Introduction
When dysfunction seeps into a team, it can have devastating consequences. Poor collaboration, miscommunication, and conflict in teams hurt the whole organisation. They lead to missed deadlines, low morale, and lost revenue.
Patrick Lencioni’s model in “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team” shows the root causes of team dysfunction.
He highlights five core dysfunctions:
- Absence of trust
- Fear of conflict
- Lack of commitment
- Avoidance of accountability
- Inattention to results.
When these issues arise, they compromise a team’s ability to collaborate effectively and achieve their goals.
In this blog, we will delve into five common signs of a dysfunctional team, exploring how they manifest in day-to-day interactions.
More importantly, we will offer practical solutions to fix these issues. This will help your team achieve healthier collaboration, better communication, and improved performance.
Whether you’re a leader looking to enhance your team’s dynamics or a team member seeking positive change, this guide will equip you with insights to build a stronger, more cohesive team.
Dysfunction #1. Absence of Trust
The first dysfunction in Patrick Lencioni’s model is the absence of trust, which serves as the foundation for all other team dysfunctions.
In this context, trust is a team’s willingness to be vulnerable. Members should admit mistakes, ask for help, and share weaknesses without fear of judgment or reprisal. Without this basic level of trust, a team cannot function effectively, and every other aspect of teamwork suffers.
Signs of a Trust Deficit
When trust is absent in a team, it often manifests in a variety of ways:
Guarded Communication: Team members hesitate to share their true thoughts or concerns. Conversations become surface-level, and important issues go unaddressed.
Reluctance to Collaborate: People become protective of their own work, preferring to work in silos rather than seeking input or assistance from others.
This often leads to duplicated efforts or missed opportunities for synergy.
Fear of Asking for Help: In a low-trust environment, asking for help can be perceived as a weakness. Team members may struggle with tasks on their own instead of reaching out for support.
Avoiding Feedback: Without trust, team members may avoid feedback. They fear it will cause conflict or damage relationships.
These behaviours hurt the team’s communication and respect. They prevent the team from reaching its full potential.
Strategies for Building Trust
Building trust in a team takes time and effort. It requires a focus on fostering vulnerability and transparency.
Here are a few strategies leaders and team members can use to strengthen trust:
Encourage Vulnerability: Team members must feel safe to share their challenges, weaknesses, or mistakes without fear of judgment.
Leaders can set the tone by modelling vulnerability themselves, admitting when they don’t have all the answers or when they’ve made a mistake.
Promote Transparency: Transparency in decision-making, communication, and expectations helps build trust.
When everyone is clear on what is happening and why, team members are more likely to feel secure and included.
Foster Open Dialogue: Create a safe space for team members to share concerns, give feedback, and have honest discussions.
This openness helps break down barriers and encourages trust.
Team-building Exercises: Activities that encourage sharing personal stories or solving problems can help team members bond and build trust over time.
By fixing the lack of trust and being open, teams can boost collaboration, creativity, and accountability.
Trust is the cornerstone of a healthy, high-performing team, and without it, dysfunction will persist.
Disfunction #2. Fear of Conflict
The second dysfunction in Patrick Lencioni’s model is the fear of conflict.
Healthy conflict is essential for a team to grow, innovate, and solve complex problems. It lets team members share views, challenge assumptions, and make better decisions.
Avoiding conflict can prioritise harmony over debate. This leads to stagnation and poor decisions.
Fear of conflict usually comes from a lack of trust. Team members fear that open disagreements will harm relationships or have negative results.
Signs of Conflict Avoidance
When teams fear conflict, they exhibit several telltale signs:
Artificial Harmony: On the surface, all seems fine. Team meetings are polite, and disagreements are rare.
However, this “harmony” is deceptive, as real issues are swept under the rug rather than addressed head-on.
Lack of Debate: In a conflict-averse environment, team members hesitate to express dissenting opinions. They avoid challenging ideas, even when they disagree.
This leads to watered-down decisions that lack input from multiple viewpoints.
Groupthink: The team may seek consensus. They avoid tough talks to keep the peace.
This stifles innovation and prevents the team from exploring better options.
Resentment and Frustration: When we don’t discuss important issues, tensions build.
Team members may become frustrated, leading to passive-aggressive behaviour or disengagement.
Without healthy conflict, teams miss out on the opportunity to improve their processes and make stronger, more informed decisions.
Solutions for Fostering Healthy Conflict
To overcome the fear of conflict, teams need to create an environment where diverse opinions are valued and open discussions are encouraged.
Here are some strategies for fostering healthy conflict:
Encourage Diverse Perspectives: Leaders should seek and value different viewpoints in the team.
Inviting diverse views will make team members more comfortable. They will share ideas, knowing their input is welcome.
Set Ground Rules for Debate: Establishing clear guidelines for how conflict is handled can reduce the fear of tension.
For example, agreeing to debate ideas, not personalities, can help. It can create a safe space for healthy conflict. Also, ensuring discussions remain respectful can help.
