= The Five Dysfunctions of a Team **Author**: Patrick Lencioni[[br]] Feb 02 2017 [[Image(htdocs:images/books/the-five-dysfunctions-of-a-team.jpg, align=center, nolink)]] [[PageOutline(2-5, Contents, inline, unnumbered)]] == Review === Verdict: [[Image(htdocs:icons/green-up-arrow.png, inline, nolink)]] **Recommended** This book is well worth the 5 hours I spent reading it. In my 10+ years of managing teams, I have encountered these dysfunctions & (bad?) behaviors in mid-level & senior-level management teams. So, even though the example used is of an executive team (C-level), the methods in the book to root out the behaviors applies at all levels of management. This would've been an invaluable read for me 12 years ago. === The Good * The fable style of writing is engaging without dramatics. Clean & crisp; a fast read. I quite enjoyed it. * There's a separate section "The Model" which outlines the five dysfunctions, symptoms thereof, their impact & an outline of potential solutions which are practical. So, if you don't like fables, skip directly to this section. * I've used most of the techniques suggested to overcome the dysfunctions & can confirm that they work in practice. A few were new to me & I'll have to see how well they apply. === The Bad * The fable style of writing may not appeal to some folks, in which case skip to "The Model" section for the actual meat of the information. To be honest, I liked the fable style. * The information within each dysfunction section within "The Model" section could be better structured to clearly & succinctly separate out causes, motivations behind behaviors indicative of causes, mitigation. Though there are separate sub-sections, the information still feels scattered about & repeated (repetition may be due to inter-relatedness, not sure). === The Ugly * Nothing. == Notes **Disclaimer**: These are primarily written for my own future reference, but they may be useful to you, either to decide if you want to read / buy the book or as something to revisit. The information is not comprehensive, not in the least - so, please don't use it as a substitute for actually reading the book. As with all my content, some is verbatim from the original source, opinion may be interspersed & of course, **YMMV**. === Pyramid of 5 Dysfunctions [[Image(htdocs:images/books/five-dysfunctions-pyramid.png, align=center, nolink)]] //[https://iawir.wordpress.com/2012/07/26/the-five-dysfunctions-of-a-team/ Image source]// === 1. Absence of Trust //Trust is the confidence that their peers' intentions are good, & that here is no reason to be protective around the group.// ==== Causes * Instinctively, people compete with peers, don't want to seem weak by asking for help, are protective of their reputation & minimize / hide mistakes. ==== Members of Teams with an Absence of Trust * Conceal their weakness & mistakes from one another. * Hesitate to ask for help or provide constructive feedback. * Hesitate to offer help outside their own areas of responsibility. * Jump to conclusions about the intentions & aptitudes of others without attempting to clarify them. * Fail to recognize & tap into one another's skills & experience. * Waste time & energy managing their behaviors for effect. * Hold grudges. * Dread meetings & find reasons to avoid spending time together. ==== Members of Trusting Teams * Admit weaknesses & mistakes. * Ask for help. * Accept questions & input about their areas of responsibility. * Give one another the benefit of the doubt before arriving at a negative conclusion. * Take risks in offering feedback & assistance. * Appreciate & tap into one another's skills & experiences. * Focus time & energy on important issues, not politics. * Offer & accept apologies w/o hesitation. * Look forward to meeting & opportunities to work as a group. ==== Overcoming Absence of Trust * Requires shared experience over time, multiple instances of follow-through (build credibility), & an in-depth understanding of what each team member brings to the table. * Personal histories exercise: Low risk, share information about non-sensitive information like number of siblings, hometown, unique challenges of childhood, favorite hobbies, first job & worst job. Encourages greater empath & discourages inaccurate behavioral attributions. * Team effectiveness exercise: Team members need to identify sinble most important contribution that each peer makes to the team **and** one area that must be improved / eliminated for the good of the team. * Personality & behavioral preference profiles: e.g. Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), Everything DiSC - provide practical & scientifically valid behavioral descriptions of team members. Tools require participation of a licensed consultant to avoid misuse. * 360-degree feedback: Higher risk since peers needs to make specific judgments & provide constructive criticism. Must be divorced entirely from compensation & formal performance evaluation to avoid political undertones, & fear impact on compensation & on repercussions. * Experiential team exercises: Not sure what these are. Need to investigate. * Revisit individual developmental areas to ensure momentum is sustained - atrophy can lead to erosion of trust. * Leader must demonstrate **genuine** vulnerability first to encourage building of trust. * Leader must create an environment that does not punish vulnerability - no chastisement from anyone for admission of weakness / failure, discourages trust, however subtly. ==== Connection to Fear of Conflict Fear of punishment due to misinterpretation of what is said as destructive / critical when engaged in a passionate debate. === 2. Fear of Conflict //Healthy long-term relationships require productive conflict, especially in business.