Library → Models and frameworks → Lencion’s 5 dysfunctions of a team

Whether you’re running a team or simply a part of one, we hope you’ll find our summary of Patrick Lencioni's insightful teamwork concept, "The Five Dysfunctions of a Team" useful.

Lencioni uses a classic pyramid to explain the five main problems teams face: absence of trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance of accountability, and inattention to results.

Building and leading a successful team is a big job. It's like conducting an orchestra: every person needs to play their part well for the team to work. In this post, we break down Lencioni's five dysfunctions, helping you understand them better.

We’ll provide you with important questions you can ask yourself to identify these dysfunctions in your own team, and suggest some practical actions you can take to overcome these issues. So, if you're ready to supercharge your teamwork skills, read on.

The five dysfunctions of a team, explained

Lenconi’s framework suggests that there are 5 kinds of ‘dysfunction’ a team might face. In particular, they occur in a particular order – for example, without a foundational layer of trust, it is difficult to resolve other issues. So if a later issue provokes a ‘ping’ of familiarity, consider whether there are deeper problems at play, too – and deal with those alongside.

The dysfunctions are typically illustrated in a pyramid, but because we’re optimists, we prefer to depict each level as the actions teams need to take to work together better! They are:

Five dysfunctions of a team pyramid – Patrick Lencioni theory — **The five dysfunctions** are ‘absence of trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance of accountability, and inattention to results’, but in this pyramid diagram we’ve highlighted the *positive* steps teams need to take to overcome each obstacle.

Let’s explore Lencioni’s 5 team dysfunctions in more detail.

1) Absence of trust

Trust is the foundation of teamwork. Teams who lack trust conceal weaknesses and mistakes, are reluctant to ask for help, and jump to conclusions about the intentions of other team members. It is crucial to establish a team culture where individuals feel able to admit to mistakes and weaknesses, and use them as opportunities for development.

Diagnosing an absence of trust:

Do my team members feel comfortable admitting mistakes, weaknesses, and fears to each other?
Is there a prevailing sense of guardedness among team members, or do they openly share their thoughts and ideas?
Have team members had the opportunity to really get to know another, and understand how each other tick?

Tactics for developing mutual trust among team members:

Facilitate team-building exercises: Such activities can help team members to learn more about each other on a personal level, fostering a sense of camaraderie and understanding that can build trust. This might be as straightforward as taking a few minutes to chat socially either side of a meeting, enjoying a lunch together, or it could be a more deliberate activity designed to drive social results.
Model vulnerability: You can lead by example by being open about your own mistakes and weaknesses. This can encourage team members to do the same, fostering an environment of honesty and mutual respect.
Promote open communication: Encourage team members to share their thoughts, ideas, and concerns openly. Try making an extra effort to include people who are a little more reserved, and recruit more outgoing members to Regular team occasions where everyone has a chance to speak can help create a culture of transparency and trust.

2) Fear of conflict

Teams who lack trust fear conflict and are often reluctant to discuss controversial topics and share perspectives and ideas. These discussions are necessary to enable the team to reach a decision, or agree on how to approach and resolve a problem. Solutions: Identify conflicts within the team and address them openly, encourage debate about key issues.

Questions to diagnose a fear of conflict:

Are team discussions and meetings generally passive and uneventful, or dynamic and passionate?
Do team members avoid disagreements and debates, or do they actively engage in them, understanding them as a tool for decision-making?
Are decisions usually made without contest, or do team members challenge and question decisions to ensure the best outcomes?
When problems come to the surface, do they do so at a fairly early opportunity, or have they been going on for a long time?

Tactics to overcome a fear of conflict:

Establish shared rules for healthy debate: Make it clear that disagreement is not only acceptable, but encouraged – as long as it's respectful and constructive.
Reward candour: if someone has a problem or disagreement, thank them for raising the issue, even if they don’t up getting their own way. When issues are resolved successfully, consider sharing the story in a more open forum (when appropriate!) as an example of constructive conflict or compromise, rather than an awkward ‘secret’ to be concealed.
Mediate disagreements: When conflicts arise, help mediate the situation. This can help ensure that the conflict stays focused on ideas and does not become personal.