Facilitate Open Discussions: Leaders can play an important role by facilitating discussions where team members are encouraged to speak up.
Ask direct questions and invite dissent. Show that disagreement is a natural, productive part of teamwork.
Model Constructive Conflict: Leaders should show how to handle disagreements. They should engage in open debate themselves.
Showing that conflict can be managed in a respectful and beneficial way helps normalise it for the rest of the team.
Use Structured Decision-making Tools: Methods like “devil’s advocacy,” which challenges ideas, or the “Six Thinking Hats” technique, which examines a decision from multiple angles, can help. They can guide debates in a structured and constructive way.
Teams can improve their problem-solving, innovation, and decision-making. They should embrace, not fear, conflict.
Healthy conflict is a vital ingredient for team growth, ensuring that the best ideas emerge and the team continues to evolve.
Dysfunction #3. Lack of Commitment
The third dysfunction in Patrick Lencioni’s model is the lack of commitment.
Teams that struggle with commitment have difficulty making decisions and sticking to them.
This dysfunction arises when team members are unclear about the team’s direction, goals, or priorities, or when they don’t feel invested in the outcomes.
Without commitment, teams suffer from indecision, lack of focus, and an inability to move forward confidently.
Ultimately, this undermines the team’s ability to execute effectively and achieve results.
Signs of Commitment Issues
Teams with a lack of commitment often display the following behaviours:
Ambiguous Goals: If team members are unclear on the team’s goals, they struggle to commit to decisions or actions. This ambiguity leads to confusion and misaligned efforts.
Lack of Buy-in: Even if a decision is made, some team members may not fully support it.
This lack of buy-in shows in half-hearted efforts and minimal engagement. Some may resist, feeling no personal accountability for the outcomes.
Delayed Decisions: Without commitment, teams often delay important decisions. They second-guess themselves or seek consensus, fearing a wrong choice.
This indecisiveness can slow progress and create frustration.
Frequent Changes in Direction: Teams that lack commitment may often change course. They abandon decisions without giving them a chance to succeed.
This creates confusion and instability, eroding confidence in the team’s leadership.
Strategies for Fostering Commitment
To build commitment in a team, clarify the goals. Ensure everyone feels aligned and accountable.
Here are some strategies to foster greater commitment:
Set Clear Goals and Expectations: Teams need a shared understanding of what they are working toward.
Establish clear, measurable goals and make sure every team member knows what success looks like. This creates a sense of purpose and direction that helps drive commitment.
Ensure Alignment of Objectives: Make sure that individual objectives align with the team’s overall goals.
When team members see how their contributions fit into the larger picture, they are more likely to be engaged and committed.
Encourage Open Debate Before Decisions: Allow space for open, healthy debate before decisions are made.
If team members feel heard in the decisions, they will commit to the final choice, even if they don’t fully agree.
Once a decision is made, encourage full support from everyone, even if some had differing opinions initially.
Clarify Decision-Making Roles: Establish clear roles for decision-making. Who has the final say? Who needs to be consulted?
Defining these roles reduces ambiguity. It ensures quick decision-making, without delays.
Create a Culture of Accountability: Commitment is strengthened when there is accountability.
Regularly review progress toward goals and hold individuals accountable for their contributions.
Publicly celebrating wins and addressing setbacks as a team reinforces the importance of follow-through.
By clarifying goals, fostering alignment, and creating an environment where everyone is committed to moving in the same direction, teams can overcome indecision and hesitation.
Commitment is key. It ensures teams execute with confidence and drive. They must know they are working together toward a common goal.
Dysfunction #4. Avoidance of Accountability
The fourth dysfunction in Patrick Lencioni’s model is the avoidance of accountability.
Accountability is key to team success. It makes each member responsible for their actions and contributions.
Without accountability, team members won’t call out poor performance or missed deadlines. They fear conflict and want to avoid uncomfortable conversations.
This dysfunction leads to inconsistent standards, uneven workloads, and an overall decline in performance.
Signs of Accountability Avoidance
When teams avoid accountability, several common behaviours emerge:
Finger-Pointing: Team members may blame others instead of owning their mistakes or missed targets.
This creates a toxic environment where no one feels responsible for the team’s overall success or failure.
Failure to Take Ownership: Team members may not take responsibility for their tasks. This includes missing deadlines, underperforming, or not delivering on promises.
They may make excuses or downplay the significance of their role in the team’s performance.
Uneven Workloads: When accountability is absent, high-performing team members often end up carrying a disproportionate amount of work, while others contribute less.
This creates resentment and leads to burnout among those who are consistently stepping up.
Lack of Peer-to-Peer Feedback: In teams that avoid accountability, team members hesitate to give feedback to their peers.
Even when they notice underperformance, they may refrain from speaking up, hoping someone else will address the issue.
Without accountability, performance standards erode. The team then struggles to be productive and effective.