// ==== Causes * Desire to avoid hurt feelings. * Misguided thinking that avoiding conflict increases efficiency. Productive ideological conflict is very different from destructive fighting & interpersonal politics. Ideological conflict is about concepts & ideas, not personality-focused, mean-spirited attacks. ==== Teams that Fear Conflict * Have boring meetings (? don't get this point). * Create environments where back-channel politics & personal attacks thrive. * Ignore controversial topics that are critical to team success. * Fail to tap into all the opinions & perspectives of team members. * Waste time & energy with posturing & interpersonal risk management. ==== Teams that Engage in Conflict * Have lively, interesting meetings (? again, don't get this point). * Extract & exploit the ideas of all team members. * Solve real problems quickly. * Minimize politics. * Put critical topics on the table for discussion. ==== Overcoming Fear of Conflict * Mining: Members of teams which tend to avoid conflict need to extract buried agreements, call out sensitive issues & force the team to work through them - requires objectivity & commitment to stay with the conflict till resolved. * Real-time permission: coach one another not to retreat from healthy debate. Remind people when they become uncomfortable with level of discord that it's necessary - need to be careful not to come across as patronizing. * Other tools: Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument, commonly know as TKI - Need to investigate, no idea about this tool. * Leader should forego the desire to protect members from harm - avoid prematurely interrupting disagreements which prevents team members from developing conflict management skills. * Leader should demonstrate restraint & allow resolution to occur naturally - can be messy. * Leader should actively take on conflict when necessary & productive. ==== Connection to Lack of Commitment How can a team buy into a decision & confidently commit to anything until it has engaged in productive conflict & members' perspectives & opinions have been considered? === 3. Lack of Commitment //Commitment = clarity + buy-in// ==== Causes * Desire for consensus. * Need for certainty. Dysfunctional teams try to hedge bets & delay important decisions till they're certain of correctness. Analysis-paralysis breeds lack of confidence. Primary reason for dangerous ripple effects on subordinates - clashes will occur when employees reporting to different execs are marching to different tunes. ==== A Team that Fails to Commit * Creates ambiguity among the team about direction & priorities. * Watches windows of opportunity close due to excessive analysis & unnecessary delay * Breeds lack of confidence & fear of failure * Revisits discussions & decisions again & again * Encourages second-guessing among team members ==== A Team that Commits * Creates clarity around direction & priorities. * Aligns the entire team around common objectives. * Develops an ability to learn from mistakes. * Takes advantage of opportunities before competitors do. * Moves forward without hesitation. * Changes direction without hesitation or guilt. ==== Overcoming Lack of Commitment * Cascading messaging: Explicitly review key decisions & agree to what to communicate to employees / other constituents. * Deadlines: Honor deadlines with discipline & rigidity. Also applies to milestones, since that's how misalignment is identified & addressed before costs become too great. * Contingency & worst-case scenario analysis: Reduces fear that costs of incorrect decision are survivable. * Low-risk exposure therapy: Teams with dysfunctions tend to overvalue research & analysis. Use low-risk situations to demonstrate success of decisiveness once they have had substantial discussion with sufficient information. * Leader makes the decision in case of impasse - //a// decision is better than //no// decision. Better to be bold & wrong, & to change direction just as boldly. No waffling! * Leader needs to push for closure on issues & must enforce adherence to schedules. ==== Connection to Avoidance of Accountability How can someone be held accountable for something that was not made clear in the first place? === 4. Avoidance of Accountability //Willingness of team members to call out one another for performance or behaviors that might hurt the team.// ==== Causes * Members' interpersonal discomfort. * Tendency to avoid difficult conversations. ==== A Team that Avoids Accountability * Creates resentment among team members who have different standards of performance. * Encourages mediocrity. * Misses deadlines & key deliverables. * Places an undue burden on the team leader as the sole source of discipline. ==== A Team that Holds One Another Accountable * Ensures that poor performers feel pressure to improve. * Identifies potential problems quickly by questioning one another's approaches without hesitation. * Establishes respect among team members who are held to the same high standards. * Avoids excessive bureaucracy around performance management & corrective action. ==== Overcoming Avoidance of Accountability * Publication of goals & standards: No one can ignore agreements kept in the open. * Simple & regular progress reviews: Ensures people take action despite inclination not to. * Team rewards: Create a culture of accountability by shifting rewards to team achievement instead of individual performance. Members will pitch in when another is not pulling his / her weight. * Leader needs to be careful to not be the only source of discipline - this is indicative of members not holding one another accountable. * Leader is arbiter of discipline when team fails - this should be the exception, not the rule. Be clear that accountability is a shared team responsibility, not relegated to a consensus approach. ==== Connection to Inattention to Results Absence of accountability results in team members focusing on personal advancement instead of collective results. === 5. Inattention to Results //Team members care about things other than collective group goals.// ==== Causes * Lack of specific objectives. * Lack of focus on specific objectives. Results are not just profit, revenue or shareholder returns. Executives' goals (destination, strategy) & objectives (route, tactics) are representative of team results - these ultimately drive profit. Focus shifts to teams status & individual status when focus is not on outcome-based. Also, there is no cure for a lack of desire to win. ==== A Team that is not Focused on Results * Stagnates / fails to grow. * Rarely defeats competitor. * Loses achievement-oriented employees. * Encourages team members to focus on their own careers & individual goals. * Is easily distracted. ==== A Team that Focuses on Collective Results * Retains achievement-oriented employees. * Minimizes individualistic behavior. * Enjoys success & suffers failure acutely (meaning they are not oblivious when failing). * Benefits from individuals who subjugate their own goals / interests for the good of the team. * Avoids distractions. ==== Overcoming Inattention to Results * Make results clear & only rewards behaviors & actions that contribute to those results. * Public declaration of results: Team works with strong desire to achieve published results. * Results-based rewards: Tie rewards, especially compensation, to achieving specific outcomes. * Leader must set the tone for a focus on results. A fish rots from the head down, so leader must value results. * Leader must reward & give recognition only to those who make real contributions to the achievement of group goals.