3) Lack of commitment

When teams do not engage in open discussion due to a fear of conflict, team members often feel that their ideas and opinions are not valued. They may become detached or even resentful, and fail to commit to the chosen approach or common goal as a result.

Question to diagnose a lack of commitment:

Can team members readily describe the team’s goals and strategy, or is there ambiguity and hesitation?
Do team members clearly understand how their work contributes to the bigger picture?
Do team members follow through on their tasks and responsibilities consistently?

Tactics to overcome a lack of commitment:

Involve team members in decision-making: Ensure that everyone feels they have a voice in decisions that affect the team. This can lead to higher levels of commitment.
Clearly communicate the team's vision and goals: Regularly remind your team of what they're working towards to keep them committed. Provide the larger context (whether in your business, with your customers, or in your industry) that informs the team’s work. Make it clear how team members’ work contributes to the bigger picture by illustrating dependencies between the team’s tasks.
Celebrate achievements and track progress: Recognising and celebrating when the team meets their goals can help reinforce commitment.

4) Avoidance of accountability

Team members who have not bought-in to the chosen approach or goal will not feel accountable for achieving it.

The desire to manage personal risk and avoid conflict also prevents team members from holding one another accountable for their contributions. As a result, team members miss deadlines and deliver mediocre work.

Question to diagnose an avoidance of accountability:

Do team members expect good work from each other, or do they overlook low standards and errors?
Does the team identify as ‘high-performing’? Would a new team member pursuing excellence ‘stand out’ or ‘fit in’?
Are team members able to ‘ask for better’ from one another, or are they reluctant?
Have I, as a manager, defined clear standards for performance and behaviour, and are they consistently applied and upheld?

Tactics to overcome an avoidance of accountability:

Set clear expectations: Make sure each team member understands what is expected of them, both by the manager and one another. Invite the team to explicity define a shared set of standards (e.g: response time, meeting cadence) and collectively commit to sticking to them.
Be consistent: Apply rules and standards to everyone equally – if you are always letting certain things slide, the standards are not really ‘a standard’, and you would be better off ‘legalising’ what you’re currently overlooking. Scheduled feedback sessions can provide an opportunity for team members to improve their work.
Set team targets and make progress visible: In some types of team, consider setting shared targets and making performance visible. This encourages everyone to pull their weight – some people don’t mind slacking-off on the boss but don’t want to let their mates down.
Lead by example: Hold yourself accountable, and expect the same from your team. This can help foster a culture of responsibility and accountability.

5) Inattention to results

Team members who are not held accountable for their contributions are more likely to become distracted and focus on individual goals instead of collective success.

Questions to diagnose inattention to results:

Is the team more focused on personal success and recognition, or on achieving collective results?
Could I imagine people on this team making a reasonable personal sacrifice if it helped the larger team?
Do decisions feel driven by the desire to achieve team goals, or are they just compromises between individual members' interests?
Does the team evaluate their progress towards achieving their collective goals and adjust their plans accordingly, or is progress primarily measured in terms of personal performance or workload?

Tactics to increase attention to results:

Set team goals: Establish clear, measurable goals for the team and regularly check in on progress.
Reward team success: Implement a system to recognize and reward the team for achieving their goals.
Reiterate the importance of team success: Regularly communicate the value of collective results over individual accomplishments. Recognise and reward people for putting the team goals ahead of their own. Contextualise individual performance through how it impacts the overall success of the team.

Example: the journey of a dysfunctional jazz band

The act of jazz music-making is a kinetic conversation - a dance of ideas - among a group of individuals, each with their own unique voice and perspective, who come together to create a unified narrative, an aural tapestry, if you will, that transcends the sum of its individual threads.

In many ways, the dynamics of a jazz band mirror those of any team, whether it be a business, an athletic roster, or a political campaign. Jazz, like the aforementioned endeavours, is a complex, organic system that thrives on harmony and cohesion and is threatened by discord and division.

