0. AASB 2011 Summer Conference
Overcoming the 5 Dysfunctions
of a Team
Pam Bilbrey

2. The Five Dysfunctions of a Team
The Role of the Leader…
Focus on Collective Outcomes
Confront Difficult Issues
Force Clarity and Closure
Demand Debate
Be Vulnerable
#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 for their behaviors and performance.
#5: Inattention to Results
The pursuit of individual goals and personal status erodes the focus on collective success.

3. Team Assessment Dysfunction 1 Dysfunction 2 Dysfunction 3
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:

4. Team #1
“Team members must prioritize the team that they are a member of over the team that they lead or manage. “
Pat Lencioni, The Five Dysfunctions Of aTeam
quote

5. Still wondering? It’s not your first team …
If you go to meetings with the mindset that you are there to get what you can for your department/division.
If during every discussion and decision in the meetings you are silently thinking of the impact of your department/division vs the best decision for the entire organization.
If you sometimes go back to your department/division and say “I put up a good fight for us in the Administrative Leader meeting, but the decision did not go our way”.
If you sometimes go back to your department/division and say “I did not vote for it, but we are going to….”.

6. Overcoming The Five Dysfunctions
Dysfunction # 1: ABSENCE OF TRUST
Strategy for Overcoming:
Identify and discuss individual strengths and weaknesses
Spend considerable time in face-to-face meetings and working sessions
Dysfunction # 2: FEAR OF CONFLICT
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 COMMITMENT
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 ACCOUNTABILITY
Explicitly communicate goals and standards of behavior
Regularly discuss performance versus goals and standards
Dysfunction # 5: INATTENTION TO RESULTS
Keep the team focused on tangible group goals
Reward individuals based on team goals and collective success

8. 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.
Where did you grow up?
How many siblings do you have and where do you fall in that order?
Please describe a unique or interesting challenge from your childhood.

9. Extraversion Introversion Sensing iNtuition Thinking Feeling Judging
Myers Briggs Type Indicator
Extraversion
Introversion E I
Energy Focus
Sensing
iNtuition S N
Paying Attention
Thinking
Feeling T F
Making Decisions
Judging
Perceiving J P
Work/Lifestyle

10. The Four Temperaments NF SJ NT SP

11. NF SP SJ NT What I Must Know
Is it good & helpful for people?
Is it economical, dependable and customary?
Will it work? How fast can I fix it?
What are the long- range effects?

12. Encouraging Conflict
Be miners of conflict
Give real-time permission

13. Encouraging Conflict - TKI
Thomas-Kilman conflict mode instrument: conflict workshop facilitator's guide. (1996). Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press, Inc.

14. Conflict Profile Discussion
What was the conflict environment in your home while you were growing up? Were there spirited conversations or did your family avoid difficult conversations?
How would you describe your comfort level with conflict?
What professional experiences have influenced your ability to engage in unfiltered debate?

15. Conflict Norming Exercise
Write down your preferences relating to acceptable and unacceptable behaviors around productive ideological conflict. Include the following:
• The kind of language and tone of voice people should use
• The emotional content of people’s messages
• The extent of people’s involvement and participation
• Other
Discuss with the team:
• What do our collective preferences seem to be in relationship to conflict?
• What significant differences about conflict do we have?
Our Team’s Conflict Commitments:
• What are our top four or five behavioral expectations (Conflict Norms) around conflict?

16. Organizational Clarity
Teams must be in alignment around a number of key questions that define their business and where it is headed. These include the following:
Core Purpose
Why does the company exist?
(beyond making money)
Values
What traits are inherent and important in the organization? (limits of diversity)
Business Definition
What specifically does the business do?
(no flowery adjectives)
Strategy
How does the organization purposefully differentiate itself against competitors? (“everything/nothing”)
Goals
What is the organization aligned around?
Roles &
Responsibilities
Who does what?

17. The Meetings Quiz 1. Are your meetings dull and uninspiring?
2. Do team members question the usefulness of meetings?
3. Are critical issues avoided or overlooked during meetings?
4. Do you wonder if team members are holding back during
meetings?
5. Do team members complain about having to attend meetings?
6. Do you find that meetings end without resolution of critical
issues?
7. Do you discuss administrative, tactical and strategic topics
during the same meetings?
8. Are important discussions cut short because of time
constraints?
9. Is your team reluctant to go off-site more than once a year
to review the state of the organization and business?
10. Do team members seem disengaged during meetings?

18. The Four Meetings
from: Death by Meeting

19. Tactical Meeting Guide

20. Team Effectiveness Exercise
How You Currently What You Can Do To Add Value To the Team Add Even More Value
Team Member

21. Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.
Margaret Mead

22. Extraversion Introversion Sensing iNtuition Thinking Feeling Judging
Myers Briggs Type Indicator
Extraversion
Introversion E I
Energy Focus
Sensing
iNtuition S N
Paying Attention
Thinking
Feeling T F
Making Decisions
Judging
Perceiving J P
Work/Lifestyle

23. Myers-Briggs Type Indicator – Where do you get your energy?
EXTRAVERSION
INTROVERSION
Source of energy is from the outer world.
Prefer:
Interaction
Discussion
Spoken word
Meetings
Think out loud
Action
Breath of interests
Like variety & action oriented jobs.
Are sometimes inpatient with long slow jobs.
Like to have people around in their working environment.
Act quickly sometimes without thinking.
Like to learn a new task by talking it through with someone or doing it.
“Hi! Nice to see you!”
“Let’s get on with it.”
“Here is my opinion.”
Source of energy is from their internal world
Prefer:
Quiet Concentration
Reflection
Written word
Memos
Think, then speak
Introspection
Depth of interests
Like quiet for concentration.
Can work on one project for a long time.
Work alone contentedly preferably without interruptions.
Think before they act, sometimes without acting
May prefer to learn by reading rather than talking or experiencing
“Thanks for leaving!”
“I need to concentrate.”
“I need to think about it.”

24. Myers-Briggs Type Indicator – How do you access/gather information?
SENSING
INTUITION
Information they pay attention to:
Facts
Present time
What is practical
Specifics
What is real
Usefulness
Thinking process:
Step by step
Pieces
What is step #1?
Focus on what works now -- current reality is a given.
Like an established way of doing things that they already know.
Work steadily with a realistic idea of how long it will take.
Reach conclusions step by step.
May be good at precise work because careful about facts.
Seldom inspired, and tend not to trust their inspiration
“Just the facts, ma’am.”
“Tell it like it is.”
“No fluff.”
Information they pay attention to:
Possibilities
Future time
What is innovative
Generalities
What could be
Novelty
Thinking process:
Leap around
Patterns
What is the vision?
Focus on how things can be improved -- what is possible.
Dislike doing the same thing repeatedly - - enjoy learning new skills.
Work in bursts of energy with slack periods in between.
May leap to conclusion quickly.
Dislike taking time for precision and may get their facts wrong.
Follow their inspirations and hunches.
“Imagine the possibilities!”
“Hey! Why don’t we…”
“Have we ever thought about…”

25. Myers-Briggs Type Indicator How do you evaluate information?
THINKING
FEELING
In making decisions:
Objective
Based on principles
Logical
Analytical
Detached
Solution oriented
Focus on results based on criteria.
Seek clarity.
Sometimes perceived as cold or detached.
Are good at putting things in logical order and determining outcomes of choices.
Have a talent for analyzing a problem or situation.
Tend to be firm & tough-minded
Need to be treated fairly.
Able to reprimand or fire people when necessary.
May hurt people’s feelings without knowing it because of affinity for rules & regulations.
In making decisions:
Subjective
Based on circumstances
Persuasive
Appreciative
Involved
Empathetic
Focus on impact on people and relationships.
Seek harmony.
Sometimes perceived as too impassioned.
Are good at seeing how various choices and decisions will impact people.
Like harmony and will work to make it happen.
Tend to be sympathetic.
Need occasional praise.
Dislike telling people unpleasant things.
Enjoy pleasing people and take an interest in the person behind the job.

