Welcome to the October issue of A New Leaf!  As we enter the 2014 fourth quarter, focusing on completing a successful year and effectively addressing 2015 STRATEGY need to be high on all leader’s priority lists. Both will require a highly functional TEAM operating in a strong CULTURE supported by visionary LEADERSHIP.

This month’s issue provides overviews of two business classics that address these important execution and planning challenges. The books have been selected as each has remained on the best seller lists for over thirteen years. Their continued popularity speaks to the sustainability of each author’s message.

“The Five Dysfunctions of a Team” specifically addresses what it takes to be a highly functional TEAM. Without effectively dealing with team dysfunction, your ongoing execution and upcoming STRATEGY sessions will likely not achieve their intended objectives.

“Good to Great” sets forth research based findings on how even underperforming companies can transform themselves to achieve enduring greatness. The book offers intriguing revelations on all aspects of LEADERSHIP and CULTURE.

A key deliverable from your 2015 STRATEGY setting process should be the identification of how your business will differentiate itself from the competition.  The concepts set forth in both books will assist you in establishing the cultural foundation necessary to achieve this critical strategic imperative.

- Mike

Book Review: “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team” by Patrick Lencioni

Like his other bestsellers, Patrick Lencioni’s “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team” presents a case study written as a fable to illustrate the practical application of his message. Following the fable, he then provides a detailed assessment of the functional team model.  His writing style proves both constructive in understanding the context of the team model and instructive in the review of its details.

Team dysfunction is prevalent in all organizations. The issue is not if it exists but whether leadership acknowledges and is actively working to overcome it. Lencioni sets forth the following five dysfunctions threatening peak team performance:

• Absence of Trust
  
• Fear of Conflict
  
• Lack of Commitment
  
• Avoidance of Accountability
  
• Inattention to Results

Consistent with successfully addressing team dysfunction, a high performing “functional team” knowingly chooses:

• Team Trust over individual feelings of Invulnerability
  
• Constructive Conflict over Artificial Harmony
  
• Commitment over Ambiguity
  
• Accountability over Low Standards
  
• Attention to Results over a focus on Status and Ego

Lencioni’s five dysfunctions are of a hierarchal nature. Absent trust, team members will fear and not engage in the conflict necessary to arrive at the best decisions. Not having engaged in constructive conflict, team members will be unwilling to provide the necessary commitment to the decisions made. Lacking full commitment, team members will avoid accountability for execution of decisions made. Failing to accept accountability, team members inevitably focus on their individual desires in lieu of paying attention to the collective results of the organization. 

Lencioni goes into great depth in addressing the causes and cures of each of the key dysfunctions. An assessment tool is provided to establish a baseline as to where your team stands today and those dysfunctions it needs to focus on in the future.

Lencioni’s definitions of the dysfunctions are critical to the understanding of his model. In particular, the concepts of trust and accountability stand out in contrast to their standard use relating to organizational performance. Following is a brief discussion of Lencioni’s definition of these two important concepts.

In their quest for high performance, many teams are unable to overcome the primary dysfunction of team trust. The standard definition of trust, one that centers on the ability to predict one’s behavior based upon past experience, contrasts with Lencioni’s definition. The functional team model defines trust as “the confidence amongst team members that their peer’s intentions are good, and that there is no reason to be protective or careful around the group. In essence, team members must get comfortable being vulnerable with one another.  This includes being open in sharing their mistakes and weaknesses”.

This level of trust is extremely hard to establish and usually requires time and shared experiences to develop. Unfortunately, absent the presence of this degree of vulnerability, teams will be unable to effectively engage in the kind of open dialogue and conflict necessary to arrive at the best decisions possible. This will significantly diminish their ability to become a high performing team.   

Similarly, Lencioni’s definition of accountability offers a radically different perspective on this important team concept. If team members achieve the requisite level of trust, engage in the necessary conflict and commit to the decisions made, then the concept of accountability addresses “the willingness (and responsibility)  of team members to call their peers on performance or behaviors that might hurt the team”.  Members of great teams are not afraid to “enter the danger” zone of difficult conversations with each other. This rare level of peer accountability greatly reduces the responsibility of the leader to be solely responsible for the management of team performance. “Members of great teams improve their relationships by holding one another accountable, thus demonstrating that they respect each other and have high expectations for one another’s performance”.

“The Five Dysfunctions” sets forth a constructive framework for how teams can deliver outstanding results. If your team is underperforming, addressing the five dysfunctions will be a great place to start.