taipan masterclass 2013 the five dysfunctions of a team management leadership series

Taipan Masterclass 2013

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

www.teamesc.com.au

Management Leadership Series

©The Table Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

Discipline 1: Build and Maintain a Cohesive Leadership TeamCohesive teams build trust, eliminate politics, and increase efficiency by…

• Knowing one another’s unique strengths and weaknesses• Openly engaging in constructive ideological conflict• Holding one another accountable for behaviors and actions• Committing to group decisions

Discipline 2: Create Organizational ClarityHealthy organizations minimize the potential for confusion by clarifying…

• Why the organization exists• Which behavioral values are fundamental• What specific business it is in• Who its competitors are• How it is unique• What it plans to achieve• Who is responsible for what

Discipline 3: Over-Communicate Organizational ClarityHealthy organizations align their employees around organizational clarity by

communicating key messages through…

• Repetition: Don’t be afraid to repeat the same message, again and again• Simplicity: The more complicated the message, the more potential

for confusion and inconsistency• Multiple mediums: People react to information in many ways;

use a variety of mediums• Cascading messages: Leaders communicate key messages to direct reports;

the cycle repeats itself until the message is heard by all

Discipline 4: Reinforce Organizational Clarity Through Human SystemsOrganizations sustain their health by ensuring consistency in…

• Hiring• Managing performance• Meeting structure• Rewards and recognition• Employee dismissal

Breaking Down The Four Disciplines

Overview


The Role of the Leader…


Focus on Collective Outcomes

Confront Difficult Issues

Force Clarity and Closure

Demand Debate

Be Vulnerable

#1: Absence of TrustThe fear of being vulnerable with team members prevents the

building of trust within the team.

#2: Fear of ConflictThe desire to preserve artificial harmony stifles the occurrence of

productive, ideological conflict.

#3: Lack of CommitmentThe lack of clarity or buy-in prevents team members from making

decisions they will stick to.

#4: Avoidance of AccountabilityThe need to avoid interpersonal discomfort prevents team

members from holding one another accountable for their behaviors

and performance.

#5: Inattention to ResultsThe pursuit of individual goals and personal status erodes the

focus on collective success.

Building a Cohesive Team


Overcoming The Five Dysfunctions

Dysfunction # 1: Absence of TrustStrategy for Overcoming:

· Identify and discuss individual strengths and weaknesses

· Spend considerable time in face-to-face meetings and working sessions

Dysfunction # 2: Fear of ConflictStrategy for Overcoming:

· Acknowledge that conflict is required for productive meetings

· Establish common ground rules for engaging in conflict

· Understand individual team member’s natural conflict styles

Dysfunction # 3: Lack of CommitmentStrategy for Overcoming:

· Review commitments at the end of each meeting to ensure

all team members are aligned

· Adopt a “disagree and commit” mentality—make sure all team members

are committed regardless of initial disagreements

Dysfunction # 4: Avoidance of AccountabilityStrategy for Overcoming:

· Explicitly communicate goals and standards of behavior

· Regularly discuss performance versus goals and standards

Dysfunction # 5: Inattention to ResultsStrategy for Overcoming:

· Keep the team focused on tangible group goals

· Reward individuals based on team goals and collective success

Building a Cohesive Team


Personal HistoriesA low risk exercise to establish vulnerability-based trust. At a staff meeting or off-site, go around the room and have every member of the team explain 1) where they grew up, 2) how many kids were in their family, and 3) what was the most difficult or important challenge of their childhood (but not their inner childhood; just the most important challenge of being a kid!). Simply by describing these relatively innocuous attributes or experiences, team members begin to get comfortable being open with one another and learn to relate to one another on a more personal level.

Behavioral Profiling (e.g. Myers-Briggs, DISC or Social Styles)An objective, reliable means for understanding and describing one another’s preferences, skills and attitudes. Behavioral profiling allows teams to identify collective strengths and potential blind spots of the team. Knowing team members' behavioral preferences and personality styles helps to break down barriers by allowing individuals to better understand and empathize with one another.

Time TogetherOne of the biggest impediments to trust-building on a team is the lack of time spent working collectively. This can include off-site meetings, strategic planning sessions, and even social activities. Avoid the temptation to “save time” at the expense of improving productivity by building a stronger team.

The first requirement of a functional team is trust. Members of greats teams trust

one another on a fundamental, emotional level and are comfortable being vulnerable

with each other about their weaknesses, mistakes, fears and behaviors. They get to

the point where they can be completely open with one another without filters.

Building Trust


Where did you grow up?

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How many siblings do you have and where do you fall in that order?

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Please describe a unique or interesting challenge or experience from your childhood.

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Personal Histories Exercise

Understanding some of the personal background and key influencers in a team member’s life is a safe and effective first step toward

establishing vulnerability-based trust.

