“If you could get all the people in an organization rowing in the same direction, you could dominate any industry, in any market, against any competition, at any time.” ~Patrick Lencioni, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

The most successful companies, don’t have the best finances, strategies or technologies. What they have are the best people – more specifically people that are capable of working as a team. The biggest problem I come up against is how to get all my clients employees to be not only be pulling in the same direction, but also pulling for each other.

In his book “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team”, Patrick Lencioni listed what he saw were the potential issues within a “team” that prevented them from functioning at the highest level – and thus creating maximum value for the company. Lencioni listed the issues in a hierarchical pyramid -shown above. Many organizations can look at the pyramid and see exactly where their teams fall down. However, if you have a problem identifying the level at which your team is stuck take a minute to answer the list of questions below and then check your score for each level.

Instructions: Use the scale below to indicate how each statement applies to your team. It is important to evaluate the statements honestly and without over-thinking your answers.

3 = Usually 2 = Sometimes 1 = Rarely

___1. Team members are passionate and unguarded in their discussion of issues.
___2. Team members call out one another’s deficiencies or unproductive behaviors.
___3. Team members know what their peers are working on and how they contribute to the collective good of the team.
___4. Team members quickly and genuinely apologize to one another when they say or do something inappropriate or possibly damaging to the team.
___5. Team members willingly make sacrifices (such as budget, turf, head count) in their departments or areas of expertise for the good of the team.
___6. Team members openly admit their weaknesses and mistakes.
___7. Team meetings are compelling, and not boring.
___8. Team members leave meetings confident that their peers are completely committed to the decisions that were agreed on, even if there was initial disagreement.
___9. Morale is significantly affected by the failure to achieve team goals.
___10. During team meetings, the most important—and difficult—issues are put on the table to be resolved.
___11. Team members are deeply concerned about the prospect of letting down their peers.
___12. Team members know about one another’s personal lives and are comfortable discussing them.
___13. Team members end discussions with clear and specific resolutions and calls to action.
___14. Team members challenge one another about their plans and approaches.
___15. Team members are slow to seek credit for their own contributions, but quick to point out those of others.

Scoring – Combine your scores for the preceding statements as indicated below.

Dysfunction 1 – Absence of Trust

Statement 4 :___
Statement 6 :___
Statement 12:___

Total ______

Dysfunction 2 – Fear of Conflict

Statement 1:___
Statement 7:___
Statement 10:___

Total ______

Dysfunction 3 – Lack of communication

Statement 3:___
Statement 8:___
Statement 13:___

Total ______

Dysfunction 4 – Avoidance of Accountability

Statement 2:___
Statement 11:___
Statement 14:___

Total ______

Dysfunction 5 – Inattention to Results

Statement 5:___
Statement 9:___
Statement 15:___

Total ______

A score of 8 or 9 is a probable indication that dysfunction is not a problem for your team
A score of 6 or 7 indicates that dysfunction could be a problem for your team
A score of 3 to 5 is probably an indication that team dysfunction needs to be addressed urgently

If you would like to learn more about how Jager Consulting is able to help you and your team function at the highest level, please contact Simon Ellett on (440) 385-6737.