The Five Dysfunctions of a Team - Dysfunction #1 "Absence of Trust"

I recently finished reading "The Five Dysfunctions of a Team" by Patrick Lencioni. If you haven't read it, I recommend it for its simplicity and relatable scenarios.

Dysfunction #1 - "Absence of Trust": The general absence of trust stems from the inability to be vulnerable and open with your team. Trust is critical among team members because, above all, it creates confidence among team members that their peers' intentions are good, and there is no reason to withdraw and not be open with the group. Achieving this level of vulnerability and openness is challenging because we are taught to be competitive with our peers and protect our reputations. The upside to spending time developing trust amongst team members is enormous. Imagine the number of resources you'd save if you didn't have to manage behaviors and interactions within the team continuously.

Here are some of Lencioni's suggestions for resolving Dysfunction #1:

1. Personal Histories Exercises: This requires a short period of answering the following semi-personal questions: number of siblings, hometown, unique childhood challenges, hobbies, first job, and worst job. It's shocking how little peers know about each other and how just this little information begins breaking down barriers.

2. Team Effectiveness Exercise: A bit riskier, this exercise focuses on sharing what each person considers to be the most significant contributions of each team member AND one area they must improve on for the team's good. Despite the seemingly intrusive nature of this exercise, Lencioni reports that it can be surprisingly manageable and yield a tremendous amount of valuable information about the team.

As a young professional with quite a few leadership responsibilities (VAPA board, GSH Chair, and Manager), I've had no option but to be vulnerable with my teammates. How else am I supposed to fill in all the skills that I'm still developing? (How's that for vulnerability???)

To all of my teammates: Thanks for always supporting me and giving 110% of yourselves to the success of our initiatives.