Dysfunctions Patrick Lencioni\'s Book the Five Dysfunctions

¶ … Dysfunctions

Patrick Lencioni's book The Five Dysfunctions of a Team is a management book about teamwork. In particular, the author covers the reasons that teams in the workplace sometimes fail or struggle to meet objectives. Teamwork is a major trend in business now, but when done poorly the team can be a detriment to the company meeting its objectives. It is important, therefore, for companies to understand how good teams are created, and some of the pitfalls that exist in the creation and function of good teams. These are the five dysfunctions that form the heart of this book.

The five dysfunctions are an absence of trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance of accountability and inattention to results. Trust is important in teams because the members each contribute their own work. If they do not trust that the other members of the team are as talented, committed and honest as they are, then they will contribute a lower quality of work to the team. Trust is a key component of effective teams, and it is important for managers to ensure that the team has a high level of trust.

Fear of conflict can inhibit the free flow of ideas. The author argues that some teams fail because there is a sense that a harmonious team is a good team. This, however, discourages the free flow of ideas within the team, as people withhold good ideas in order to avoid ruining the harmony. In order to make the team more effective, the author argues, fear of conflict should be removed. Parameters for healthy conflict should be established. In addition, fear of conflict arises from a lack of trust -- the group members need to trust that disagreements over technical issues will not become personal and erode the ability of the group to function.

A lack of commitment, the author notes, includes people pretending to buy into the group when they don't. This is related to a fear of conflict but also occurs when group members do not believe in the purpose or mission of the team. A lack of commitment will ultimately show, however, when people fail to work hard to see the team's objectives met, and when there are insufficient resources for the team to meet its goals. Avoidance of accountability hurts teams because people can perform at a low level, and hurt the output of the team as a result. Thus, team members need to be held accountable for poor performance in order to ensure that the team remains effective over the long run. Inattention to results, the author describes, includes focusing on personal results as well as avoiding accountability. The team must be focused on team results in order that the group remains committed and those team results are achieved.