In this exercise, take a moment to answer the following questions.

Building Trust


Conflict Profiling and NormingThe process for assessing a team’s attitude about and tendency towards conflict. A person’s conflict profile is determined by a number of factors, not the least of which is their behavioral preference or personality, which we talked about in the trust section. However, other factors like cultural background and family norms usually have a significant impact, too. Have team members review their behavioral profile from the trust exercise, highlighting implications specific to conflict. Have each team member share those implications, along with other conflict influences in their lives, including family and life experiences, as well as cultural background.

MiningA facilitation skill that requires an individual to extract buried disagreements within a team and bring them to the surface. The "miner" must remain objective during meetings and be committed to the conflict until it is resolved.

Real-time PermissionThe concept whereby a leader or facilitator interrupts a team member in the midst of healthy debate to reinforce the behavior. Real-time permission is best used when team members are not yet comfortable with conflict and need to be reminded of its importance so that they can avoid unnecessary feelings of inappropriateness.

All great relationships, the ones that last over time, require productive conflict to

grow and improve. Teams that trust one another are unafraid to engage in

passionate dialogue around issues and decisions that are key to the organization’s

success. They do not hesitate to disagree with, challenge and question one another,

all in the spirit of finding the best answers, discovering the truth, and making great

decisions.

Mastering Conflict


Conflict Profile

What do we do as a team that supports constructive conflict? (note in left box)

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What do we do as a team that detracts from constructive conflict? (note in right box)

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What can we do as individuals and as a team to use conflict productively and keep unproductive conflict from getting in the way?

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Mastering Conflict


Conflict Continuum

Strategies for managing conflict:

Real-time permission:

• The concept whereby a leader or facilitator interrupts a team member in the midst of

healthy debate to reinforce the behavior. Real-time permission is best used when

team members are not yet comfortable with conflict and need to be reminded of its

importance so that they can avoid unnecessary feelings of inappropriateness.

Mining for conflict:

• A facilitation skill that requires an individual to extract buried disagreements within a

team and bring them to the surface. The "miner" must remain objective during

meetings and be committed to the conflict until it is resolved.

Conflict Continuum

Constructive

Mean-spirited personal

attacks

Artificial

Harmony

Destructive

Mastering Conflict


Commitment ClarificationThe process that takes place at the end of a meeting during which the team explicitly describes and settles on the agreements and decisions that have been made so that there is no room for ambiguity in what they subsequently do and say.

Cascading CommunicationThe activity following a meeting in which team members go to their respective departments and report on the agreed-upon decisions and outcomes. Cascading communication should take place in a timely manner following a meeting (1–2 days) and occur face-to-face or live on the phone to facilitate questions and answers.

ScoreboardA clear and useful tool for quickly assessing a team’s success so that it can organize meetings and discussions around relevant topics. Collectively, the team must clarify exactly what they need to achieve, who needs to deliver what and how everyone must behave in order to succeed.

In the context of a team, commitment is a function of two things—clarity and

buy-in. Teams that engage in unfiltered conflict make clear and timely decisions

around direction and priorities and move forward with complete buy-in from

every member of the team, avoiding the desire for consensus and the need for

certainty.

Achieving Commitment


Goals



Hypothetical – A well-known tire company

Goals

Survive-by Re-Establishing

Credibility

Fix Tires

Revenue Expenses

ImprovePR

AddressMorale

SettleLawsuits

ProductionLevels

MarketShare

CustomerSatisfaction

RepairDistributorRelations



“If we accomplish only one thing during the next 6-12 months, what would it be?”

Goals




What should be the uniting focus of this team over the next 6 – 12 months? (Single, Qualitative, Time-bound, Shared across this team.)

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What are some defining objectives that would show progress toward that goal?

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What actions will we take towards achieving this goal? And how will others know we are taking these actions?

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Our Goals


Team Effectiveness ExerciseThe Team Effectiveness tool gives team members a forum for providing one another with focused, direct and actionable feedback. At a staff meeting or off-site, team members identify the answers to two simple questions about every member of the team, excluding themselves: 1) what is the single most important behavioral characteristic or quality demonstrated by this person that contributes to the strength of our team? and 2) what is the single most important behavioral characteristic or quality demonstrated by this person that can sometimes derail the team? Once everyone has finished jotting down their answers, the facilitator starts by putting the leader of the team up first.

Meetings – the Lighting RoundThe activity at the beginning of a meeting during which team members take no more than 30 seconds to update the team about their three top priorities for the week. If anyone on the team feels that a given team member is spending time unwisely, or that there is greater need for a person’s time and energy in another area, this is the place to call the question.

Accountability refers to the willingness of team members to call their peers on

performance or behaviors that may hurt the team. Teams that commit to

decisions and standards of performance do not hesitate to hold one another

accountable for adhering to those decisions and standards. What is more, they

don’t rely on the team leader as the primary source of accountability, but rather

go directly to their peers.

