Resolving the Five Dysfunctions of a Team

For years I have been fascinated by Patrick Lencioni's Five Dysfunctions of a team.

His model, outlined in The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, describes common barriers to team success: absence of trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance of accountability, and inattention to results. Addressing these dysfunctions helps teams build trust, engage in healthy conflict, and achieve collective performance goals.

He suggests addressing them in a specific order, building from the bottom up:

1. Absence of Trust – Start by fostering vulnerability-based trust among team members.

2. Fear of Conflict – With trust, encourage open, honest debate.

3. Lack of Commitment – Healthy conflict leads to genuine commitment to decisions.

4. Avoidance of Accountability – Commitment enables team members to hold each other accountable.

5. Inattention to Results – Accountability shifts focus to collective outcomes over personal agendas.

THE FIVE DYSFUNCTIONS OF A TEAM

If you have tried this approach and struggled to get results, it may well be worth re-visiting it and trying from the top down.

1. Get your team interested in and focusing on results.

2. Share the responsibility amongst the team, giving them the support they need and watch them take accountability.

3. Keep developing their ability and focus on results, then watch their commitment shine.

4. Allow them to disagree, assert their point of view and watch them positively resolve conflict.

5. Allow them to fail, fall down, be embarrassed, get up again and watch them begin to trust you and their team members.

This to me makes so much more sense and I find more effective. - "Start with the end in mind" and work back.