Overcoming The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni

This is a Field Guide to The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. It provides the practical tools to help implement the concepts presented in the book. To review, the five dysfunctions of a team are: Absence of Trust, Fear of Conflict, Lack of Commitment, Avoidance of Accountability, Inattention to Results.

A team is a small group of people that share a common goal and the rewards and responsibilities for achieving the goal. Each team member sets aside their individual needs for the greater good of the group. If the above statements are not true, then you really don't have a team.

Trust on a team is the most important quality of a team. It takes courage to develop trust. We each have a strong desire for self-preservation and it's difficult to put ourselves at "risk" by being vulnerable to others. Each team member has to be comfortable with the "exposure" that they made a mistake or don't know what they are doing. Each person has to be able to ask for help when they need it. This Field Guide recommends starting with a Personal Histories Exercise, which is simply have each person share where they grew up, how many kids are in their family, and what was the most challenging thing about being a kid. This helps team members become more comfortable with being vulnerable. Then it suggests Behavioral Profiling by using a profiling tool like the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). This will allow everyone to see their strengths and weaknesses.

To master conflict on a team, the field guide suggests using the MBTI profile since this includes a specific analysis of how each type deals with conflict. When people can publicly state their outlook on conflict, they are more open to adjusting to the established team norms surrounding conflict. A team needs to be comfortable having passionate debates around issues.

Achieving commitment, or buy-in, is being able to defy a lack of consensus on a team. It's about the team coming up with every possible idea, opinion and perspective, and then the team leader having the courage to make a decision. The team needs to establish a Thematic Goal. The goal should be a general achievement (not a quantitative goal). This creates clarity within the team.

Embracing accountability involves peer-to-peer accountability. In order for this to become part of a team's culture, it has to be modeled by the leader. The field guide recommends using the Team Effectiveness Exercise (TEE). It involves two questions: "What is the single most important behavioral characteristic or quality demonstrated by this person that contributes to the strength of our team" and "What is the single most important behavioral characteristic or quality demonstrated by this person that can sometimes derail the team?" Each team member reads their answers to the group. This exercise needs to be reviewed at future meetings so that people answer for their progress on the identified areas.

Focusing on results. This can be achieved by using a "scoreboard". Using a visible scoreboard is a good way to focus attention. The two primary components of the scoreboard should be the ongoing metrics of the team (revenue, expenses, etc) and the supporting objectives, which form the team's thematic goal.

"The true measure of a great team is that it accomplishes the results it sets out to achieve."

Wendy's Rating: ****