Teamwork is essential for any successful project, but it can also be challenging to achieve. Sometimes, teams face problems such as lack of trust, conflict, low commitment, avoidance of accountability, or poor results. How can you use Lencioni's team model to fix these issues and improve your team's performance?
Lencioni's team model is a framework that identifies five dysfunctions of a team and how to overcome them. The model is based on the idea that teams need to build a strong foundation of trust, engage in constructive conflict, commit to shared decisions, hold each other accountable, and focus on collective results. The model also provides practical tools and exercises to help teams assess and improve their level of functioning.
It also worth to add building trust requires openness and granularity within team from top-bottom and bottom-top. I've also found to be more result driven in team work, we should count on the magic of appreciation. This is more useful from top to bottom where the bottom level of the team see and feel themselves valuable and important within the circle.
The trust pyramid is the first and most important component of Lencioni's team model. It represents the five levels of team dysfunction and how to address them. The bottom of the pyramid is trust, which means that team members are willing to be vulnerable and honest with each other. Without trust, teams cannot move up to the next levels of conflict, commitment, accountability, and results. To build trust, teams need to share personal stories, give and receive feedback, admit mistakes, and show appreciation.
As said above to build trust you also need openness and granularity within your team. Building trust is time bound which means cant's be something fulfilled in short. Further lets everyone be heard and given voice with all the differences.
The conflict continuum is the second component of Lencioni's team model. It shows the range of conflict styles that teams can adopt, from artificial harmony to destructive fighting. The optimal point is productive conflict, which means that team members can disagree and debate ideas without taking things personally or avoiding issues. Productive conflict leads to better decisions, creativity, and innovation. To foster productive conflict, teams need to establish norms, clarify expectations, use data and logic, and seek common ground.
I think its natural and even good to have the conflict continuum within the team. This not only need to productivity but also new initiatives. I think to utilize conflict within team and turn it into benefit some rules and standards to be laid down in advance.
The commitment clarity is the third component of Lencioni's team model. It refers to the degree of alignment and buy-in that team members have for the team's goals, plans, and actions. Without commitment, teams can suffer from ambiguity, confusion, and low morale. To increase commitment, teams need to clarify roles and responsibilities, set deadlines and milestones, communicate clearly and frequently, and review and revise as needed.
The accountability feedback is the fourth component of Lencioni's team model. It involves the ability and willingness of team members to hold each other accountable for their performance and behavior. Without accountability, teams can experience resentment, mediocrity, and missed opportunities. To enhance accountability, teams need to define standards and expectations, measure progress and results, give and receive constructive feedback, and reward and recognize achievements.
The results focus is the fifth and final component of Lencioni's team model. It reflects the degree of alignment and dedication that team members have for the team's collective outcomes and success. Without results focus, teams can lose sight of their purpose, become distracted by individual agendas, and fail to deliver value. To foster results focus, teams need to define and communicate their vision and mission, align their actions with their priorities, celebrate and share their wins, and learn from their failures.