Not finance. Not strategy. Not technology. It is teamwork that remains the ultimate competitive advantage, both because it is so powerful and rare
— Patrick Lencioni.
In his book The Five Dysfunctions of a team, Lencioni identifies 5 behaviours of a cohesive team. Each of these behaviours plays a key part in a team functioning efficiently and effectively. As a leader, it’s important to understand those behaviours. That’s because a key outcome of effective leadership is a culture where people thrive and are inspired to perform at their best. At any level, when leaders lead with impact, they are able to create high performance culture. Hence, it’s worthwhile exploring each of these 5 behaviours and how leaders can play a key role in promoting those behaviours.
The 5 behaviours that Lencioni identifies are as follows:
1. Trust
2. Conflict
3. Commitment
4. Accountability
5. Results
Each of these behaviours in the model builds upon the previous and supports the others.
Trust-
Not surprisingly, the very foundation of a team, or any association is trust. With trust, people feel safe. They know that their team members have their back at all times. Without trust, a team cannot be functional.
As a leader, how do you build trust? Trust comes from creating safety for your people, being approachable. When you are transparent with your actions and decisions. You develop a mindset of serving and supporting others. You listen actively to your people and show empathy. Trust is also built when you show faith in your team members’ capabilities. You having the belief that people do their best with what they know and what they have. A great indication of the trust in your environment can be the fact that people come to you if they need your help, or open up about a mistake they have made before you find out later.
Conflict-
As the saying goes, “Familiarity breeds contempt”. I take the liberty to interpret this saying as when there is trust between people, there’s also conflict- a healthy one. Trust creates connection and belonging. This encourages people to express their opinions without worrying about any backlash. They don’t have to worry about agreeing with the most popular opinion, or siding with the most powerful person in the room. They can tell it like they see it, and that would be ok.
As a leader, a lot comes down to how you view conflicts, and address them. Are you open to a different point of view, how do you take feedback from others? Do you encourage people to play devil’s advocate in meetings? A great mindset you can develop is to focus on what’s right, rather than who’s right.
Commitment-
Teams that are successful have a group of committed people in them. They know they can trust each other, they know they can express their ideas and opinions freely. This sets them up for working together, sticking up for each other.
As a leader, you can inspire commitment by clarifying the purpose and vision of the group; what it needs to achieve. That gives people a sense of direction, and they stay focused even in tough times. Commitment also comes from showing solidarity with your team. While working on a project once, a team member made an error, which had to be resolved quickly, else it would affect the project deliverables. The team rallied by working together to fix the issue. I was with the team on the floor that day, and I was proud of how they stuck together. It wasn’t a “your mistake, your problem” kind of thinking. It was “we’ll see this through together” kind of thinking.
Accountability-
As the team builds trust, is open to conflicts, is committed in its endeavours, it starts taking greater ownership of its tasks and deliverables.
Leaders can build greater accountability by taking greater accountability. This is through following up on their tasks, focusing on delivering what they promise. If they mistakes, they own up to their mistakes and focus on addressing them. No excuses, no blame game, no denials.
Results-
A team’s credibility, and often that of its leader is largely based on the results it creates. In delivering results, a team adds value to its stakeholders. It also keeps the team motivated to keep going and recreate those results. They have an appreciation of what it takes to create those results, and they are clear on the role that each person plays in this regard.
As a leader, you can focus on measuring the progress of your team diligently, and identify ways to mitigate any issues as they come up. You clearly establish roles and responsibilities, and define what success looks like, and how each person can play a part. You also setup processes that enable the team to reflect on the results, celebrate wins and identify how to improve for next time. So the success of the team is by design, not by chance.
As a leader, how you demonstrate each of these behaviours influences how your team does too. A team often emulates their leader, and by consistently following these behaviours, you inspire people to do the same.
How well do you demonstrate each of these 5 behaviours? How does that impact the culture and performance of your team?