Leadership and Team Building Presented by: Inna Voskresensky, MHA, CPCS, CPMSM Michelle Tulloch, CPCS

Objectives: Define the role of leadership in team building Identify the five dysfunctions of a team Provide means for assessing how functional or dysfunctional your team is Offer tools for developing a cohesive and productive team

Leadership

Team Building

“The Five Dysfunctions of a Team” by Patrick Lencioni This book offers a leadership fable that is as captivating, as it is realistic, relevant, and practical. Kathryn Petersen, the company’s CEO, faces the leadership crisis: uniting a team that is in such disorder that it threatens to bring down the entire company. Will she be able to succeed? Will she be fired? Or will the company fail? Throughout the story, the writer reveals the five dysfunctions that a lot of teams often struggle with. He outlines a powerful model and practical steps that can be taken to overcome these common hurdles and build a cohesive, effective team.

Kathryn’s approach to building a functional team At their first retreat (team-building meeting) scheduled with the Executive team Kathryn defined the main reason why they are having this retreat and why they are still at the company and that is “to achieve results”. She set up expectations for the same time next year – revenue growth, profitability, customer retention and satisfaction. She made a point that none of that will happen if they do not address the issues that are preventing them from acting like a team. She presented the five reasons why teams are dysfunctional. She addressed them one-by-one by having discussions with the whole team and individual team members. She scheduled annual planning meetings and leadership development retreats, weekly and quarterly staff meetings, and ad hoc topical meetings to discuss strategic issues.

1. Absence of Trust Trust is a foundation of real teamwork. Kathryn called it “the most critical part of building a team”. “Great teams do not hold back with one another. They are unafraid of speaking up their minds, admitting their mistakes, their weaknesses and their concerns without fear of reprisal.” Signs of lack of trust: lack of debate during staff meetings and other interactions among team members. Exercises to build trust or “getting naked”: sharing personal histories (hometown, life as a child, number of kids in the family, interesting hobbies, biggest challenges growing up, first job, etc.). The biggest challenge here is to bring everyone onboard and have them open up and share some of their life experiences.

Kathryn’s model of five dysfunctions of a team

2. Fear of Conflict Sings of fear of conflict: preserving a sense of artificial harmony, inability to engage in open and constructive debate, ideological conflict, tension, withdrawal, and politics. “Politics is when people choose their words and actions based on how they want others to react rather than based on what they really think.”

How to manage conflict effectively

3. Lack of Commitment Failure to buy in to decisions and commit to a plan. Some teams get paralyzed by their need for complete agreement and their inability to move beyond debate. Steps to get there: hear what everyone has to say (give everyone a chance to weigh in), respond to different opinions, and agree on the plan for action. “Disagree and commit” when a decision is made.

4. Avoidance of Accountability Hold each other accountable for what we sign up to do, for high standards of performance and behavior. People are not going to hold each other accountable if they did not buy in to the same plan.

5. Inattention to Results The ultimate dysfunction of a team is the tendency of members to care about something other than the collective goals of the group. A team that is not focused on results: A team that focuses on collective 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 Retains achievement-oriented employees Minimizes individual behavior Enjoys success and suffers failure acutely Benefits from individuals who subdue their own goals/interests for the good of the team Avoids destructions

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

Tools to assess how functional or dysfunctional your team is Conduct the assessment Develop a plan to improve areas of concern Set up an example Do group exercises Provide feedback Re-evaluate Celebrate improvements Repeat the cycle The teamwork ultimately comes down to practicing a small set of principles over a long period of time.

“Success rarely comes from just one person but the entire team or organization. But it is leaders who energize teams to make things happen”. Linda Bodenmann

Recommended Literature “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team” by Patrick Lencioni “The Ideal Team Player” by Patrick Lencioni “Seven Spiritual Principles of Leadership” by Deepak Chopra “How Successful People Lead” by John C. Maxwell

Inna Voskresensky – ivoskresensky@partners.org Michelle Tulloch – michelle.tulloch@umassmemorial.rog