Running head: FIVE DYSFUNCTIONS OF A TEAM (PAPER)                                                               

 

 

 

 

Five Dysfunctions of a Team (Paper)

ADMG372.P01_1211

Plamedie Masiala

Central Washington University

 

 

 

The 5 Dysfunction of a Team: A leadership fable is a story developed to help businesses succeed. Patrick Lencioni, the author, is known to be a writer that writes a book on business management. This book is about a technology company that is struggling to grow its customers. The leadership and executives of the current company can’t seem to come together and work as a team. They are struggling to come to any agreements that are resulting in negating morale. Catherine Petersen is the newly appointed CEO, and she recognizes the potential of her team. She is trying to bring in the teamwork among them by explaining to them the five dysfunctions. The First dysfunction is the absence of trust and is located at the bottom of the pyramid. This means that team members are unable to get vulnerable by sowing their weaknesses and trusting one another. Team members are usually afraid of admitting their mistakes and sometimes be unwilling to ask for help. The second is fear of conflict. Lack of trust will result in fear of conflict that can turn into team members incapable of engaging in debates or even wanting to voice their opinions. When the team completely avoids conflict, it results in inferior results. The third one is lack of commitments. Fear of conflict will result in a lack of commitment. As team members have not bought into decisions, they often don’t feel committed to the same, resulting in an environment where ambiguity overcomes. The fourth one is avoidance of accountability. Lack of commitment results in team members not making one another accountable. If one person has not added to a decision, they won’t hold their peers responsible. The 5th and the last one is inattention to results. If the team members don’t feel accountable, they will start putting their own needs ahead of the team goals. This can result in the team losing sight of what’s essential, and the company will suffer. 

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Asking specific questions to understand the level of dysfunction that one is facing can help. Questions like do team members openly and in reality disclose their opinions? Are meetings compelling and productive? Do team members confront one another about their shortcomings? Lastly, do team members sacrifice their interests for the good of the team? In the book, Kathryn tells the team they need to share their personal histories. Things that the group wouldn’t have guessed about one another. The activity only takes 45 minutes, and the group starts to form a bond that wasn’t there before. However, this bond quietly starts to fade as they dig into their behaviors. Using behavioral tools like Everything Disc, the group began to understand each other’s personalities finally. Mikey shows a lack of trust by opening herself up to criticism from the group by rolling her eyes at a discussion and feigning ignorance that she did it.

Additionally, she ruins the whole process by telling the group she feels it’s a waste of time while their competitors are probably currently working to gain market share. Martin, to the surprise of the group, disagrees with Mikey. Mikey doesn’t participate further in the discussion, and Kathryn believes that she won’t build trust with the group. The next day, the group continues to review conviction. Kathryn starts to explain that the type of trust the team needs is vulnerability-based trust. To prove if a group has trust, Kathryn writes on the board ‘invulnerability’ to contrast what a group without trust looks like. She then asks the team to provide their individual strength and weakness. Everyone in the group offers profound answers. They open themselves up to what they feel are their weaknesses—everyone, except for Mikey. While the group is bonding together, it seems Mikey is slowly being left on the outside.

Nick showed signs of conflict during the week after the group offsite. Nick, the CEO, approaches the group with an opportunity to purchase a competing company. In the meeting, the group is unsure about buying another company. Nick, feeling handcuffed on this opportunity, insults Kathryn and Mikey, complaining that they can’t offer insight into what he is trying to do. Kathryn stops the meeting and talks with Nick one on one. She confronts Nick about his behavior and why he wants them to buy this other company.

Nick explains that he doesn’t feel like he was meeting his goals when he joined the company. Buying this company makes him feel like he is achieving something. Kathryn asks him if his plans are aligned with the group goals, and Nick admits that he has been pursuing his dreams. Both Mikey and Nick do not show examples of how teammates should act. Mikey did not put her guard down and let people in to share personal information about themselves. Nick was only thinking about himself and what he wants for the company instead of what the team wants. Both individuals need to consider as a team and act as such. A company cannot succeed if everyone is not on the same page.

 

Citation

Lencioni, P. M. (2007). The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons.

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