The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni: Why Teams Struggle—and What to do About It

Patrick Lencioni’s The Five Dysfunctions of a Team has become a modern classic in leadership literature for good reason. Structured as a business fable followed by a practical framework, the book explores why even highly capable individuals often fail to function as an effective team—and what leaders can do to change that.

Whether you’re running a startup leadership team, a cross-functional project group, or a rapidly scaling SME, Lencioni’s model provides a clear, actionable framework to identify and overcome the root causes of team dysfunction.

Book Summary

Lencioni presents his model through the story of a newly appointed CEO who must turn around a dysfunctional executive team. Through narrative, we observe how the team grapples with interpersonal challenges, lack of accountability, fear of conflict, and poor results—despite their intelligence and experience.

The second half of the book lays out The Five Dysfunctions Pyramid, which outlines the cascading issues that derail teams:

The Five Dysfunctions (and How They Hurt Performance)

1. Absence of Trust → Without vulnerability-based trust, team members hide weaknesses and avoid asking for help.

2. Fear of Conflict → Teams that don’t trust one another avoid healthy debates, leading to passive-aggressive behaviour and superficial harmony.

3. Lack of Commitment → Without healthy conflict, there’s no buy-in. Teams struggle to align around shared decisions or directions.

4. Avoidance of Accountability → When there’s no clarity or commitment, people avoid holding each other to high standards.

5. Inattention to Results → Team members prioritise personal success, ego, or departmental goals over collective results.

   
   

 Application for Senior Leaders & Business Owners

1. Build Trust by Leading with Vulnerability Leaders must model openness. Admit mistakes. Ask for help. This sets the tone for psychological safety and openness across the organisation.

2. Encourage Healthy Conflict Create space for debate. Disagreement is not dysfunction—it’s a sign of engagement. Use structured forums to invite diverse opinions and challenge groupthink.

3. Drive Commitment Through Clarity Summarise decisions at the end of meetings. Clarify next steps. Make commitments visible so no one leaves with ambiguity.

4. Create a Culture of Peer Accountability Teams shouldn't rely solely on the leader to enforce accountability. Create norms where team members hold each other to high performance standards.

5. Keep Results Front and Centre Align every conversation, reward, and performance discussion around collective results. Share wins. Track KPIs visibly.

   
   

Key Takeaways

• Trust is the foundation. Without it, nothing else works.

• Conflict is healthy—avoidance leads to mediocrity.

• Clarity + Buy-in = Commitment.

• Peer pressure (the good kind) builds real accountability.

• Real teams measure success at the collective level, not just individual achievement.

Quotes We enjoyed

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

“If everything is important, then nothing is.”

“Great teams do not hold back with one another. They are unafraid to air their dirty laundry.”

“It is only when team members are truly transparent and honest with one another that they can build a foundation for trust.”

“Politics is when people choose their words and actions based on how they want others to react rather than based on what they really think.”

 Final Reflection

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team is more than a leadership theory—it’s a mirror. It invites senior leaders to reflect not just on what their team achieves, but how they achieve it. For SMEs, where teams are often tight-knit and leadership overlap is high, these dysfunctions can quietly erode performance if left unchecked.

By applying Lencioni’s model, senior leaders can foster high-trust environments where collaboration is courageous, accountability is mutual, and results speak louder than politics.