The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable, 20th Anniversary Edition

“Because I'm not sure that we're going to be willing to get in each other's faces when someone doesn't deliver, or if someone starts acting against the good of the team.”

them, it might be helpful to assess your team and identify where the opportunities for improvement lie in your organization.

The essence of this dysfunction is the unwillingness of team members to tolerate the interpersonal discomfort that accompanies calling a peer on his or her behavior and the more general tendency to avoid difficult conversations.

For the next several hours, the group took Joseph through the five dysfunctions. Nick explained the importance of trust. Jan and Jeff together covered conflict and commitment. Carlos described accountability within the context of the team, and Martin finished off results. They then reviewed Joseph's Myers-Briggs results and explained the roles and

“Remember, teamwork begins by building trust. And the only way to do that is to overcome our need for invulnerability.”

to a clear plan of action, even the most focused and driven people often hesitate to call their peers on actions and behaviors that seem counterproductive to the good of the team. Failure to hold one another accountable creates an environment where the fifth dysfunction can thrive. Inattention to results occurs when team members put their individua

below.