The 5 Dysfunctions of a Team
The 5 Dysfunctions of a Team
Problem
How to Unite a Team
Problem The Ultimate Leadership Crisis: How to unite a team that is in such disarray that it threatens to bring down the entire company? Problems that arise from having a dysfunctional team: • • • • •
Morale issues Decisions never seem to be made Decisions are slow and uninteresting Slowing business Lack of new customers
The 5 Dysfunctions of a Team
#1 – Absence of Trust #1 dysfunction of a team is Absence of Trust.
Essentially, this stems from the team’s unwillingness to be vulnerable within the group. Team members who are not genuinely open with one another about their mistakes and weaknesses make it impossible to build a foundation for trust.
Signs That your Team Lacks Trust Members of teams with NO trust: Conceal their weaknesses and 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 and aptitudes of others without attempting to clarify them. Fail to recognize and tap into one another’s skills and experiences. Hold grudges. Dread meetings and find reasons to avoid spending time together.
#2 – Fear of Conflict #2 dysfunction of a team is Fear of Conflict.
If we don’t trust one another, then we aren’t going to engage in open, constructive, ideological conflict. We’ll just continue to preserve a sense of artificial harmony and resort to veiled discussions and guarded comments.
Signs that Your Team Fears Conflict 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 perspectives of team members. Waste time and energy with posturing and interpersonal risk management.
#3 – Lack of Commitment #3 dysfunction of a team is Lack of Commitment. Lack of commitment is a failure to buy into decisions. The main cause for it is ambiguity. When people don’t unload their opinions and feel like they’ve been listened to, they won’t really get on board.
Signs that your Team Lacks Commitment A team that fails to commit: Creates ambiguity among the team about direction and priorities. Watches windows of opportunity close due to excessive analysis and unnecessary delay.
Breeds lack of confidence and fear of failure. Revisits discussions and decisions again and again. Encourages second-guessing among team members.
#4 – Avoidance of Accountability #4 dysfunction of a team is Avoidance of Accountability.
Accountability refers specifically to the willingness of team members to call their peers on performance or behaviors that might hurt the team. The essence of this dysfunction is an unwillingness by team members to tolerate the interpersonal discomfort that accompanies calling a peer on his or her behavior.
Signs that Your Team Avoids Accountability A team that avoids accountability: Creates resentment among team members who have different standards of performance. Encourages mediocrity. Misses deadlines and key deliverables. Places an undue burden on the team leader as the sole source of discipline.
#5 – Inattention to Results #5 dysfunction of a team is Inattention to Results.
The ultimate dysfunction of a team is the tendency to care about something other than the collective goals of the group. But what would a team be focused on other than results? • Team Status
• Individual Status
Signs that Your Team is Not Focused on Results A team that is not focused on results: Fails to grow. Rarely defeats competitors. Loses achievement-oriented employees. Encourages team members to focus on their own careers and individual goals. Is easily distracted.
Understanding & Overcoming the 5 Dysfunctions
Overcoming Dysfunction #1 – Absence of Trust Trust is defined as a vulnerability type trust. Trust is never generated in teams when team members are not prepared to be vulnerable.
Overcoming Dysfunction #1 – Absence of Trust Personal Histories Exercise: This low-risk exercise requires nothing more than going around the table during a meeting and having team members answer a short list of questions about themselves.
Team Effectiveness Exercise: This exercise requires team members to identify the single most important contribution that each of their peers makes to the team, as well as the one area that they must either improve upon or eliminate for the good of the team.
Personality and Behavioral Preferences Profiles: Some of the most effective and lasting tools for building trust on a team are profiles of team members’ behavioral preferences and personality styles. The best profiling tool is the MyersBriggs Type Indicator (MBTI).
360 Degree Feedback: 360 Degree Feedback is a system or process in which employees receive confidential, anonymous feedback from the people who work around them.
Overcoming Dysfunction #1 – Absence of Trust Role of the Leader in Building Trust: Leaders need to demonstrate vulnerability first. This requires that the leader risks losing face in front of the team, so that subordinates will take the same risk themselves. Team leaders must create an environment that does not punish vulnerability. Displays of vulnerability on the part of a team leader must be genuine; they cannot be staged.
Overcoming Dysfunction #2 – Fear of Conflict The first step is to acknowledge that conflict is productive and that many teams have a tendency to avoid it. A few simple methods for making conflict more common and productive: Mining Real-Time Permission The Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument
Overcoming Dysfunction #2 – Fear of Conflict The Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument
Overcoming Dysfunction #2 – Fear of Conflict Role of the Leader in Overcoming Fear of Conflict: It is key that leaders demonstrate restraint when their people engage in conflict, and allow resolution to occur naturally, as messy as it can sometimes be. A leader’s ability to personally model appropriate conflict behavior is essential. By avoiding conflict when it is necessary and productive, something many executives do — a team leader will encourage this dysfunction to thrive.
