Thread by @joe_portsmouth

These 5 traits are holding your team back at work.

THREAD: How to identify and solve the 5 dysfunctions of a team:

Background: Patrick Lencioni is a pioneer of the organizational health movement.

He has written 11 books and sold over 6 million copies.

One of his most famous books being: "The Five Dysfunctions of a Team"

Here's what you need to know:

The 5 dysfunctions of a team are stacked in a hierarchical pyramid (from bottom to top):

(1) Absence of Trust
(2) Fear of Conflict
(3) Lack of Commitment
(4) Avoidance of Accountability
(5) Inattention to Results

Building a strong foundation at the bottom of the pyramid is crucial to supporting the higher-level traits.

So that's where we'll start and work our way up the pyramid 👇

(1) Absence of Trust:

It's hard to do anything productive if your team doesn't trust each other.

Signs that your team lacks trust:

⚠️ Reluctant to be vulnerable

⚠️ Unwilling to admit mistakes

⚠️ Don't ask for help

⚠️ Jump to conclusions about the intentions of others

How to fix Absence of Trust:

✅ Help team members focus on strengths instead of weaknesses - for other team members and themselves

✅ Set a good example by asking your team members for help

✅ Admit your own weaknesses and limitations

✅ Be the first to own up to a mistake

(2) Fear of Conflict:

Your team may trust each other, but do they embrace conflict?

Signs that your team is afraid of conflict:

⚠️ Hesitate to voice opinions and concerns

⚠️ Ignore controversial topics

⚠️ Worry more about office politics and personal risk management

How to fix Fear of Conflict:

✅ Define what healthy conflict looks like

✅ Praise healthy examples of conflict

✅ Give corrective feedback if conflict veers towards unhealthy

✅ Assign a "devil's advocate" in meetings

(3) Lack of Commitment:

If everyone doesn't buy in, your team will be out of sync.

Signs that your team lacks commitment:

⚠️ Lack confidence

⚠️ Fear of failure

⚠️ Spend too much time making decisions

⚠️ Environment of ambiguity & confusion

How to fix Lack of Commitment:

✅ Define clear deadlines

✅ Review key decisions at the end of meetings

✅ Have a contingency plan. This forces your team to face potential pitfalls and fear of failure head-on.

(4) Avoidance of Accountability:

Lack of accountability is a recipe for mediocrity.

Signs that your team avoids accountability:

⚠️ Missed deadlines

⚠️ Hesitate to call out peers on counterproductive behaviors

⚠️ View corrective feedback as a personal attack

How to fix Avoidance of Accountability:

✅ Set clear standards for performance

✅ Hold regular progress reviews

✅ Encourage peer feedback

✅ Reward team achievements (rather than individuals)

(5) Inattention to Results:

You can't have a high-performing team without the results to match.

Signs that your team has an inattention to results:

⚠️ Get distracted from collective goals easily

⚠️ Too much concern over the pursuit of individual goals and status

How to fix Inattention to Results:

✅ Have clear team metrics to assess results

✅ Give rewards when team goals are met (e.g. extra day off, bonuses, etc.)

If the team already knows how to keep each other accountable, they will push each other toward pursuing common goals.

Now that you know the 5 dysfunctions of a team, here are 5 questions to ask yourself and get started:

(1) Do your team members openly and readily disclose their opinions?

(2) Are your team meetings compelling and productive?

(3) Does your team come to decisions quickly and avoid getting bogged down by consensus?

(4) Do your team members confront one another about their shortcomings?

(5) Do your team members sacrifice their interests for the good of the team?

If you answered "yes" to all five questions, you must be doing a pretty good job!

If you hesitated or answered "no" to any of these questions, you likely have some work to do. Consider having your team take the full assessment online. (It was really beneficial in my experience!)

To summarize, the 5 dysfunctions of a team are:

(1) Absence of Trust
(2) Fear of Conflict
(3) Lack of Commitment
(4) Avoidance of Accountability
(5) Inattention to Results

Start by addressing (1) and working your way up the pyramid to build a high-performing team.

If you found this thread helpful, please:

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I write about how to grow businesses and increase productivity.