Patrick Lencioni’s The Five Dysfunctions of a Team explores the critical challenges that teams face in achieving effective collaboration and performance. Using a pyramid framework, Lencioni illustrates how the absence of certain foundational elements can hinder teamwork, creating dysfunctions that undermine collective success. Each level of the pyramid builds on the one below it, meaning that addressing the foundational dysfunctions is critical for resolving those higher up. Below is an overview of each dysfunction, accompanied by real-life examples.

Absence of Trust

The foundation of teamwork is trust, which requires vulnerability among team members. When team members cannot admit mistakes, weaknesses, or ask for help, the team lacks the interpersonal trust needed to work collaboratively.

Example 1: The Silent Marketing Team

Situation: In a marketing team, members avoided admitting when they didn’t understand a task or strategy, fearing judgment from peers. This led to mistakes in campaigns that could have been avoided.
Solution: The team participated in vulnerability-based trust exercises where members shared professional challenges and personal stories. Over time, this created a safe space where asking for help was normalized.

Example 2: The Blame-Driven Engineering Team

Situation: An engineering team experienced high turnover because members feared admitting mistakes. A culture of blame developed, with finger-pointing during retrospectives.
Solution: Leadership introduced regular feedback sessions focused on learning, not fault. Team leads openly admitted their own mistakes, modeling vulnerability and shifting the culture towards trust.

2. Fear of Conflict

When trust is absent, team members avoid healthy conflict, fearing personal attacks or creating tension. This leads to artificial harmony where critical discussions are avoided, stifling innovation.

Example 1: The Over-Accommodating Sales Team

• Situation: A sales team avoided discussing a colleague’s underperformance to “maintain harmony.” This led to missed sales targets.
• Solution: A trained facilitator ran structured conflict-resolution workshops, where team members could express concerns constructively. Addressing underperformance became less taboo, improving results.

Example 2: The Silent Design Team

• Situation: A design team routinely agreed on subpar project concepts because no one wanted to challenge the manager’s ideas.
• Solution: The team adopted a framework for “constructive conflict,” where criticism was framed as questions or suggestions. Over time, this led to higher-quality deliverables.

3. Lack of Commitment

When teams avoid conflict, decisions are rarely debated thoroughly. This leads to a lack of clarity and buy-in, where team members fail to fully commit to agreed-upon goals or actions.

Example 1: The Indecisive Product Team

• Situation: A product team routinely delayed decisions because no one was willing to disagree openly, leaving goals vague and deadlines missed.
• Solution: Leadership implemented a “commitment tracker,” where all team decisions were documented. This created accountability, and teams began debating issues to ensure clarity before committing.

Example 2: The Half-Hearted Expansion Plan

• Situation: A retail company rolled out an expansion plan, but employees weren’t fully aligned. Half the team was unsure about the strategy.
• Solution: The leadership held follow-up meetings to clarify objectives, answer lingering questions, and gain consensus, ensuring full commitment before proceeding.

4. Avoidance of Accountability

Without clear commitments, team members hesitate to hold one another accountable. This results in a culture where mediocrity is tolerated, and high standards are not maintained.

Example 1: The Low-Performance Call Center

• Situation: A call center allowed employees to underperform, assuming management would handle accountability. This led to resentment among high-performing team members.
• Solution: Peer accountability was introduced through shared performance metrics, allowing team members to provide direct feedback when standards were not met.

Example 2: The Slipping Software Team

• Situation: In a software team, deadlines were repeatedly missed because no one addressed late deliverables.
• Solution: The team began using sprint reviews to evaluate individual contributions, creating a culture of shared accountability and improvement.

5. Inattention to Results

When accountability is weak, team members focus on personal goals, departmental metrics, or ego-driven achievements instead of the team’s collective results.

Example 1: The Division-Focused Company

• Situation: A company’s sales and marketing teams prioritized their own KPIs, leading to misaligned messaging and missed revenue goals.
• Solution: Leadership created unified objectives and rewarded teams based on combined success, encouraging collaboration across departments.

Example 2: The Star-Driven Sports Team

• Situation: A sports team’s star players focused on personal stats rather than team victories, resulting in poor performance.
• Solution: The coach emphasized team dynamics and set shared goals. The team bonded over collective achievements, which boosted overall performance.

Key Takeaways

• Trust is foundational to team success; without it, vulnerability and collaboration are stifled.
• Conflict is essential for innovation and clarity; avoiding it creates artificial harmony and weak decision-making.
• Commitment ensures clarity and buy-in, driving the team towards shared goals.
• Accountability upholds high standards and ensures follow-through on commitments.
• Results should remain the ultimate focus, avoiding distractions from personal or departmental priorities.

By addressing these dysfunctions in order, teams can develop stronger collaboration, achieve alignment, and deliver outstanding results. Would you like help crafting specific strategies for implementing this in a team setting?