The Book Q #6: The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

 “A corny teamwork quote goes here”

I’m sure you know at least one of them, so take your pick.

Remember the feeling after a leadership meeting? Especially after the showstopper presentation on team work? You took tons of notes, got laminated cards on leadership "to-do’s” and "not-to-do’s”, videos and even free slides for presentations! WOW!

Did you feel pumped for the next team meeting? With your spirits flying high, you knew EXACTLY how to get things done. After all, how hard can it be? You’ve already seen one, now it’s time to do one, and teach one. Leaders, we’ve done that before, haven’t we?

And then… back at base camp, reality hits you. Easier said than done, you think. Team work comes with practice, takes time and requires people to actually care about what they're doing. There's no easy button.

What about those quotes we learnt? It can be difficult to remember the perfect one when you need it the most. Unless, it’s posted on one of the walls staring at you or someone hurls it out in a meeting.

Now, for another “how do you feel” question. Pay attention.

How do you feel when you hear:

‘Team work....it makes the dream work’ when you know the team doesn't really believe in the dream (mission/strategy)

‘There’s no I in a team’ spoken by a self indulgent colleague. Thanks for the tyre marks, buddy

Or

‘Many hands make light work’ when everyone’s trying to slap the others hand

Team work needs practice (I said that twice but it’s THAT important). Once perfected, it can be the best thing that happened to the team. Who doesn’t want that?

In this book, Patrick Lencioni describes the five dysfunctions of a team. Only five?  Was my thought. I'd noted many "opportunities for improvement". As I re-read the book, I realized that the other "opportunities" are in some way related to these main five.

The storytelling is amazing- I've enjoyed the audio version of this book. The personalities of the main characters are easy to connect with. That really helped pull me, the reader, into the story. One of the executives would keep his laptop open during meetings and appear un-engaged; another never spoke his mind and the third one always knew the most discouraging thing to say to their team mates.

See what I mean? I could easily recollect a team member with similar personality. Except, the CEO whose main strength is "team building". This is an exemplary quality and one we don't see very often. She's also assertive, sees the big picture and is comfortable with difficult conversations.

The story describes the 5 main dysfunctions of a team:

1. Absence of trust-

"Trust is the foundation of real teamwork". "Great teams do not 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".

It takes a strong leader to facilitate such discussions, encourage others to speak their mind and be open to different perspectives. Servant Leadership! Doable? Absolutely!

2. Fear of conflict- Trust, Trust, Trust. The most likely reason we have "meetings after the meeting".

3. Lack of commitment- "who’s going to do it?"

4. Avoidance of accountability-

"People aren't going to hold each other accountable if they haven't clearly bought in to the same plan".

This links right back to the absence of trust.

5. Inattention to results-

"The tendency of team members to seek out individual recognition and attention at the expense of results. And I'm referring to collective results- the goals of the entire team"

I highly recommend discussing the book and its teachings with your team. As you start working on your team building skills, be on the look out for the team builder in your team. If you find one, hold on to them. Other skills can be taught easily, but the power to influence and motivate team members to work with each other, to reach a common goal, is a skill that's not found commonly.

If you've read this book, I’d love to hear about your experiences. Have you encountered any of these dysfunctions? If yes, how did you address them?

Thanks for reading!

Manasi