Embracing Accountability


In this exercise, take a moment to write down what each of your colleagues does well, what they should keep doing and how they could

make improvements to help the team be more productive.

Team Effectiveness Exercise

Name: Keep doing: Needs to improve:

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Feedback from my peers:

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Embracing Accountability


ScoreboardA clear and useful tool for quickly assessing a team’s success so that it can organize meetings and discussions around relevant topics. Collectively, the team must clarify exactly what they need to achieve, who needs to deliver what and how everyone must behave in order to succeed.

Team-based RewardsEnsure that team-based rewards form the basis for most compensation and recognition programs. When team members have incentives to focus on their individual performance objectives and not those of the team, it becomes easy for collective results to take a backseat to personal financial goals and career development.

Team #1Confirm that the team priority is in order. It is critical–and difficult–for team members to subordinate the needs and interests of the teams they manage to those of the team they belong to. Results suffer when team members put a higher priority on the activities of their own departments or divisions.

An unrelenting focus on specific objectives and clearly defined outcomes is a

requirement for any team that judges itself on performance. To ensure that a

team is focused on results, the team leader needs to make results clear and reward

only those behaviors and actions that contribute to those results. Below are some

effective ways for teams to focus on results.

Focusing on Results


What are the key agreements and decisions we have taken about your behavior as a group today?

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What three behaviors will have most impact on our team in next 4 to 6 months?

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Next Steps

Personal and Team Commitments


Key messages from this session…

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Who will we communicate them to? How will we communicate them? When will we communicate them by?

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Next Steps

Cascading Messages


Instructions: Use the scale below to indicate how each statement applies to your team. Be sure to evaluate the statements honestly and without over thinking your answers.

3 = Usually 2 = Sometimes 1 = Rarely

Team members are passionate and unguarded in their discussion of issues. ____ 1.

Team members call out one another’s unproductive behaviors. ____ 2.

Team members know what their peers are working on and how they contribute to the collective good of the team.

____ 3.

Team members quickly and genuinely apologize to one another when they say or do something inappropriate or possibly damaging to the team.

____ 4.

Team members willingly make sacrifices (such as budget, turf, head count) in their departments or areas of expertise for the good of the team.

____ 5.

Team members openly admit their weaknesses and mistakes. ____ 6.

Team meetings are compelling and not boring. ____ 7.

Team members leave meetings confident that their peers are completely committed to the decisions agreed upon during the meeting, even if there was initial disagreement.

____ 8.

Morale is significantly affected by the failure to achieve team goals. ____ 9.

During team meetings, the most important and most difficult issues are put on the table to be resolved. ____ 10.

Team members are deeply concerned about the prospect of letting down their peers. ____ 11.

Team members know about one another’s personal lives and are comfortable discussing them. ____ 12.

Team members end discussions with clear and specific resolutions and calls to action. ____ 13.

Team members challenge one another about their plans and approaches. ____ 14.

Team members are slow to seek credit for their own contributions but quick to point out those of others. ____ 15.

Team Assessment



ScoringCombine your scores for the 15 statements as indicated below.

A score of 8 or 9 is a probable indication that the Dysfunction is not a problem for your team.

A score of 6 or 7 indicates that the Dysfunction could be a problem.

A score of 3-5 is an indication that the Dysfunction needs to be addressed.

Regardless of your scores, it is important to keep in mind that every team needs

constant work, because without it, even the best ones deviate toward dysfunction.

Dysfunction 1:

Absence of Trust

Dysfunction 2:

Fear of Conflict

Dysfunction 3:

Lack of

Commitment

Dysfunction 4:

Avoidance of

Accountability

Dysfunction 5:

Inattention to

Results

Statement 4___

Statement 6___

Statement 12___

Statement 1____

Statement 7____

Statement 10___

Statement 3____ Statement 8____

Statement 13___

Statement 2___

Statement 11___

Statement 14___

Statement 5____

Statement 9____

Statement 15___

Total: Total: Total: Total: Total:

Team Assessment



Appendix

Debriefing the Online Team Assessment(follow these instructions to debrief your team assessment with your direct reports)

Hand out the Team Assessment report.

Ask the team: Take a few minutes to look through this report. Pay particular attention to the pages that list the strongest areas, the weakest areas, and the areas of key differences.

Give team members 3–5 minutes to look through the reports.

Ask the team: Let’s walk through the report to see what we’re doing well and what issues we need to focus on during the rest of this workshop. Use pages 7–14 in your workbook to note your questions, comments, and observations.

Ask team members to turn to the Team Summary on page 5 of the report.

Ask the team:

• What does this summary indicate about this team’s areas of strength? Potential areas for improvement? Areas of likely concern?

• Did anything surprise you?

• Is this the pattern you expected? Why or why not?

