Among the all time great organizational behavior books are Patrick Lencioni’s The Five Dysfunctions of a Team; and it’s companion field guide, Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions of a Team. What makes the combination of these books so powerful is the very direct and raw manner in which the fable in the first book maps out the primary obstacles to organizational success addressed by the author followed by ways to address those obstacles with minimal fanfare and maximum impact. I work with clients nearly every day, and can attest to the validity of the presence of these challenges and the toll they take on people in those organizations, and on their clients. As an optimist, I believe – and find through my work – the desire to be better is strong in most people and, given the right guidance and support, they work hard to be better and influence others to follow their lead.
Attending a professional soccer match recently, I was reminded of the significance a single player can have on an entire team and on the match – it’s flow and outcome. The home team play a tepid first half in which they failed to generate any scoring chances of consequence and trailed the visitors 1-0. Coming out of halftime, the home team’s coach put a new player into his line-up; and the entire match changed. First, it was the pace of play – much faster. Then it was the daring shown by the new player, pushing forward quickly and taking, or creating, shots. And, finally, it was the results: three goals in about 20 minutes (which in soccer is a lot) – two by a teammate who’d shown nothing in the first half of the match. What I witnessed in an athletic microcosm was the power of confronting the five dysfunctions, and kicking their tail such that everybody’s performance got better and the results bore that out. Taking Lencioni’s lab out of the office and onto the playing field, what I saw was:
• Trust—the new player brought with him a demonstration of trust in his willingness to take chances on behalf of his team – trusting them to support him if he failed; and he showed the trust needed to play the ball to teammates and take on a secondary role to advance the interests of the team.
• No Fear of Conflict—there wasn’t any sense this player feared any of his teammates taking issue with his style of play. For one thing, they objectively were stinking up the joint before he came on; and once on the field – due to his efforts and energy – they were better. His passion was infectious.
• Commitment—buy in from the rest of the team was a fait accompli – the player exuded such a mastery of the moment that resistance was futile! Setting up two goals for other players confirmed the wisdom of their agreement.
• Accountability—through his energy, his willingness to take risks, and his skill in involving others, the player made himself accountable to his teammates, and they in turn raised their level of play to match his – apparently to please him. The coach made the well-timed move to send him on, but he then facilitated a peer-to-peer connection led by his example and reciprocated through teammates’ efforts.
• Results—they won, yes. More importantly, they won because of the way they changed their play – from an approach lacking trust, to one that saw an increased individual commitment and a team-wide commitment. Perhaps this was because there was a dearth of demonstrated accountability (literal and figurative shoulder-shrugging as one error after another was made). The halftime result left a lot to be desired, but the sheer drive and motivation of one player became a literal game changer.
What’s inspiring is that the end of game result was a win – an exciting one and one born of heightened team play. AND, the reason this change occurred and result was enabled was due to the impact of one person – pretty awesome for an optimist and even hopeful for a pessimist: one person CAN make a difference.
Lencioni’s Maslow-inspired five dysfunctions aren’t the death knell of hope; rather they’re the inspiration of hope. When we know the enemy, it can be defeated. The Team of Me is an enemy because it values individual interests over all others. The Team of Mine similarly places local interests over those of the organization. When we embrace the Team of Us (as in there is no “them” only “us”), we can work together to maximum effect and impact. Each of us has the power to make a difference with that guidance in mind.
I invite you to do just that – make a difference by believing in the power of the Team of Us and get the ball rolling through the power of leading by example.
