An Overview of the Model

An Overview of the Model, page 187.

• Genuine teamwork in most organizations remains as elusive as it has ever been.
• Most organizations fail to achieve teamwork because they unknowingly fall prey to five natural but dangerous pitfalls.

• These five dysfunctions can be mistakenly interpreted as five distinct issues that can be addressed in isolation from one another.
• In reality, they form an interrelated model, making susceptibility to even one of them potentially lethal for the success of a team.
• Like a chain with just one link broken, teamwork deteriorates if even a single dysfunction is allowed to flourish.

The Absence of Trust

• The Absence of Trust stems from:
  • The unwillingness to be vulnerable within the group.
  • Team members who are unwilling to be open with one another about their mistakes and weaknesses. 
• Failure to build trust is damaging because it sets the tone for the second dysfunction of a team.

The Fear of Conflict

• Teams that lack trust are incapable of engaging in an unfiltered and passionate debate of ideas.
• Instead, they resort to vague discussions and guarded comments.
• The lack of healthy conflict is a problem because it ensures the third dysfunction of a team.

The Lack of Commitment

• Without having aired their opinions in the course of passionate and open conversation, team members rarely, if ever, buy-in and commit to decisions, though they may feign agreement during meetings.
• Because of this lack of real commitment and buy-in, it becomes difficult for team members to uphold accountability.

The Avoidance of Accountability

• Without committing to a clear plan of action, even the most focused and driven people often hesitate to call out their peers on actions and behaviors that seem counterproductive to the good of the team.
• Failure to hold one another accountable creates an environment where the fifth dysfunction can thrive.

An Inattention to Results

• This occurs when team members put their individual needs (such as ego, career development, or recognition) or even the needs of their divisions above the collective goals of the team.

The Opposite Approach

Members of truly cohesive teams…

1. Trust one another.
2. Engage in unfiltered conflict around ideas.
3. Commit to decisions and plans of action.
4. Hold one another accountable for delivering against those plans.
5. Focus on the achievement of collective results.

Bottom Line Up Front (BLUF)

• The reality remains that teamwork ultimately comes down to practicing a small set of principles over a long period.
• Success is not a matter of mastering subtle, sophisticated theory, but rather of embracing common sense with uncommon levels of discipline and persistence.