The 5 dysfunctions of a team

Alexandre Plennevaux
1 min readSep 6, 2016

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This talk by Patrick Lencioni helped me understand the reasons why my situation inside a promising team I was involved in for years turned sour. I had a thousand possible explanations, blaming everyone including myself, but with not much wisdom on how to avoid falling into the same pattern in my future endeavors.

This may well change the way you look at the fundamentals of collaboration.

Patrick Lencioni — The five dysfunctions of a team

Tl:dw ?

You do not have fourty minutes right now. No worries, I got your back. Here is the substance of his story:

  1. Absence of Trust: The fear of being vulnerable with team members prevents the building of trust within the team.
  2. Fear of Conflict: The desire to preserve artificial harmony stifles the occurrence of productive ideological conflict.
  3. Lack of Commitment: The lack of clarity or buy-in prevents team members from making decisions they will stick to.
  4. Avoidance of Accountability: The need to avoid interpersonal discomfort prevents team members from holding one another accountable.
  5. Inattention to Results: The pursuit of individual goals and personal status erodes the focus on collective success.

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Alexandre Plennevaux
Alexandre Plennevaux

Written by Alexandre Plennevaux

Belgian UX designer / web developer / teacher. Favorite word: ideation

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