In the last blog we began to look at what makes a team a dysfunctioning team, taking some of Partrick Lencioni’s material from his book “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team”
We considered the first two dysfunctions, being the absence of trust and the fear of conflict, emphasising the need for a team to build a level of trust in each other that enables them to feel they can all give their opinions, arguing with as much conflict as necessary to ensure that all options are considered in making a decision.
The third dysfunction is a result of a lack of healthy conflict, which leads to a lack of commitment. Without feeling able to air their opinion in a passionate and open debate, the result is team members who rarely buy into, and worse, are not committed to decisions despite feigning agreement during meetings. It is important that when a team has made a decision, that everyone is committed to backing it in front of the other staff and volunteers, even if it is not what they would have chosen. Where that healthy conflict has occurred in the debate and everyone has shared their opinion, it is far more likely that all team members will commit to the final decision.
Because of the lack of commitment and buy-in, this results in team members developing an avoidance of accountability – the fourth dysfunction. With no commitment to a clear plan, or a proper focus on the way forward, even the most driven people will often hesitate to call their peers to account for actions and attitudes that are not helpful to the good of the team. In good, well functioning teams, if a team member is acting in a way that is not helping the team to achieve their goals, then another team member will seek to point this out to them to bring them back into line – and if the team functions well, this is likely to be accepted in the way it is meant.
The lack of holding others to account leads to the fifth dysfunction – an inattention to results. Instead of trusting each other and committing to a decision and doing everything to achieve, individuals put their own needs in front of those of the team. They focus more on their own egos, careers, development and recognition and forget the collective goals of the team.
Where one dysfunction is allowed to flourish, teamwork will deteriorate. If you look at it from the positive side, this is all you need to have a well functioning team:
- They trust one another
- They engage in unfiltered conflict around ideas
- They commit to decisions and plans of action
- They hold one another accountable for delivering against those plans
- They focus on the achievement of collective results
I trust that all of the teams of which you are a part are well functioning teams that show all of the above qualities.
Finally, I trust that you are enjoying a very happy Christmas and can I wish you all a successful and prosperous New Year. I hope that I will be able to assist you in some way during 2013.