1. Team Assessment: Five Dysfunctions That Hinder Teamwork and Productivity
February 1, 2006

2. What are the 5 Dysfunctions of teams?

4. Dysfunction #1 Absence of Trust
Members of Teams with an absence of trust…
Conceal their weaknesses and mistakes from one another
Hesitate to ask for help or provide constructive feedback
Hesitate to offer help outside their own areas of responsibility
Jump to conclusions about the intentions and aptitudes of others without attempting to clarify them
Fail to recognize and tap into one another’s skills and experiences
Waste time and energy managing their behaviors for effect
Hold grudges
Dread meetings and find reasons to avoid spending time together

5. Members of Trusting teams…
Admit weaknesses and mistakes
Ask for help
Accept questions and input about their areas of responsibility
Give one another the benefit of the doubt before arriving at a negative conclusion
Take risks in offering feedback and assistance
Appreciate and tap into one another’s skills and experiences
Focus time and energy on important issues, not politics
Offer and accept apologies without hesitation
Look forward to meetings and opportunities to work as a group

6. Dysfunction #2 Fear of Conflict
Teams that fear conflict…
Have boring meetings
Create environments where back-channel politics and personal attacks thrive
Ignore controversial topics that are critical to team success
Fail to tap into all the opinions and perspectives of team members
Waste time and energy with posturing and interpersonal risk management

7. Teams that engage in conflict…
Have lively, interesting meetings
Extract and exploit the ideas of all team members
Solve real problems quickly
Minimize politics
Put critical topics on the table for discussion

8. Dysfunction #3 Lack of Commitment
A team that fails to commit…
Creates ambiguity among the team about direction and priorities
Watches windows of opportunity close due to excessive analysis and unnecessary delay
Breeds lack of confidence and fear of failure
Revisits discussions and decisions again and again
Encourages second-guessing among team members

9. A team that commits… Creates clarity around direction and priorities
Aligns the entire team around common objectives
Develops an ability to learn from mistakes
Takes advantage of opportunities before competitors do
Moves forward without hesitation
Changes direction without hesitation or guilt

10. Dysfunction #4 Avoidance of Accountability
A team that avoids accountability…
Creates resentment among team members who have different standards of performance
Encourages mediocrity
Misses deadlines and key deliverables
Places an undue burden on the team leader as the sole source of discipline

11. A team that holds one another accountable…
Ensures that poor performers feel pressure to improve
Identifies potential problems quickly by questioning one another’s approaches without hesitation
Establishes respect among team members who are held to the same high standards
Avoids excessive bureaucracy around performance management and corrective action

12. Dysfunction #5 Inattention to Results
A team that is not focused on 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

13. A team that focuses on collective results…
Retains achievement-oriented employees
Minimizes individualistic behavior
Enjoys success and suffers failure acutely
Benefits from individuals who subjugate their own goals/interests for the good of the team
Avoids distractions

14. Suggestions for Overcoming the 5 Dysfunctions
Dysfunction #1: Absence of Trust
Personal Histories Exercise
Team Effectiveness Exercise
Personality and Behavioral Preference Profiles
Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
Experiential Team Exercises
Ropes Courses, etc.

15. Dysfunction #2: Fear of Conflict
Acknowledge that Conflict is productive
Mining
Assign a “miner of conflict”
Real time permission
Awareness of conflict, and reminding those who have reached the “uncomfortable” phase of a disagreement that what is happening is necessary.

16. #3: Lack of Commitment Cascading Messaging Deadlines
Review of decisions at conclusion of meetings and agree on what the next steps are to be.
Deadlines
Clear deadlines for when decisions will be made or projects completed. Removal of ambiguity.
Contingency and Worst Case Scenario Analysis
Know how you’ll react to changes. Talk about ‘worst- case’ scenarios ahead of time.
Low Risk Exposure Therapy
Practice decisive decision making in “low risk” situations.

17. Dysfunction #4: Avoidance of Accountability
Publication of Goals and Standards
Remove ambiguity by publishing goals and standards
Simple and Regular Progress Reviews
Team members should regularly communicate with one another with verbal and written feedback.
Team Rewards
Focus on a team concept. Remove individualism.

18. Dysfunction #5: Inattention to Results
Public Declaration of Results
Teams willing to commit publicly are more likely to work passionately toward accomplishing goals.
“We’ll try” or “We’ll do our best” is a set up for failure.
Results Based Rewards
Tie rewards (i.e., compensation) to results

19. Reality:
The reality of this is that teamwork ultimately comes down to practicing these principles over a long period of time. Success is not a matter of mastering subtle, sophisticated theory, but embracing common sense with uncommon levels of discipline and persistence. Teams that are successful succeed because they are exceedingly human. They acknowledge the imperfections of being human. Members of functional teams overcome the natural tendencies that make trust, conflict, commitment and accountability and a focus on results so elusive.

20. “Gettin' good players is easy
“Gettin' good players is easy. Gettin' 'em to play together is the hard part.”
-Casey Stengel