In his famous book on team dynamics, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Patrick Lencioni identifies five problems that teams frequently encounter, regardless of their size or goals. If your team suffers from one or more of Lencioni’s “dysfunctions” listed below, they can resolve these issues through group facilitation provided by FindaFacilitator.

Absence of Trust

Absence of trust could have several causes, but its results are always the same: team members become polarized and their chemistry suffers. Lack of trust due to past mistakes, employees attempting to protect their reputation, and employees who have control issues could all be causes of absence of trust. 

Team facilitation can help teams understand how certain behaviors and outlooks contribute to lack of trust, and how to resolve these issues for the sake of teamwork.  

Fear of Conflict

Most people have worked with someone who thrives on conflict, and were eager to see the person go. People who avoid conflict can be problematic too. When business could be handled better, it is the responsibility of the person who notices the problem to not let it persist, regardless of the potential reaction. 

Often, fear of conflict has less to do with non-assertiveness than a lack of trust. If team members can trust each other to interpret criticism in a non-personal way, they can feel free to point out necessary changes.

Lack of Commitment

From poor compensation to inefficient project management, anything that dampens a team’s motivation or hinders its progress will likely affect its commitment. Consequently, team facilitation that focuses on commitment often addresses the issue that makes commitment difficult.

In some instances, resolving poor commitment requires the participation of other teams or departments in a second facilitation session. 

Avoidance of Accountability

No one wants to be accountable for mistakes, but the more that team members “pass the buck,” the less they function as a team. Different teams have different accountability structures, and facilitators help them assess whether their structure is right for their work process, and if so, how to make it more efficient. 

Inattention to Results

Inattention to results refers to a team’s inattention to the success or failure of certain practices. Often, teams perpetuate an ineffective practice due to tradition, lack of insight, poor project management, etc. As a result, a facilitator often identifies “inattention to results” as a team discusses a problem that is caused by the inattention.