Overcoming Dysfunction #3 – Lack of Commitment Commitment is a function of two things: clarity and buy-in.
Great teams make clear and timely decisions and move forward with complete buy-in from every member of the team, even those who voted against the decision. Avoid “Consensus” and “Certainty”.
Overcoming Dysfunction #3 – Lack of Commitment Some tools to avoid Lack of Commitment: Cascading Messaging Deadlines Contingency and Worst-Case Scenario Analysis Low-Risk Exposure Therapy
Overcoming Dysfunction #4 – Avoidance of Accountability Teams have a general tendency to want to avoid difficult conversations. How does a team go about ensuring accountability? Publication of Goals and Standards. Simple and Regular Progress Reviews.
Team Rewards.
Overcoming Dysfunction #4 – Avoidance of Accountability Role of the Leader in Overcoming Avoidance of Accountability: Encourage and allow the team to serve as the first and primary accountability mechanism. The leader of the team should not hesitate to step in when necessary.
Overcoming Dysfunction #5 – Inattention to Results Results should be clear, and rewards are only given to those behaviors and actions that contribute to those results. Two ways to achieve that: Public Declaration of Results Results-Based Rewards
Overcoming Dysfunction #5 – Inattention to Results The leader must set the tone for a focus on results.
If team members sense that the leader values anything other than results, they will take that as permission to do the same for themselves. Team leaders must be selfless and objective, and reserve rewards and recognition for those who make real contributions to achieving group goals.
Conclusion Teamwork ultimately comes down to practicing a small set of principles over a long period of time. Success is not a matter of mastering subtle, sophisticated theory, but rather of embracing common sense with uncommon levels of discipline and persistence. Ironically, teams succeed because they are exceedingly human. By acknowledging the imperfections of their humanity, members of functional teams overcome the natural tendencies that make trust, conflict, commitment, accountability and a focus on results so elusive.
Main Cause of Each Dysfunction
Solution to Each Dysfunction
The 5 Dysfunctions of a Team – The Book
Problem
How to Unite a Team
Problem The Ultimate Leadership Crisis: How to unite a team that is in such disarray that it threatens to bring down the entire company? Problems that arise from having a dysfunctional team: • • • • •
Morale issues Decisions never seem to be made Decisions are slow and uninteresting Slowing business Lack of new customers
The 5 Dysfunctions of a Team
#1 – Absence of Trust #1 dysfunction of a team is Absence of Trust.
Essentially, this stems from the team’s unwillingness to be vulnerable within the group. Team members who are not genuinely open with one another about their mistakes and weaknesses make it impossible to build a foundation for trust.
Signs That your Team Lacks Trust Members of teams with NO trust: Conceal their weaknesses and 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 and aptitudes of others without attempting to clarify them. Fail to recognize and tap into one another’s skills and experiences. Hold grudges. Dread meetings and find reasons to avoid spending time together.
#2 – Fear of Conflict #2 dysfunction of a team is Fear of Conflict.
If we don’t trust one another, then we aren’t going to engage in open, constructive, ideological conflict. We’ll just continue to preserve a sense of artificial harmony and resort to veiled discussions and guarded comments.
Signs that Your Team Fears Conflict 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 perspectives of team members. Waste time and energy with posturing and interpersonal risk management.
#3 – Lack of Commitment #3 dysfunction of a team is Lack of Commitment. Lack of commitment is a failure to buy into decisions. The main cause for it is ambiguity. When people don’t unload their opinions and feel like they’ve been listened to, they won’t really get on board.
Signs that your Team Lacks Commitment A team that fails to commit: Creates ambiguity among the team about direction and priorities. Watches windows of opportunity close due to excessive analysis and unnecessary delay.
Breeds lack of confidence and fear of failure. Revisits discussions and decisions again and again. Encourages second-guessing among team members.
#4 – Avoidance of Accountability #4 dysfunction of a team is Avoidance of Accountability.
Accountability refers specifically to the willingness of team members to call their peers on performance or behaviors that might hurt the team. The essence of this dysfunction is an unwillingness by team members to tolerate the interpersonal discomfort that accompanies calling a peer on his or her behavior.
