First of all, consider this:  Whether we like it or not, all of us are dysfunctional in some way.  We all do things that get in the way of our personal effectiveness and drive family, friends, and co-workers crazy.  In some cases that dysfunction is serious enough to require professional counseling but for most of us, we accept we are not perfect and move on with our lives.  That doesn't mean we ignore troublesome behaviors we might own; we just understand they are going to show up from time to time and work hard to minimize them. 

If you accept that premise for yourself and other individuals, then it comes as no surprise that putting lots of people into an organizational setting just increases significantly the complexity of organizational behavior.  Add to that the dynamics of diversity and now you have a real challenge for organizational leaders; that of providing effective leadership in today's world.

Lencioni addresses that challenge by telling his story about a new CEO and the trials and tribulations of turning functional managers into a team of organizational leaders.  Lencioni cleverly weaves his model for developing a functional team into the story line, presenting tips and techniques to help achieve that end.  Following his logical flow and model can be very effective in developing your team. 

The model suggests that achieving organizational results is dependent upon senior leaders building a high level of accountability into the organizational mindset.  Leaders must hold each other accountable for the results they have determined are key to their organization's success.  Individuals focusing on what is best for their functional areas can have serious consequences on what is best for the organization overall .  That sounds like a “no-brainer” but in too many organizations, it is easier and more convenient to target the responsibilities for which one's functional role demands attention.  Lencioni suggests that functional managers must challenge each other when the organization's best interests are not the center of attention. 

How do you build this accountability mindset?  Lencioni believes it is the natural outcome of a team committed to the decisions that they have made in a collaborative manner.  However, everyone must believe those decisions are appropriate and targeting the results the organization is attempting to achieve.  That kind of commitment is developed when leaders are able to have powerful conversations that are driven by all involved being willing to first surface information, concerns and differing perspectives; and second being open-minded that this diversity of thinking can be loaded with conflict.  Leaders need to be comfortable with such dialogue and not threatened and/or intimidated. 

That brings Lencioni to the foundation of his model.  The team's ability to have meaningful dialogue requires strong relationships grounded in respect for each other.  Such relationships are built on a high level of trust; trust that allows each member to believe it is okay to say what needs to be said and not have to worry that other team members will use the information in a negative way.  It is building such relationships that become the cornerstone of teams moving to high performance.  Phil Harkins in his book Powerful Conversations said it well.  “It is by demonstrating sincere interest in another person's real thoughts and feelings that a leader is able to tap into hidden dialogue, surface the undiscussables, and uncover wants and needs”.  Strong relationships enable teams to have “powerful conversations”.  Those conversations build commitment to the decisions so critical to an organization's success.  The commitment of organizational leaders leads to team members holding each other accountable for the results all have agreed to champion.   

In yet another publication, CEO and author, Larry Bossidy, reinforces the reality of Lencioni's model when he said in his book Execution , “How people talk to each other absolutely determines how well the organization will function.” 

So, what about you and your team? How well do you talk with each other and how are the dysfunctions of teams playing out in your organization?
 

References:
Bossidy, Larry, Charan, Ram and Burck, Charles. Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done, 2002. Crown Business: New York , NY .

Harkins, Phil. Powerful Conversations: How High Impact Leaders Communicate, 1999. McGraw-Hill: New York , NY .

Lencioni, Patrick. The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable, 2002. Jossey-Bass: San Francisco , CA .

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