¶ … Dysfunctions
Patrick Lencioni's book The Five Dysfunctions of a Team is a management book about teamwork. In particular, the author covers the reasons that teams in the workplace sometimes fail or struggle to meet objectives. Teamwork is a major trend in business now, but when done poorly the team can be a detriment to the company meeting its objectives. It is important, therefore, for companies to understand how good teams are created, and some of the pitfalls that exist in the creation and function of good teams. These are the five dysfunctions that form the heart of this book.
The five dysfunctions are an absence of trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance of accountability and inattention to results. Trust is important in teams because the members each contribute their own work. If they do not trust that the other members...
Trust is a key component of effective teams, and it is important for managers to ensure that the team has a high level of trust.
Fear of conflict can inhibit the free flow of ideas. The author argues that some teams fail because there is a sense that a harmonious team is a good team. This, however, discourages the free flow of ideas within the team, as people withhold good ideas in order to avoid ruining the harmony. In order to make the team more effective, the author argues, fear of conflict should be removed. Parameters for healthy conflict should be established. In addition, fear of conflict arises from a lack of trust -- the group members need to trust that disagreements over technical issues will not become personal and erode the…
