I got an opportunity to drive ‘team book reading’ with my highly competent team for one of the very critical facets of team building i.e. “What it takes to be successful as a Team”. The book chose was “The five dysfunctions of a team – A leadership fable” which I personally found very interesting hence thought of sharing the summary with you all.

Precisely the book talks about the five dysfunctions of a team that restricts the team to be successful. It is very important to understand and overcome them in order to be more effective as a team. The dysfunctions are

Absence of trust

Trust & respect are the foundation stones of any relationship be it a home or office. If the members of the team do not trust each other then they cannot be completely honest with each other.

Hence “Create Trust” by following but not limited to:

360-degree feedback

Spend time together

Understand each other personal history

Believe in each other

Be honest

Fear of conflict – Without trust, team members will not have healthy debates that are necessary to arrive at better thought through decisions.

It’s very important to have open lines of communication (so that everyone is clear & aligned). Always remember

Open discussions. Debate leads to a better solution

Focus on the issue, not the individual.

Hence “Value Conflict” (It has to be in a healthy way!) by following but not limited to:

Straight talk

Calling people on behavior traits that demonstrate fear of conflict

Identify how we respond

The leader leads in behavior

Lack of commitment – If the team has not aligned to a decision then the individual members who did not agree with the final decision will ultimately be less committed to that decision. It is important to know that the “Alignment” is more important than agreement

Hence “Encourage commitment” by following but not limited to:

Summaries decisions made in group discussions or meetings

Come to consensus — Any decision is better than no decision – Timeboxing decisions.

Clarify all scenarios including worst-case ones.

Talk it loud, hear everyone’s opinion.

Avoidance of accountability – If they are not committed to the course of action, then they are less likely to feel accountable (or hold other people accountable). Lack of clarity of roles & responsibilities and not holding individuals accountable leads to “Avoidance of accountability”

Hence “Promote Accountability” by following but not limited to

Open disclosure of goals, standards, and metrics

Continuous progress reviews

Reward for a team not individual

Inattention to results – If the individuals are not accountable, they are less likely to care about the group results (Instead they would focus on achieving their individual goals).

Hence “Celebrate Results” by following but not limited to:

Group declaration of results

The reviews to be based on results.

The leader should lead to behavior.

Disclaimer “This is a just summary of the book we read – In order to have more details, you are required to read the complete book”.

You can find the book at this link

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