The Five Dysfunctions Of A Team Summary

Teamwork cannot be demanded. Everyone involved must discuss and understand what the goal is and what is required of them. Teams should have traits such as goals and objectives, empowerment, trust, authentic participation, innovation, creativity, risk taking and leadership. (Temme and Katzel, 1995)

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni is a leadership fable centered on a fictitious up and coming technology firm called DecisionTech. DecisionTech located outside of Silicon Valley. Patrick Lencioni used this fictitious technology firm and its executive team, also known as “The Staff,” with very diverse characteristics to explain his five dysfunctions of a team. In addition to how each of the dysfunctions can hurt not only the team but also the company.

Throughout the beginning of the book ‘The Five Dysfunction of a Team” by Patrick Lencioni it was apparent that the DecisionTech, Inc. executive team was not a team at all. This group of individuals lacked some of the key attributes that make great teams. One of the most important attributes that was being neglected was that the executive group did not have interdependent members. This attribute was highlighted in the beginning of the book when the author said “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” (7). Due to the executive teams lack of interdependence, critical deadlines began to slip and morale deteriorated.

In the workplace, teams play a very important role in goal achievement. With the help and support of a team leader, the organization can become very successful as long as the team is effective and cooperative. There are many different leadership styles/theories that make each leader unique and effective in their own way. It is not just the leader though that has to be effective. The team as a whole needs to come together and being efficient. Team building strategies are very helpful and effective to bring everyone together. Although working in a team is very effective in most cases, conflicts can still arise. In order to bring everyone back together again conflict resolutions need to be put into place such as the problem solving technique.

I believe an organization is only as strong as the morale of their team members. Effective leadership creates positive morale. My first leader exceeded my expectations. He was caring, respectful, and supportive. Today, I hold these values dear to my heart. We can be successful by working together as a team and demonstrating these key values.

running one group for six months or longer seems quite exorbitant! The theme of this book was based on an organizational approach to effective team building skills. The fable began by giving a brief background of the cooperation, DecisionTech, Inc. which was what this story was centered around. There was a new CEO, of the corporation, Kathryn, and her main task was to create effective teamwork among her staff who were the key leaders of this company. After observing the interaction and dialogue of all team members for several weeks, she finally decided to call an off-site meeting and invited her staff members to attend. The meeting was to take place just far enough to where

Unhealthy agreement occurs when everyone adopts the same point of view and follow blindly, as opposed to introducing and considering other options and perspectives (Sims, 1992). According to Sims (1992), Beech-Nut displayed a huge case of unhealthy agreement when they changed their ingredients and lied about what they were selling to consumers. Employees displayed unhealthy agreement by not countering the actions of the company, the unethical behavior of the company was not questioned. Employees justified their behavior by convincing themselves of misgivings of other organizations, the thought that they weren't hurting anyone, and by taking comfort in ignorance (Sims, 1992). The organization may have had better success by properly communicating the issues they were having and welcoming suggestions or alternatives that allowed them to continue to be truthful and sell a healthy product.

The final aspect of a dysfunctional team was the avoidance of accountability. In the book it was said that teams setting low standards for one another are less likely to be accountable. If they set high standards, teams are more willing to hit bench marks. I found this concept to be very intriguing

I enjoyed reading your post. It sounds like you’ve been reading The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. I find myself relating characters and situations in the book to staff members and circumstances at my school. You mentioned that during staff meetings, teachers “do not engage in heated debates to really figure things out”, that’s the case in my school as well. During staff meetings, our principal encourages the staff to speak freely and offer opinions regarding certain decisions, but normally everyone just agrees with whatever the speaker says. The textbook offers suggestions for developing trust that I found useful, “To provide leadership needed for a school to become a learning community, they must be open to engaging in dialogue with

If we were randomly asked to define the word “team” many of us would have numerous variations of this multifaceted word; some would proclaim it means helping others, backing one another while others might define it as unanimity or culpability. The French associate the word team, with the slogan “Esprit de corps” a majestic word that was adopted by the United States Marine Corps. This matchless catchphrase means: “a sense of unity, of enthusiasm for common interests and responsibilities.” As early as childhood it has been ingrained into us that teamwork is congenial and effortlessly achieved. When in fact it wasn’t until society was introduced to Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions of a Team, written by Patrick Lencioni, did civilization start to realize that teamwork is hard to measure and even harder to achieve because the has been loosely used as well as misinterpret. Lencioni understands that teamwork is a difficult thing to measure and achieve, his book reminds us that the power that comes from teamwork cannot be denied. It would be hypothesized that through the authors’ comprehensive exploration and methodical examination, he reveals ways for civilization to comprehend the term as well as employ each other successful; conversely this can’t be done until the dysfunctional factor is properly identified and controlled. Hence the reason for his in-depth plunge in explaining the five dysfunctions and method that can be utilized by teams to overcome the dysfunctionalities.

The first reason a team fails is the lack of a clear vision or purpose. This will cause an inattention to any results. The team members do not have any clear vision or purpose to work towards as a team goal. This will create low performance, arguments among team members, and the team may be going in different directions. Now if the team has a specific and clear vision and purpose it will be able to work towards that goal. The team will be more motivated to work towards a common goal. It will also provide direction, more personal involvement of the team, the team will focus its

I chose to read The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni, this book is a fable about a fictitious company learning about teamwork and becoming unified. Lencioni uses a storyline to attract readers to understand his model of effective teamwork that the audience can relate to. The newly appointed Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Kathryn was hired to make these executives into a unified team that can show results using the five dysfunctions model. The model is a simple process but can be difficult to get the all the executives on the same page.

As you stated, Jeff is clearly a talented leader. I think the answer that portrays his leadership the most is the question asking him his approach to communication. I believe that communication can make or break a leader. Having effective communication can make the biggest difference. This answer explains that effective communication may not come easy to him, but he knows it is important, so he works on it (Jagiela, 2001). A leader does not have to have everything already worked out; a leader will revolve and change over time. This is something we have learned in our book, leadership style is not sufficient in effective leadership; but, rather having the ability to adapt to new or changing environments (Ledlow and Stephens, 2014, p. 10). He understands that he most adapts to the person he is trying to lead.

The dynamics of a team relies heavily on the interaction of team members during times of conflict not just during times of agreement. Often groups seek to achieve a cohesive relationship in an effort to unite the team towards its goals. Group members can make the mistake of subverting conflict in an attempt to maintain this team unity. Conflict serves a valuable role in effective group interactions that must be understood by participants of a team. An examination into the characteristics of conflict and cohesion and the relationship between the two dynamics can provide perspective to

Conflict is inevitable and at times stimulates beneficial or creative thinking. Often conflict is a signal that people are miscommunicating and making different assumptions about what has gone unspoken. The conflict in itself is not the problem. It is the team’s reactions to it that determines the impact, thus causing it to be a negative experience. Conflict or divergence can be destructive or it can be constructive. It is up to the people involved in the conflict to manage the outcome. This gives them an opportunity to articulate their assumptions and figure out a way to come to agreement. In a learning team situation, conflict can arise when the original agreement to work together does not address