• What are some reasons that the team scored the way it did?

Elicit several responses. Then ask team members to turn to the graph with the overall scores on page 6 of the report.

Ask the team: What do the more detailed overall scores on this page tell us?

Elicit several responses.

Walk through the Team Analysis Summaries on pages 7–9 of the report.

During the following discussion, record team members’ responses on a flip chart page. Ask for a volunteer to read aloud the team strengths listed under “The Strongest Areas.”


Appendix

Debriefing the Online Team Assessment

Ask the team: Why do you think the team scored the way it did in these areas?

Ask for a volunteer to read aloud the list of the areas for improvement under “The Weakest Areas.” Ask team members why they think the team scored the way it did. Repeat the process for the items listed under “Areas of Key Differences.”

Ask the team: Now let’s look more closely at your responses to the assessment items for each of the five fundamentals.

As a group, walk through the scores for each of the five fundamentals. For each fundamental, discuss what the responses indicate about the following:

• The team’s potential areas for improvement and areas of concern

• Reasons the team might have scored high or low on specific questions

• Reasons that the team did not struggle with that dysfunction at specific times

• Challenges to the team on improving in that dysfunction

Also clarify any misunderstanding or confusion team members might have about any of the assessment questions or responses.

Ask the team: Let’s take a moment to think about our discussion. Answer these two questions:

• What key insights did you gain from this assessment?

• In what ways does your behavior contribute to our team’s dysfunction? How does it help the team function well?

Give team members a few minutes to answer the questions.

Ask the team: Now let’s summarize what we have seen in the assessment.

Ask for volunteers to summarize the team’s strengths, potential areas for improvement, and areas of concern. Record the summaries on a flip chart page.

Excerpted from The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: Participant Workbook


Appendix

Teambuilding Roadmap

Week 1: Pre-work for the Initial Off-siteBefore the initial off-site takes place, team members will have to spend approximately one hour completing two assessments: a behavioral profile assessment (e.g. Myers-Briggs) and a Five Dysfunctions of a Team assessment

Week 2: Initial Off-siteThis is a one-and-a-half to two-day session which is the anchor of your team-building effort and the formal kick-off of your new approach to teamwork. It will include a review of your team’s assessment, as well as various exercises around trust, conflict, commitment, accountability and results. Off-site Follow-up - Immediately after the off-site ends, it is critical that important notes are distributed to team members as a confirmation of the commitments they made, and for their on-going reference and use during the months to follow.

Week 3: First Review SessionIn order to maintain the momentum coming out of the initial off-site, and avoid the common lull that can sometimes occur, it is critical that teams meet and review the commitments they made the prior week. They should take a few minutes to review their behavioral and team profiles, and tie up any loose ends that were left undone.

Week 4 – 12: On-going Reference and DiscussionDuring the weeks that follow the off-site and review session, team members should be referencing and discussing all relevant aspects of their team development process as they arise in the course of normal business activity. These will probably include but are not limited to the team assessment, behavioral profiling, conflict profiles and norms, goal commitments, team effectiveness development areas, as well as the team scoreboard.

Keep in mind that a real team should be spending considerable time together in meetings and working sessions. In fact, it is not uncommon that as much as 20% of a team member’s time is spent working through issues and solving problems with the team as a whole.


Appendix

Teambuilding Roadmap

Week 13: Quarterly Off-site ReviewThis is a one or two-day session during which team members review many of the assessments and profiles from the initial off-site, and more importantly, assess progress made by individuals and the team as a whole. Common activities would include a discussion of the level of productive conflict on the team, as well as a second pass at the team effectiveness exercise. The first quarterly off-site review is a good opportunity to review progress made against the team’s goals as well, as these are the best indication of real progress.

Week 14 – 25: On-going Reference and DiscussionDuring the next nine weeks, team members should again be referencing and discussion relevant aspects of their team development process as they arise in the course of normal business activity. However, team members should now be more comfortable than before in holding one another accountable for any deviations from team norms and personal commitments.

Week 26: Final Off-site ReviewThis is the last off-site within the context of the initial team-building effort, but certainly should not be the last such meeting for the team. During this session, team members should step back and assess progress made over the course of the past six months. This should include the re-evaluation of the team using the same team assessment that was completed during week 1. New areas for improvement should be identified and action plans for the future should be put in place.

Week 27 and beyondLike a marriage, a team is never completely finished developing itself. And so, the team should be constantly addressing areas of deficiency, and periodically stepping back to assess progress. And again, members of real teams spend considerable time working together.

Excerpted from Overcoming The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Field Guide, Patrick Lencioni, 2005.

taipan masterclass 2013 the five dysfunctions of a team management leadership series

Documents

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cohesive team slide

lack of clarity

fear of conflict strategy

table group

group decisions discipline

dysfunctions dysfunction

absence of trust strategy