"The Five Dysfunctions of a Team" is an exploration of the pitfalls that can ensnare a team, obstructing it from reaching the crescendo of its potential. The five dysfunctions he outlines are absence of trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance of accountability, and inattention to results. Each is a subtle, insidious force that can unravel the intricate symphony of collaboration. While Lencioni originally crafted this framework for business teams, its applicability extends to our newly formed jazz band as well.

Let's start with the first dysfunction: the absence of trust.

A jazz band, like any team, is a delicate ecosystem. When trust is lacking, the ecosystem becomes poisoned. It's as if each band member is playing a different tune, each in a different key, each in a different time signature. Imagine the drummer's hesitation to lay down a new rhythm, fearing the guitarist might not catch on. Or the bassist, doubting whether the pianist will sync with his groove. Without trust, the music becomes stilted, disjointed, a cacophony rather than a symphony.

The band leader, as the conductor of this orchestra, must foster an environment of vulnerability-based trust. This begins with him modeling vulnerability, openly discussing his weaknesses, mistakes, and fears. Such openness disarms and invites others to shed their protective armor. With this newfound trust, the drummer trusts the guitarist to follow his novel rhythm, the bassist trusts the pianist to align with his groove, and together, they create a harmonious jazz ensemble.

The second dysfunction, fear of conflict, is a peculiar beast in the realm of jazz.

While jazz is about improvisation, it is also about conversation, and conversations, particularly among passionate artists, can be heated. Fear of conflict can lead to a lack of innovation, as band members shy away from challenging the status quo, fearing reprisal or ostracism. As the band leader, it's imperative to nurture an environment where conflict, in the form of creative disagreement, is not only accepted but encouraged. If the saxophonist has an idea for a radical reharmonization, she should feel free to voice it without fear of retribution. If the trombonist disagrees with the tempo, he should feel comfortable expressing it. Constructive conflict is the crucible in which the gold of creativity is refined.

The third dysfunction, lack of commitment, can cripple a band faster than a broken string or a blown amplifier.

Jazz, by its very nature, demands a high level of commitment. It's a complex, demanding art form that requires constant practice, attention, and focus. A lack of commitment to the music, to the rehearsals, to the performances, can send a jazz band spiraling into mediocrity. To combat this, the band leader must cultivate a shared vision, a common goal that each member can commit to. It could be to play at a famous jazz club, to record an album, or to simply create the best music they can. This shared goal, this collective dream, serves as the glue that binds the band, the North Star that guides them.

The fourth dysfunction, avoidance of accountability, can breed a culture of complacency and low standards.

Imagine a jazz band where missed notes are ignored, tardiness to rehearsals is accepted, and subpar performances are brushed under the carpet. It's a fast track to a lackluster band.

The band leader must establish a culture of accountability, where high standards are expected and maintained. Missed notes are addressed, tardiness is not tolerated, and every performance is debriefed for improvement. In such a culture, each band member holds themselves and each other accountable, not out of fear, but out of a shared commitment to excellence.

The final dysfunction, inattention to results, can steer a band off course.

When a band becomes more focused on individual accolades or internal politics than on creating stellar music, it has lost sight of its raison d'être. To prevent this, the band leader must continually bring the band's attention back to their collective results - the quality of their music. This could be through regular listening sessions, constructive feedback, or even measuring audience reactions. By keeping the focus on the collective result, the band leader ensures that the band remains united in their pursuit of musical excellence.

So there we have it, the art of jazz, a dance of ideas, a conversation in notes, the lifeblood of which is the harmonious collaboration of its players. Just as in a business, the success of a jazz band is underpinned by trust, constructive conflict, commitment, accountability, and a relentless focus on results. It is the band leader who wields the baton, shaping these dynamics, guiding the band from the first hesitant notes of their journey to the resounding finale of their symphony. Through this lens of Lencioni's five dysfunctions, we see not only the challenges that lie in their path but also the triumph that awaits them when they overcome these challenges, resulting in a harmony that is as rewarding as it is resonant.

In conclusion

In any team, ask yourselves:

Do we trust each other?
Is it safe to disagree?
Are we all on the same page?
Are our keeping our standards high?
Do we put team results come before our personal status?

If the answer of any of these is no, there’s work to do! The guide above should help you on your way.

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team (and how to overcome them)

See more team-building frameworks: