Patrick Lencioni’s popular best-selling book, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, contrasts the characteristics of dysfunctional and productive teams. It is an easy-to-understand model that reflects the experiences we’ve had with business intelligence (BI) teams over the last eighteen years.
We frequently hear that BI initiatives are unsuccessful or cancelled because they did not deliver results. Whereas many companies might attribute their lack of results to tools, technical skills, architecture, business changes, and/or inadequate personnel, Lencioni’s model illustrates that the lack of results is frequently the outcome of a different set of underlying problems: Lack of results is caused by lack of accountability, which is caused by lack of commitment, which is caused by fear of conflict, which is caused by lack of trust. Therefore, if your team is not achieving results, it is worth your time to examine the pyramid of a dysfunctional team. In this model, failure to deliver results is an outcome originating from an unstable foundation created by a lack of trust.
Figure 1: The Five Dysfunctions of a Team
Source:
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni
Lack of Trust
“Trust” is an often misunderstood and misused word. In this context, it’s the belief among team members that their peers’ intentions are positive. We don’t have to protect ourselves or be something we’re not. We can be honest about our weaknesses, deficiencies, shortcomings, and mistakes without spending all of our energy managing appearances and interactions. If teams trust each other, it makes it more conducive to disagree.
Lack of Conflict
This does not mean destructive fighting, attacks, or unproductive politics. However, if we want to produce the best BI solutions, there needs to be a healthy debate where people can disagree. We need to quickly come to resolution so we can move forward together without residual damage. When conflict is stifled, people turn to triangulation and revisit issues over and over again. If teams can have a constructive debate where all viewpoints are heard and then agree to move forward, even if some disagree with the decision, they can buy in.
Lack of Commitment
The two biggest obstacles to commitment are ambiguity and consensus. Although there are circumstances where consensus may be appropriate, always trying to achieve consensus can be time-consuming and produce mediocre solutions. Great BI teams commit to clear courses of action, sometimes with incomplete information, and support decisions once they are made. Clear deadlines and dates are key to promoting accountability.
Lack of Accountability
Top-down management is not the most effective means of maintaining high standards on a team. Peer pressure is more efficient than policies or systems. The anxiety of letting down respected team members is a key motivation for performance.
Lack of Results
Good BI teams specify what they plan to accomplish in a given period. They have an unrelenting focus on what they collectively want to achieve. Functional BI teams make the collective results of the group more important than each individual’s goals.
References:
Lencioni, Patrick. The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. Jossey-Bass, A Wiley Imprint, San Francisco, CA, 2002