Building Teams

I just finished reading The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. I didn’t necessarily read this book because I have or want a dysfunctional team. I read it because I want to work with a high functioning team! This book tells the story of a new CEO (Kathryn) and how she deals with a new team she inherits. The author (Lencioni) uses his third person storytelling style to let you hear and understand what the CEO is thinking as she encounters a variety of situations with her senior team.

The following list outlines the Five Dysfunctions along with my further description of each:

Dysfunction #1: Absence of Trust
Fear of being vulnerable with team members prevents the building of trust on a team. (JB: This dysfunction is most noticeable when you encounter teams who won’t let each other see they don’t know everything. Teams like this don’t openly admit their limitations to each other and don’t ask each other for feedback so they can grow. Teams without trust don’t like to spend time together.)

Dysfunction #2: Fear of Conflict
The desire to preserve artificial harmony stifles the occurrence of productive ideological conflict. (JB: Teams with this condition just go along with each other to get back to their own areas of concentration. They don’t care to know enough about each other’s areas to criticize or offer improvement strategies. )

Dysfunction #3: Lack of Commitment
The lack of clarity or buy-in prevents team members from making decisions they will stick to. (JB: This dysfunction results in stripping confidence out of a team. It creates an atmosphere where everyone second-guesses everyone else.)

Dysfunction #4: Avoidance of Accountability
The need to avoid interpersonal discomfort prevents team members from holding one another accountable. (JB: This one is tough because it is about everyone on the team knowing what the organizational goals are, and holding each other accountable for the quality and timeliness of deliverables.)

Dysfunction #5: Inattention to Results
The pursuit of individual goals and personal status erodes the focus on collective results. (JB: This dysfunction shows up when team members care more about their own individual goals than those of the entire enterprise. It encourages people to think only of themselves and their own career advancement.)

After learning about these dysfunctions, I did a search to see what else I could find out about developing a functioning team and found another Lencioni book, The Advantage: Why Organizational Health Trumps EverythingElse in Business and found a reference for leaders that basically summarizes two main points : 1) Build your team (see the Five Dysfunctions), and 2) Set clear organizational goals and hold everyone accountable to stick by them!

My one, big take away from this week’s episode on my leadership path is that clear goals are really essential, because even with a high performing team, if you don’t have clear goals you can still risk squandering valuable human resources and talent. And you know what? The “good ones” won’t stick around if you can’t articulate your goals clearly and hold everyone to be accountable for them.

Have a great week, everyone! Be the leader you want to have!!