Signs that Your Team Avoids Accountability A team that avoids accountability: Creates resentment among team members who have different standards of performance. Encourages mediocrity. Misses deadlines and key deliverables. Places an undue burden on the team leader as the sole source of discipline.
#5 – Inattention to Results #5 dysfunction of a team is Inattention to Results.
The ultimate dysfunction of a team is the tendency to care about something other than the collective goals of the group. But what would a team be focused on other than results? • Team Status
• Individual Status
Signs that Your Team is Not Focused on Results A team that is not focused on results: Fails to grow. Rarely defeats competitors. Loses achievement-oriented employees. Encourages team members to focus on their own careers and individual goals. Is easily distracted.
Understanding & Overcoming the 5 Dysfunctions
Overcoming Dysfunction #1 – Absence of Trust Trust is defined as a vulnerability type trust. Trust is never generated in teams when team members are not prepared to be vulnerable.
Overcoming Dysfunction #1 – Absence of Trust Personal Histories Exercise: This low-risk exercise requires nothing more than going around the table during a meeting and having team members answer a short list of questions about themselves.
Team Effectiveness Exercise: This exercise requires team members to identify the single most important contribution that each of their peers makes to the team, as well as the one area that they must either improve upon or eliminate for the good of the team.
Personality and Behavioral Preferences Profiles: Some of the most effective and lasting tools for building trust on a team are profiles of team members’ behavioral preferences and personality styles. The best profiling tool is the MyersBriggs Type Indicator (MBTI).
360 Degree Feedback: 360 Degree Feedback is a system or process in which employees receive confidential, anonymous feedback from the people who work around them.
Overcoming Dysfunction #1 – Absence of Trust Role of the Leader in Building Trust: Leaders need to demonstrate vulnerability first. This requires that the leader risks losing face in front of the team, so that subordinates will take the same risk themselves. Team leaders must create an environment that does not punish vulnerability. Displays of vulnerability on the part of a team leader must be genuine; they cannot be staged.
Overcoming Dysfunction #2 – Fear of Conflict The first step is to acknowledge that conflict is productive and that many teams have a tendency to avoid it. A few simple methods for making conflict more common and productive: Mining Real-Time Permission The Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument
Overcoming Dysfunction #2 – Fear of Conflict The Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument
Overcoming Dysfunction #2 – Fear of Conflict Role of the Leader in Overcoming Fear of Conflict: It is key that leaders demonstrate restraint when their people engage in conflict, and allow resolution to occur naturally, as messy as it can sometimes be. A leader’s ability to personally model appropriate conflict behavior is essential. By avoiding conflict when it is necessary and productive, something many executives do — a team leader will encourage this dysfunction to thrive.
Overcoming Dysfunction #3 – Lack of Commitment Commitment is a function of two things: clarity and buy-in.
Great teams make clear and timely decisions and move forward with complete buy-in from every member of the team, even those who voted against the decision. Avoid “Consensus” and “Certainty”.
Overcoming Dysfunction #3 – Lack of Commitment Some tools to avoid Lack of Commitment: Cascading Messaging Deadlines Contingency and Worst-Case Scenario Analysis Low-Risk Exposure Therapy
Overcoming Dysfunction #4 – Avoidance of Accountability Teams have a general tendency to want to avoid difficult conversations. How does a team go about ensuring accountability? Publication of Goals and Standards. Simple and Regular Progress Reviews.
Team Rewards.
Overcoming Dysfunction #4 – Avoidance of Accountability Role of the Leader in Overcoming Avoidance of Accountability: Encourage and allow the team to serve as the first and primary accountability mechanism. The leader of the team should not hesitate to step in when necessary.
Overcoming Dysfunction #5 – Inattention to Results Results should be clear, and rewards are only given to those behaviors and actions that contribute to those results. Two ways to achieve that: Public Declaration of Results Results-Based Rewards
Overcoming Dysfunction #5 – Inattention to Results The leader must set the tone for a focus on results.
If team members sense that the leader values anything other than results, they will take that as permission to do the same for themselves. Team leaders must be selfless and objective, and reserve rewards and recognition for those who make real contributions to achieving group goals.
Conclusion Teamwork ultimately comes down to practicing a small set of principles over a long period of time. Success is not a matter of mastering subtle, sophisticated theory, but rather of embracing common sense with uncommon levels of discipline and persistence. Ironically, teams succeed because they are exceedingly human. By acknowledging the imperfections of their humanity, members of functional teams overcome the natural tendencies that make trust, conflict, commitment, accountability and a focus on results so elusive.
Main Cause of Each Dysfunction
Solution to Each Dysfunction
The 5 Dysfunctions of a Team – The Book
