Finished (re)Reading: The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team covers all to common problems within a management team. These five problems are; absence of trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance of accountability and inattention to results.

If you follow the NBA, there is a great example of a team being mislead right now. The Chicago Bulls recently fired their head coach and appointed their assistant coach as an interim replacement. In less than one week, the players almost formed a walk out as a result of too intense of a practice / game schedule. There was also a sprinkling of benched players and press conference call outs by the coach to his team.

The players felt disrespected and they were exhausted by an unreasonably tough schedule. The coach of this team then referenced how another coach in the league has taken the same tactics as a defensive for his actions.

What this coach is missing, is understanding that the foundational component of TRUST is missing. His team is dysfunctional because there is an absence of trust. You can't establish a focus on results and accountability, until there is trust. You can push harder, you can be more extreme, and you can be more aggressive with goal setting when there is trust in place. This is just one of the five problems that we see a lot in management organizations.

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team does a great job of story-telling to identify all five dysfunctions in a story narrative. Then the book goes on to explain how to address these problems head on. The end result is better communication, better team work, and better results.

This book is a foundational read for any leader (or aspiring leader) within an organization.