.

Group Rewards – If we change rewards for individual performance to rewards for team
achievement, this will create a culture of responsibility. This happens because a team will not sit
still and will fail because one of the peers is not doing their part.

The role of the leader

One of the most difficult challenges for a leader who wishes to install accountability in a group is
to encourage and enable the group to serve as the primary accountability mechanism.
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Sometimes strong leaders naturally create a vacuum of responsibility within the team, leaving
them alone as the only source of discipline. This creates an environment where members
assume that the leader is asking others for responsibility, and therefore they hold back even if
they see something that is not correct.

Although the leader has created the culture of responsibility in a team, he must always be willing
to be the final arbiter of discipline when the team itself fails. This should rarely happen. However,
it must be clear to all team members that responsibility has not been relegated to a consensus
approach, but is a responsibility shared by the entire team and that the leader will not hesitate to
intervene when necessary.

Connection with Dysfunction 5 How does this relate to the next dysfunction, lack of attention
to results ?
If members are not being held accountable for their contributions, they are likely to turn their
attention to their own needs, and the progress of themselves or their departments. An absence
of accountability is an invitation to members to shift their attention to other areas, rather than to
collective results.

V) DYSFUNCTION 5: LACK OF ATTENTION TO RESULTS

COLLECTIVES

The ultimate team dysfunction is the tendency of members to worry about things other than
the team's collective goals. A relentless focus on specific objectives and clearly defined
outcomes is a requirement for any team that is judged on performance.

It should be noted here that the results are not limited to financial measures such as profit,
income or return to shareholders. Although it is true that many organizations in a capitalist
economy ultimately measure their results in these terms. This dysfunction refers to a much
broader definition of results, one that is based on performance by results.

Every good organization specifies what it plans to achieve in a given period, and these goals,
rather than the financial metrics to which they lead, make most of the results controllable in the
near term. Therefore, although profit may be the ultimate measure of results for a corporation,
the goals and objectives that executives set for themselves constitute a more representative
example of the results they strive for as a team. Ultimately, these goals bring profit.

But what could a group be focused on other than results? Team status and personal status are
the answer.

The status of the team – for some members the mere fact of being part of the group is enough
to keep them satisfied. For them, achieving specific results may be desirable, but they are not
necessarily worth great sacrifice or effort. As ridiculous or dangerous as this may seem, many
teams fall prey to the temptation of status. This often includes altruistic nonprofit organizations,
which come to believe that the nobility of their mission is enough to justify their satisfaction.
Political groups, academic departments, and prestigious companies are also susceptible to this
dysfunction, because they often interpret success simply by being associated with their special
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organization.

Individual Status – This refers to the typical tendency of people to focus on highlighting their
own positions, at the expense of the interests of the team. Although all human beings have an
innate tendency toward self-preservation, a functional team must make the collective results of
the team more important to each individual than their individual goals.

As obvious as this dysfunction may seem at first glance, and as clear as it is that it should be
avoided, it is important to note that there are many teams that are not focused on results. They
do not live and breathe to achieve significant goals , but rather to merely exist or survive.
Unfortunately for these groups, there is no amount of trust, conflict, commitment or responsibility
that can compensate for the lack of desire to succeed or succeed.

A team that is not focused on results….

• It stagnates or does not grow.

• He rarely defeats his competitors.
• You lose your achievement-oriented employees.
• It encourages its members to focus on their own careers and individual goals.

A team that focuses on collective results

• Enjoy success and suffer acutely from failure

• Retains achievement-oriented employees.
• Minimize individualistic behavior.
• Benefits from individuals who subordinate their own goals/interests for the good
of the group.
• Avoid distraction.

SUGGESTIONS TO OVERCOME DYSFUNCTION 5

How does a group ensure that its attention is focused on results ? Make results clear
and reward only those behaviors and actions that contribute to achieving those
results.

Public declarations of results – In the mind of a football or basketball coach, one of the
worst things a team member can do is publicly guarantee that his team will win the next
game. In the case of an athletic team, this is a problem because it can unnecessarily
create an opponent. However, it can be helpful for most teams to make public
statements about their intentions for success.

Teams that are willing to publicly commit to specific outcomes are more likely to work
more passionately to achieve those outcomes. In contrast, teams that say “we will do our
best” are subtly setting themselves up for failure.

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Results-Based Rewards – A good way to ensure that members focus on results is to tie
their rewards, especially compensation, to the achievement of specific results. Relying
on this alone could be problematic, because it assumes that pecuniary motivation is the
only driver of behavior. However, allowing someone to get a bonus simply “for trying
hard” without achieving results sends a message that “achieving the result may not be
that important.”

The role of the leader

Perhaps more than any other dysfunction in this one, the leader must put the
emphasis on results . If members feel that the leader values anything other than
results, they will take that as permission to do the same themselves. The leader must be
selfless and objective, and reserve rewards and recognition for those who make real
contributions to achieving the group's goals.

SUMMARY

Despite all the information here, the reality is that teamwork ultimately focuses on
practicing a small set of principles over a long period of time.

Success is not a matter of mastering sophisticated theory but rather embracing

common sense with a rare level of discipline and persistence .

Ironically, teams succeed because they are extremely human. By recognizing the
imperfections of their humanity, members of functional teams overcome the natural
tendency that makes trust, fear of conflict, commitment, responsibility, and focus
on results so elusive.

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