Solutions for Promoting Accountability
To foster accountability in a team, set clear expectations. Hold each other to high standards. Create a culture that embraces ownership.
Here are some strategies to encourage accountability:
Establish Clear Roles and Responsibilities: To promote accountability, every team member needs to know exactly what is expected of them.
Define clear roles, set measurable goals, and ensure everyone understands their specific responsibilities.
When expectations are clear, it’s easier to hold individuals accountable for their contributions.
Create a Culture of Peer Accountability: Encourage team members to hold each other accountable, not just rely on leadership to do so.
When accountability is shared across the team, it creates a sense of collective responsibility for the team’s success.
Peer-to-peer feedback should be seen as a positive tool for improvement, not criticism.
Regularly Review Performance: Hold check-ins or reviews to assess progress and find areas to improve.
These reviews should focus on both successes and challenges, providing opportunities for constructive feedback and course correction.
Hold Team Members to High Standards: Promote a culture where high standards are the norm, and every team member is expected to meet or exceed them.
Celebrate achievements, but also address underperformance or missed commitments promptly. Letting small issues slide only reinforces avoidance of accountability.
Lead by Example: Leaders play a key role in modelling accountability.
By taking responsibility for their own actions and being open to feedback, leaders set a powerful example for the rest of the team.
When leaders hold themselves accountable, it encourages others to do the same.
Accountability boosts a team’s performance. Each member feels responsible for their work and committed to the team’s success.
Clear expectations, regular feedback, and a culture of ownership help ensure that every individual is held to a high standard, driving the team toward its goals.
Dysfunction #5. Inattention to Results
The fifth and final dysfunction in Patrick Lencioni’s model is inattention to results.
In a well-functioning team, the collective success of the group is the ultimate priority. However, if team members lose sight of this, they focus on personal goals. They prioritise individual achievements, status, or departmental success over the team’s shared goals.
This dysfunction harms the team’s ability to succeed and grow. Personal agendas take priority over the team’s results.
Signs of Results Orientation Issues
Teams that suffer from inattention to results often show the following signs:
Prioritising Individual Goals: Team members may focus on personal goals, recognition, or career advancement over the team’s objectives.
This could manifest as self-promotion, hoarding resources, or siloed working habits.
Lack of Accountability for Team Outcomes: When teams are not results-oriented, there is often a lack of collective ownership.
Team members may become indifferent to the team’s success. They only care about meeting their individual tasks or targets.
Lack of Focus on Results: The team may lack a focus on measurable outcomes. This could lead to vague goals or missed targets.
Without tracking performance against goals, teams can lose sight of what success looks like and drift away from delivering concrete results.
Focus on Status and Ego: Individuals may prioritise their status over the team’s goals.
This can cause unhealthy competition, favouritism, or poor teamwork. Team members may prioritise their own advancement.
Ignoring results weakens the team’s unity. It hampers their ability to achieve meaningful outcomes. This makes success harder to attain and sustain.
Strategies for Refocusing on Results
To counteract inattention to results, teams must focus on success and measurable outcomes.
Here are some strategies to ensure the team remains results-driven:
Set Clear, Measurable Goals: The team must have clear, specific goals that are both measurable and time-bound.
These goals should be tied to the overall mission of the organisation and provide a shared target that everyone is working toward.
When goals are measurable, it becomes easier to track progress and hold the team accountable.
Align Individual and Team Objectives: Make sure individual goals support the team objectives.
When people see their work helps the team, they value team success over personal gain.
Create a Culture of Collective Success: Celebrate team achievements, not just individual accomplishments.
When the team hits a major milestone, recognise the collective effort involved in reaching that goal.
This fosters a sense of shared purpose and motivates everyone to contribute to the team’s overall success.
Regularly Review Results: Add regular check-ins to assess the team’s progress.
These reviews should focus on outcomes, not just activities, and encourage the team to course-correct if necessary to stay on track.
Minimise Status and Ego Issues: Leaders must set the tone by prioritising team success over personal recognition.
It means rewarding teamwork, not unhealthy competition. Everyone must know that the team’s goals, not individual accolades, define success.
By fostering a results-oriented culture, teams can stay focused on what matters most: achieving shared goals.
Clear, measurable goals, aligned priorities, and a commitment to success help keep the team united. It drives them to deliver meaningful results.
Conclusion
For any organisation, it’s vital to spot and fix team dysfunction. It’s key to achieving lasting success.
The five dysfunctions outlined by Patrick Lencioni—absence of trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance of accountability, and inattention to results—can severely limit a team’s ability to collaborate, innovate, and deliver results.
By becoming aware of these dysfunctions, leaders and team members can take the necessary steps to correct them and build stronger, more cohesive teams.
Overcoming dysfunction and fostering a healthy team culture has transformative potential.
High-performing, resilient teams trust each other. They embrace conflict and commit to shared goals. They hold each other accountable and focus on results.
Such teams are more effective. They are also more motivated and engaged. This leads to higher satisfaction and better results for the organisation.
