Patrick Lencioni is a consultant with some sage thoughts on group performance. Patrick suggests that there are 5 dysfunctions that are common to project teams and sports clubs:
Absence of Trust.
Fear of Conflict.
Lack of Commitment.
Avoidance of Accountability.
Inattentiveness to Results.
Sound familiar? Join us after the cut for an explanation of this list...
Lencioni's first notion of dysfunction is Absence of Trust. As he describes it, Absence of Trust is where individuals fear being vulnerable within the group...people do not want to show weakness, confess lack of knowledge, admit responsibility for a mistake, or openly ask for help. Commonly, this fear is due in part to low self-confidence. More often, though, this fear is closely tied to low faith in the safety of the environment. And yes: this lack of safety is a direct failure of leadership.
Secondly, Fear of Conflict is Lencioni's descriptor where teams seek artificial (superficial) harmony over meaningful debate. Fear of Conflict stems from a perception that it is unsafe in the team to have differing opinions. Intimidation, reprisal, alpha members devaluing others publicly... these are some of the symptoms of a group that frightens people into tense silence instead of promoting meaningful and honest debate.
Thirdly, Lencioni describes Lack of Commitment as the third common team dysfunction. People will outwardly seem to buy into group decisions, but their engagement is feigned, and they unconsciously seek to do the minimal possible work because of fear, disinterest, or a hopeless sense that their will not be recognized.
Fourthly, Avoidance of Accountability: this dysfunction is a corollary of Lack of Commitment, as it describes people purposely shirking personal responsibility, and purposely allowing mediocrity to continue around them unchallenged and unquestioned. This Avoidance of Accountability is a type of viral despair, transmitted person-to-person by laziness and fear. Unless a charismatic leader steps up to model accountable behaviour, this avoidance behaviour will fester as a team standard of expectation.
Fifthly, Lencioni describes Inattentiveness to Results as being the fifth and most dangerous dysfunction of a team. Inattentiveness describes when individuals become preoccupied with personal success, recognition, status within the team, satisfaction of their own ego, and power-tripping. In each of these neurotic cases, the individual is on a personal agenda and elevates himself over the team, the customer, and the project.
Read more about Patrick Lencioni's consulting work here.
So: what is a leader to do about these problems? Well, friends, that's a big discussion for a separate blog post. But if you'd like to share your experiences, do tell if you've experienced these dysfunctions before. Share your thoughts in the comments below.
