The 5 Dysfunctions of a Team summary

Just finished reading the 5 Dysfunctions of a team by Patrick Lencioni, an easy to read fable which follows the model above for building high performance teams. Thanks for the recommendation Richard Harpin, Mike Fairman, and John Frith.

Product oriented books such as Empowered, Measure What Matters or Gallup's Leading High Performance Team program put all the focus on the top of the 5 Dysfunctions Pyramid, the need to Focus on Outcomes, Commitment and Accountability, however it is often the Absence of Trust and Fear of Conflict where problems lie.

Kathryn, recently appointed CEO, an assertive and confident leader takes all the difficult calls and meetings many leaders often put off. Enjoyed the story she tells about the impact promoting a very competent performer, although not great team player, had on the results to engagement, business and herself. It's the kind of story you would read in books from Reed Hastings or the All Blacks culture.

These are my top quotes:

• "When everyone is focussed on one specific business goal and using those to define success, it is difficult for ego to get out of hand. No matter how good an individual on the team might be feeling about his or her situation, if the team loses, everyone loses"
• "The key is to define our goals in a way that is simple enough to grasp easily and specific enough to be actionable"
• "Politics is when people choose their words and actions based on how they want others to react rather than based on how they really think"
• "Consensus is horrible, if everyone agrees on something and consensus comes about quickly and naturally, that's terrific. But that isn't how it usually works, and so consensus becomes an attempt to please everyone"
• "Great teams don't hold back with one another. They are unafraid to air their dirty laundry. They admit their mistakes, their weaknesses, and their concerns without fear of reprisal."
• "Once we achieve clarity and buy in, it is then that we have to hold each other accountable for what we sign up to do, for high standards of performance and behaviour. And as simple as that sounds, most executives hate to do it, especially when it comes to a peer's behaviour, because they want to avoid interpersonal discomfort"
• "Your first team has to be the Leadership team. As strongly as we feel about our own people and as wonderful as that is for them, it simply cannot come at the expense of the loyalty and commitment we have to the Leadership team."
• "Some people are hard to hold accountable because they are so helpful. Others because they get defensive. Others because they are intimidating. I don't think it's easy to hold anyone accountable, not even your own kids".
• "Push with respect, and under the assumption that the other person is probably doing the right thing. But push anyway. And never hold back".
• How Kathryn started a difficult one-on-one "This is going to be a tough conversation""I don't think you are a fit for this team. And I don't think you really want to be here. Do you know where I am coming from?"
• Expect the departure of even the most difficult employees to provoke some degree of mourning and self-doubt amongst peers.
• Kathryn believed that the larger the company, the smaller the team should be at the top. With the addition of a new head of sales and a human resources director, her staff had grown to a barely manageable eight. It wasn't that Kathryn couldn't handle the weekly one-on-ones, but it was increasingly difficult to have fluid and substantive discussions during staff meetings with nine people sitting around the table. Even with the new collective attitude of the members of the team, it would be only a matter of time before problems began to surface.