Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions of a Team

1. Trust is the foundation of effective teamwork

Trust is not the ability of team members to predict one another's behaviors because they've known each other for a long time.

Vulnerability-based trust. Trust in a team context is about being comfortable with vulnerability. It's not about predicting behaviors, but rather about team members feeling safe to admit weaknesses, mistakes, and fears. This type of trust creates an environment where people can focus on the collective good rather than self-preservation.

Building trust takes effort. While trust is crucial, it's often rare in teams. Leaders must actively work to create an atmosphere where vulnerability is encouraged and respected. This can be achieved through exercises like the Personal Histories Exercise, where team members share aspects of their background, helping others understand them at a more fundamental level.

Trust enables other team dynamics. When trust is established, it paves the way for healthy conflict, true commitment, and willingness to hold each other accountable. Without trust, teams struggle to move beyond surface-level interactions and cannot tap into their full potential for collaboration and innovation.

2. Healthy conflict is essential for team success

Good conflict among team members requires trust, which is all about engaging in unfiltered, passionate debate around issues.

Productive ideological conflict. Healthy teams engage in passionate, unfiltered debates around important issues. This type of conflict is focused on ideas, not personalities, and is crucial for making the best decisions for the organization.

Overcoming conflict avoidance. Many teams struggle with conflict because they fear it will damage relationships. However, the absence of conflict often leads to artificial harmony and poor decision-making. Leaders must encourage and model productive conflict.

Key strategies for mastering conflict:

• Establish conflict norms
• Use conflict profiling tools to understand individual and team conflict styles
• Practice "mining for conflict" to unearth important issues
• Provide real-time permission during debates to reassure team members

3. Commitment requires clarity and buy-in, not consensus

Commitment is not consensus. Waiting for everyone on a team to agree intellectually on a decision is a good recipe for mediocrity, delay, and frustration.

Clarity and buy-in. True commitment comes from ensuring that all team members have clarity about decisions and buy into them emotionally, even if they don't fully agree. This is different from consensus, which often leads to mediocre decisions and delays.

The leader's role. Leaders play a crucial part in driving commitment by extracting all possible ideas and perspectives from the team, then having the courage to make a decision. When team members feel heard and understood, they're more likely to commit to the final decision, even if it differs from their original stance.

Techniques for achieving commitment:

• Use the Commitment Clarification exercise at the end of meetings
• Implement Cascading Communication to ensure alignment
• Establish a Thematic Goal to provide a common sense of purpose

4. Peer accountability drives team performance

Accountability on a strong team occurs directly among peers.

Peer-to-peer accountability. In high-performing teams, members hold each other accountable for their behaviors and performance, rather than relying solely on the leader. This creates a culture of shared responsibility and high standards.

The leader's example. While peer accountability is the goal, leaders must model this behavior by being willing to address difficult issues and hold team members accountable. This sets the tone for the entire team and gives others permission to do the same.

Tools for fostering accountability:

• Team Effectiveness Exercise: Provides a structured way for team members to give each other feedback
• Regular "lightning round" updates in meetings
• Maintaining a team scoreboard to track progress against goals

5. Collective results matter more than individual achievements

When members of a team fail to make that team more important than their own teams, they create something I like to call the "United Nations Syndrome."

Team-first mentality. Great teams prioritize collective results over individual or departmental achievements. This requires team members to set aside their personal agendas and focus on what's best for the team as a whole.

Overcoming common distractions. Teams must guard against common distractions that can derail their focus on results, such as:

• Ego
• Career development and money
• Departmental loyalty

The scoreboard approach. To keep teams focused on collective results, it's essential to maintain a clear, visible scoreboard that tracks progress towards team goals. This provides an unambiguous measure of team success and helps align individual efforts towards shared objectives.

6. Leadership sets the tone for team culture

If the leader of a team doesn't understand the power of teamwork and isn't prepared to lead the effort in terms of setting an example and dedicating time to it, then the chances of success are basically zero.

Leader as role model. The leader's attitude and actions towards teamwork are crucial in setting the tone for the entire team. If the leader doesn't prioritize team development, it's unlikely that team members will do so.

Commitment to the process. Leaders must be willing to invest time and energy in team building, even when it feels uncomfortable or challenging. This includes being open to vulnerability, encouraging healthy conflict, and holding team members accountable.

Leadership responsibilities for team building:

• Model vulnerability and trust-building behaviors
• Encourage and facilitate productive conflict
• Make clear decisions to drive commitment
• Hold team members accountable for their behaviors and performance
• Keep the team focused on collective results

7. Regular team-building exercises enhance cohesion

Like a marriage, a team is never completely finished developing itself.

Ongoing process. Team building is not a one-time event but an ongoing process that requires regular attention and effort. Just as a marriage needs continuous work, teams must consistently invest in their development to maintain and improve their effectiveness.

Structured exercises. Regular team-building exercises provide opportunities for teams to work on specific aspects of their dynamics. These exercises should be tailored to the team's current needs and challenges.

Recommended team-building exercises:

• Personal Histories Exercise
• Behavioral Profiling (e.g., Myers-Briggs Type Indicator)
• Conflict Profiling and Norming
• Team Effectiveness Exercise
• Thematic Goal Setting

8. Clear communication prevents misalignment

It is amazing to me how a group of intelligent, highly educated adults, all of whom speak the same language, can sit in a room for two hours of discussion, and then leave the room under the false impression that everyone is on the same page.

Commitment clarification. To avoid misalignment, teams must explicitly state and confirm their agreements at the end of meetings. This ensures that everyone leaves with a clear understanding of decisions made and actions to be taken.

Cascading communication. Team members should communicate key decisions and commitments to their respective teams within a short timeframe (e.g., 24-48 hours). This helps align the broader organization and reinforces individual accountability.

Communication best practices:

• Use a whiteboard to list agreed-upon decisions and commitments
• Have team members repeat back their understanding of key points
• Establish norms for communication methods and response times
• Regularly review and reinforce team principles and organizational goals

9. Overcoming the fear of vulnerability strengthens teams

Vulnerability-based trust is predicated on the simple—and practical—idea that people who aren't afraid to admit the truth about themselves are not going to engage in the kind of political behavior that wastes everyone's time and energy.

The power of vulnerability. When team members are willing to be vulnerable with each other, it creates a foundation of trust that enables more honest and productive interactions. This vulnerability includes admitting mistakes, weaknesses, and fears.

Overcoming resistance. Many people resist vulnerability due to fear of judgment or loss of status. Leaders must create an environment where vulnerability is seen as a strength, not a weakness.

Strategies for encouraging vulnerability:

• Start with low-risk exercises like the Personal Histories Exercise
• Use behavioral profiling tools to provide a framework for discussing strengths and weaknesses
• Model vulnerability as a leader
• Recognize and reward instances of vulnerability within the team

10. A shared scoreboard keeps teams focused on goals

Teams within organizations need to do the same thing. They have to eliminate ambiguity and interpretation when it comes to success.

Clarity of success. A shared scoreboard provides a clear, objective measure of team success. This eliminates ambiguity and helps team members align their efforts towards common goals.

Visible and current. The scoreboard should be easily visible to all team members and updated regularly. This constant reminder helps keep the team focused on their collective objectives.

Elements of an effective team scoreboard:

• Limited to a small number of critical factors
• Includes both quantitative and qualitative measures
• Reflects the team's thematic goal and supporting objectives
• Updated regularly and discussed in team meetings
• Visible to all team members (e.g., on a whiteboard or digital dashboard)

Last updated: January 24, 2025