Patrick Lencioni's The Five Dysfunctions Of A Team

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: An Analysis

The novel by Patrick Lencioni, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, goes into vivid detail isolating elements of human behavior that when dealt with minimally are unimportant- however, when encountered on a larger scale or in a team setting, can become precarious territory. By introducing relatable characters stereotypical of real personas that the audience has either worked with or can easily imagine, Lecoioni (2007) describes fault lines that any team can fall into and how to work their way out. The executive board analyzed is made of multiple strong personalities and each with a varying communication style. Ranging from Kathryn- the outside force brought in to help, to Jeff the former CEO who stepped

One definition of ‘trust’ as defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary (2004) is “dependence on something future or contingent.” The lack of trust on Lecioni’s (2007) fictional team leads to false pretenses, lack of follow-through, and absence of conflict. The author explicitly describes what power foundation of trust holds. For a team to be effective, the members need to rely on one another and reliance implies a level of liability and risk. Much like a circle, accountability causes follow-through and conflict when differing opinions arise, and honest conflict in a safe environment creates more trust. In the beginning of the novel, the executive staff is much like a group of individuals working for their own best interest deprived of a group vision or end goal. This establishes a foundation of large egos and little confidence in one another. Through tough conversations and forced conflict, Kathryn works with her team on both an individual and a group level to institute a trustful understanding and create an environment where everyone utilizes each other’s strengths and supplements weaknesses as forward motion to common positive company

Through their research, they identified a positive correlational relationship between laissez- faire leadership and role ambiguity and also with conflict among the team members-both of these outcomes were produced on the DecisionTech executive team. Ambiguity, as found in the research, is a direct connection to the third dysfunction described in the novel- “lack of commitment” (Lencioni, 2007.) Having uncertain roles on a team creates an environment that encourages apathy in goal completion. The lack of follow through is related to the individual intrinsic value that each team member has- when one’s role is not clearly defined and established, the member lacks role value on the team and therefor does not feel the need to commit to decisions made as a team