Five Dysfunctions of the Team

This summer I decided to step outside the realm of what I normally do and read a few books for pleasure.  I use the term pleasure lightly because I am not a person who generally likes to read for fun, I read more for self improvement.  A distinguished professor, who knows my career aspirations, suggested that I read The Five Dysfunctions of the Team by Patrick Lencioni.  So I read the book this summer and I have thoughts about what I read.

The beginning of the book is a fable type story where the new CEO enters a new company in the Silicon Valley.  She has no experience in the tech industry and in fact, she doesn’t even have a lot of general management experience.  Despite all of that, Kathryn (the new CEO) was selected because of her great ability to understand the team concept and get the most out of her people.  As I read further, I imagined myself in her shoes, I would then think about what I would do if I was in that position: hopefully I will be someday. I have been blessed to have a number of leadership opportunities so far in my life, and I’m currently in the most influential leadership position to date.  I like the term President associated with my name J

  In her first few weeks, she did nothing but observe everything to get base line on what was going on.  That’s exactly what I thought she should do.  In organizational behavior class, we learned how easy it can be for a leader to get caught up getting a “quick win” to prove his or her worth to the company.  Throughout the book, Kathryn addresses what she sees as the 5 dysfunctions of the team and how they apply to her current executives.  Some of the key actions she takes in the book are to keep the former CEO on the team, promotes cross functional communication and dependence, and holds a number of leadership retreats to make sure everyone is on the same page.  The most controversial thing in the book is when Kathryn fired her top performer after she realizes that although this employee is extremely talented, she proved that she cannot be a team player and therefore must go.  I thought that this was extremely bold, especially for a new leader in the first few months of tenure.  Her actions over the course of the book served as a guide and taught me the lesson to never be scared to do what you know if right.

Then there are the actual five dysfunctions of the team:

1.       Absence of trust, the appearance of invulnerability.  Makes sense to me, if the team can’t admit their shortcomings with the team, how would anyone get better?

2.       Fear of conflict, artificial harmony.  Avoiding difficult conversations is more detrimental than anything.

3.       Lack of commitment, ambiguity.  It doesn’t matter how well you plan, if the people are ready to do the work, then it is all for not.

4.       Avoidance of accountability, low standards.  If no one is held to the rules, how do you make sure things get done?

5.       Inattention to results, status and ego.  Men lie, women lie, numbers don’t lie. Don’t listen to hype.

The moral of the story is to look to address these five functions and know that it takes time to get there.  I’m glad I read this book.

                The one and only, Ronnie Williamson.