26. Myers-Briggs Type Indicator- How do you approach daily life?
JUDGING
PERCEIVING
Prefer to work in environment that is:
Structured
Planned
Controlled
Scheduled
Organized
Definite
Decided
Issues are black and white, absolutes.
Want to be done, not in process.
Work best when they can plan their work and follow the plan.
May decide things too quickly.
May dislike to interrupt the project they are on for a more urgent one.
Tend to be satisfied once they reach a judgment on an issue or person.
Schedule projects so that each step gets done on time.
Use lists as agendas for action.
“Make up your mind.”
“Good morning, Lord.”
“8:00 sharp.”
“Let’s get started.”
“Ready, Aim, Fire”
Prefer to work in environment that is:
Flexible
Open ended
Adaptable
Spontaneous
Responsive
Tentative
Wait and See
Deal with ambiguity and shades of gray.
More adaptable in times of change - enjoy the process.
Do not mind leaving things open for last-minute changes.
May postpone unpleasant jobs.
May start too many projects and then have difficulty in finishing them.
May delay making decisions, thinking they don’t have enough information.
Accomplish a lot at the last minute under pressure.
Use lists as reminders of all the things they have to do someday.
“Keep your options open.”
“Good Lord, it’s morning.”
“8-ish”
“Let’s wait for everyone to arrive.”
“Fire, What time is it?, Aim.”

27. The Five Temptations of a CEO
SUSCEPTIBILITY TO THE FIVE TEMPTATIONS
This assessment is designed to help you identify your susceptibility to The Five Temptations, not to determine that you succumb to them. The more you understand yourself and the Temptations, the more you can do to ensure your success and that of your company.
Take your time and be as honest as possible. This is simply a quantitative measure to help you get started - keep in mind that the best way to discover your Temptations is a qualitative assessment.
Within each group listed below, please rank the statements 1 through 4
Mark your strongest area as a 1 and your least strong area as a 4 (compared to the other statements in that group)
Rank
______ A. Measure personal success by achievement of organizational outcomes
______ B. Give constructive and insightful performance feedback
______ C. Trust instincts when making decisions
______ D. Encourage direct reports to engage in open debate
Rank
______ E. Acknowledge and accept responsibility for mistakes and failures
______ F. Focus energy on organization’s goals
______ G. Hold direct reports accountable for deliverables
______ H. Take risks
Rank
______ I. Openly share opinions during meetings
______ J. Comfortable accepting compliments
______ K. Deliver on commitments
______ L. Push employees and coach them for improvement
Rank
______ M. Ensure direct reports have clear roles and responsibilities
______ N. Run passion-filled and intense meetings
______ O. Do not hold grudges after conflict
______ P. Promote the accomplishments and success of others
Rank
______ Q. Confront direct reports about behavioral issues
______ R. Willing to make decisions even when only minimal information is available
______ S. Surface and address personal conflicts within the department
______ T. Comfortable sharing personal values and experiences

28. The Five Temptations of a CEO
THE RESULTS
In the appropriate space below, write down the ranking you gave each statement from the previous page. Your rankings are going to be used as points.
Add up the point total under each Temptation.
This assessment is looking for extremes—the highest point total may be your greatest Temptation, and the lowest point total is probably an area that you do not struggle in.
Status vs. Results
Statement Ranking/Points
A. ______
F. ______
K. ______
P. ______
Point Total ______
Popularity vs. Accountability
Statement Ranking/Points
B. ______
G. ______
L. ______
Q. ______
Point Total ______
Certainty vs. Clarity
Statement Ranking/Points
C. ______
H. ______
M. ______
R. ______
Point Total ______
Harmony vs. Conflict
D. ______
I. ______
N. ______
S. ______
Invulnerability vs. Trust
Statement Ranking/Points
E. ______
J. ______
O. ______
T. ______
Point Total ______
2. Based on this assessment and my qualitative assessment I am strongly tempted by the following Temptation(s):