FIVE

DYSFUNCTIONS
IN A TEAM
1.
Meaning and role
of dysfunction
Let’s start with the role of
dysfunctions in failure of a team
why does a team fail?
▰ Based on the revolutionary work by Business
Management Coach Patrick Lencioni
▰ Identifies the primary reasons for the failures in an
organization
▰ Consists of a Five Phase model indicating the
interrelationship of dysfunctions in a team

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How does a team succeed?
Reasons…

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Why does a team fail?

Insert your content

INATTENTION OF RESULTS Insert your content

AVOIDANCE OF ACCOUNTABALIITY Insert your content

LACK OF COMMITMENT Insert your content

FEAR OF CONFLICT Insert your content

ABSENCE OF TRUST Insert your content

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2.
dysfunction 1:
Absence of trust
Let’s start with the role of absence
of trust in failure of a team
“ Trust is defined as the
firm belief in the
reliability, truth, or ability
of someone or
something..

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Members of teams with an absence of trust…
▰ Conceal their weakness and mistakes from
one another
▰ Hesitate to ask for help or provide
constructive feedback
▰ Hesitate to offer help outside their own area
of responsibility

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Members of teams with an absence of trust…
▰ Fail to recognize and tap into one another’s
skills and experience
▰ Hold grudges
▰ Dread meetings and find reasons to avoid
spending time together

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Members of trusting teams…
▰ Admit weaknesses and mistakes
▰ Ask for help
▰ Accept questions and input about their area of
responsibility
▰ Give one another the benefit of the doubt before
arriving at a negative conclusion
▰ Take risks in offering feedback and assistance

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Members of trusting teams…
▰ Appreciate and tap into one another’s skills and
experiences
▰ Focus time and energy on important issues, not
politics
▰ Offer and accept apologies without hesitation
▰ Look forward to meetings and other
opportunities to work as a group

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 Overcoming
absence of trust
• Personal Histories Exercise
• Team Effectiveness Exercise
• Personality and Behavioral
Presence Profile
• 360- Degree Feedback
• Leader role

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3.
Fear of conflict
Let’s start with the second
dysfunction in the failure of a team
“ Lack of trust results in fear of
conflict which in turn results
in team members incapable
of engaging in debates or
openly voicing their opinions.
The team completely avoids
conflicts which results in
inferior results...

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Members of teams with Fear of conflict…
▰ Conceal weaknesses and mistakes from one
another
▰ Have boring meetings
▰ Create an environment where back channel
politics and personal attacks thrive
▰ Ignore controversial topics that are critical to
team success

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Members of teams with Fear of conflict…

▰ Fail to tap into all the opinions and

perspectives of team members
▰ Waste time with interpersonal posturing and
interpersonal risk management

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Teams that engage in conflict…

▰ Have lively, interesting meetings

▰ Extract and exploit the ideas of all team members
▰ Solve real problems quickly
▰ Minimize politics
▰ Put critical topics on the table for discussion

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 Overcoming Fear of Conflict……
▰ Productive Nature of Conflicts:
Acknowledge that conflict is productive, and that many
teams have a tendency to avoid it.

▰ Miners of Conflict:
Mining Team Members must occasionally assume the role of
a “miner of conflict” -- someone who extracts buried
disagreements within the team and sheds the light of day
on them.

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 Overcoming Fear of Conflict……
▰ Ream-Time Permission:
Team members need to coach one another not to retreat
from healthy debate.
Remind them what they are doing is necessary.

▰ Other Tools Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument

(TKI)
.

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4.
Lack of commitment
Let’s start with the third
dysfunction in the failure of a team
“ Fear of conflict results in lack
of commitment. As team
members have not bought
into the decisions, they don’t
feel committed to the same
which resulting in an
environment where
ambiguity prevails..

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“ Commitment is defined as
the act of binding yourself
(intellectually or emotionally)
to a course of action.

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 Meaning!
▰ Making a commitment involves
dedicating yourself to something, like a
person or a cause.
▰ Before you make a commitment, think
carefully.
A commitment unlike a Promise obligates
you to do something..
▰ Example of big commitments:

Marriage, Job
▰ Examples of small commitments:

Meeting a friend at a mutually agreed time

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 Meaning!
▰ Making a commitment involves dedicating
yourself to something, like a person or a
cause.
▰ Commitment involves
1. fulfilling a Promise given to others,
2. fulfilling the Pledge given to yourself or
3. fulfilling the Obligation of the task completion
▰ Commitment can also indicate Quality
▰ Staying after school for a study group shows

your commitment to good grades.

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A team that lacks commitment…
▰ Create ambiguity on direction and priorities
▰ Misses opportunity by too much analysis and
delay
▰ Breeds lack of confidence and fear of failure
▰ Discusses and reviews decision again and again
▰ Encourage second guessing among team
members

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Teams that are committed……

▰ Have clear directions and priorities

▰ Are aligned around objectives
▰ Develop an ability to learn from mistakes
▰ Seize opportunities before the competition
▰ Moves forward without hesitation
▰ Changes direction without hesitation or guilt

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Overcoming Lack of Commitment………
▰ Cascading messaging: reformulate action plan,
communicate quickly and comprehensively, and
align the meetings with each other
▰ Set and honor deadlines, including interim milestones.
▰ Contingency and worst case scenario analysis:
remove the fear from mistakes
▰ Low-risk exposure therapy: practice quick decision
making with limited analysis 28
5.
Avoidance of
accountabality
Let’s start with the forth
dysfunction in the failure of a team
“ Lack of commitment
results in team members
not making each other
accountable. If one has
not bought into the
decision, they won’t
make their peers too
accountable..
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“ Accountability the fact of
being responsible for
what you do and able to
give a satisfactory
reason for it, or the
degree to which this
happens.

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 Meaning!
▰ If you take responsibility for your own
actions, you show accountability..

▰ Accountable=
Responsible + Answerable + Ownership.

▰ Example of Personal accountability:

Individual actions, Behaviours

▰ Examples of Public accountability:

A government accountable for decisions and
laws affecting its citizens
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A Team that avoids accountability……
▰ •Creates resentment and different performance
standards
▰ •Encourage mediocrity
▰ •Misses deadlines and deliverables
▰ •Push all the burden of discipline to the leader

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Teams that are committed………
▰ Ensure that poor performers feel pressure to
improve
▰ Identify quickly problem by questioning one’s
approach without hesitation
▰ Establish respect among the team who are held
to the same standard
▰ Avoid excessive bureaucracy around
performance management and corrective action
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 Overcoming
Avoidance of Accountability…
▰ Publication of goals and standards:
no one can ignore them and we know who is
responsible for what
▰ Progress review simple and regular:
team member should comment on their peer
performance against objectives and standards
▰ Reward team instead of individuals
▰ Do not relegate accountability to consensus
approach: shared
▰ team responsibility with individual responsibility. 35
6.
Inattention to
results
Let’s start with the last dysfunction
in the failure of a team
“ If the team members don’t
feel accountable, they put
their own needs [ego,
recognition, career
development etc.] ahead of
the team goals. This results
in team loosing sight and the
company suffers..

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A team that is not focused on results………
▰ Stagnates/fails to grow
▰ Rarely defeats competitors
▰ Loses achievement-oriented employees
▰ Encourages team members to focus on their own
careers and individual goals Is easily distracted

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A team that focuses on collective results…………
▰ Retains achievement oriented employees
▰ Minimizes individualistic behavior
▰ Enjoys success and suffers failure acutely
▰ Benefits from individuals who subjugate their
goals/interests for the good of the team
▰ Avoids distractions

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