The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable

by Patrick Lencioni

Not finance. Not strategy. Not technology. It is teamwork that remains the ultimate competitive advantage, both because it is so powerful and so rare.

Not finance. Not strategy. Not technology. It is teamwork that remains the ultimate competitive advantage, both because it is so powerful and so rare.

“If you could get all the people in an organization rowing in the same direction, you could dominate any industry, in any market, against any competition, at any time.”

Backstabbing among the executives had become an art. There was no sense of unity or camaraderie on the team, which translated into a muted level of commitment. Everything seemed to take too long to get done, and even then it never felt right.

Most of her staff seemed almost paralyzed by their own knowledge of technology, as though they themselves would have to do the programming and product design to make the company Fly.

there is only one reason that we are here at this off-site, and at the company: to achieve results. This, in my opinion, is the only true measure of a team,

“Trust is the foundation of real teamwork.

the first dysfunction is a failure on the part of team members to understand and open up to one another.

“Great teams are honest with one another,” she said. “They are unafraid to air their dirty laundry. They admit their mistakes, their weaknesses, and their concerns without fear of reprisal.”

“There isn't enough time. I think we're all too busy to have lengthy debates about minor issues. We're drowning in work as it is.”

“Maybe because our meetings are always too structured and boring.”

be present and participate.

none of this will happen if we don't function as a team.”

teamwork begins by building trust. And the only way to do that is to overcome our need for invulnerability.”

I don't like to tell other people what to do,

The key is to make the collective ego greater than the individual ones.”

if the team loses, everyone loses.”

“The key, of course, is to define our goals, our results, in a way that is simple enough to grasp easily, and specific enough to be actionable.

That’s not a team. It’s a collection of individuals.”

“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.”

“If we don’t trust one another, then we aren’t going to engage in open, constructive, ideological conflict. And we’ll just continue to preserve a sense of artificial harmony.”

You have tension. But there is almost no constructive conflict. Passive, sarcastic comments are not the kind of conflict I’m talking about.”

consensus becomes an attempt to please everyone.” “Which usually turns into displeasing everyone equally.”

most reasonable people don’t have to get their way in a discussion. They just need to be heard, and to know that their input was considered and responded to.”

we have to hold each other accountable for what we sign up to do, for high standards of performance and behavior. And as simple as that sounds, most executives hate to do it, especially when it comes to a peer’s behavior, because they want to avoid interpersonal discomfort.”

“How many of you would rather go to a meeting than a movie?”

Every great movie has conflict. Without it, we just don’t care what happens to the characters.”

And if there is nothing worth debating, then we won’t have a meeting.”

“If everything is important, then nothing is.”

“During the next two weeks I am going to be pretty intolerant of behavior that demonstrates an absence of trust, or a focus on individual ego. I will be encouraging conflict, driving for clear commitments, and expecting all of you to hold each other accountable. I will be calling out bad behavior when I see it, and I’d like to see you doing the same.

when a company has a collection of good managers who don’t act like a team, it can create a dilemma for them, and for the company. You see, it leads to confusion about who their first team is.”

Carlos is a vice president of the company, and he needs to prioritize better according to what we agreed to do, and he needs to challenge people in the organization who are not responding to his requests.”

Some people are hard to hold accountable because they are so helpful. Others because they get defensive. Others because they are intimidating. I don’t think it’s easy to hold anyone accountable, not even your own kids.”

Trust is knowing that when a team member does push you, they’re doing it because they care about the team.”

“You are fighting. But about issues. That's your job. Otherwise, you leave it to your people to try to solve problems that they can't solve. They want you to hash this stuff out so they can get clear direction from us.”

“I don't think anyone ever gets completely used to conflict. If it's not a little uncomfortable, then it's not real. The key is to keep doing it anyway.”

genuine teamwork in most organizations remains as elusive as it has ever been.

unwillingness to be vulnerable within the group.

teamwork deteriorates if even a single dysfunction is allowed to flourish.

They trust one another. They engage in unfiltered conflict around ideas. They commit to decisions and plans of action. They hold one another accountable for delivering against those plans. They focus on the achievement of collective results.

Trust lies at the heart of a functioning, cohesive team. Without it, teamwork is all but impossible.

trust is the confidence among team members that their peers' intentions are good, and that there is no reason to be protective or careful around the group.

teammates must get comfortable being vulnerable with one another.

It requires team members to make themselves vulnerable to one another, and be confident that their respective vulnerabilities will not be used against them.

By being even slightly connected to formal performance evaluation or compensation, 360-degree programs can take on dangerous political undertones.

The most important action that a leader must take to encourage the building of trust on a team is to demonstrate vulnerability first.

All great relationships, the ones that last over time, require productive conflict in order to grow.

passionate debates that are essential to any great team.

emerge from heated debates with no residual feelings or collateral damage,