Understanding the 5 Dysfunctions of a Team: Insights from Patrick Lencioni

Key Takeaways

• The five dysfunctions of a team are profound obstacles to collaboration and performance. These are absence of trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance of accountability, and inattention to results. Realizing these dysfunctions is the first step to overcoming them.

• Building trust between a team takes vulnerability and openness. By empowering teams to have frank conversations about what’s working and what’s not, you’ll start to build a positive base of trust.

• 5 Build an atmosphere of trust so that all members of your team feel safe and secure enough to have healthy conflict

• Commitment is driven by clear goals and shared priorities. Making sure that all members know what roles they are supposed to play can help encourage both engagement and organizational alignment.

• Accountability improves team cohesion and keeps everyone moving forward. Consistently check up on your goals and keep one another accountable for what you’ve committed to follow through on.

• With a team-focused mindset, the whole team’s success comes first. Change the conversation from personal success to team outcomes in order to develop a united and effective team.

There are five deadly dysfunctions a team can encounter. They are the five dysfunctions – absence of trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance of accountability, and inattention to results. These dysfunctions prevent people from better working together and being productive.

Addressing them builds trust, sets the stage for open communication, and fosters accountability. Teams that succeed in moving past these hurdles tend to see increased performance and collaboration.

Realizing and addressing these dysfunctions opens a straightforward path to building a stronger team dynamic and fostering a more harmonious workplace.

What Are the Five Dysfunctions?

These dysfunctions form the root causes of dysfunctional teams and prevent any team from reaching their full potential. Each dysfunction lays the foundation for the one that comes after it, creating a snowball effect that shatters trust, communication, and overall effectiveness.

Addressing these dysfunctions is not just a theoretical exercise—it’s a practical necessity for any team aiming for long-term success. So let’s demystify them one-by-one.

1. Understanding Absence of Trust

At the heart of each and every successful team is trust. Without it, forward progress stops and teamwork erodes. Trust, as the first dysfunction describes it, is the willingness to be vulnerable—putting it on the table, admitting mistakes, weaknesses, and asking for help when you need it.

When teams don’t trust each other, they work in self-preservation will, where team members second-guess one another’s intentions and fear taking risks. I’ve experienced this first hand in team coaching sessions—leaders are reluctant to admit they don’t know out of fear of being judged.

2. Exploring Fear of Conflict

When conflict is approached in a way that encourages divergent thinking, it can fuel creativity and promote innovation. Instead, teams tend to shy away from it, resulting in lackluster conversations and unaddressed tensions.

Symptoms of this dysfunction in the boardroom look like meetings that feel rehearsed or an unwillingness to discuss tough issues. I once worked with a team that wasted weeks evading a key decision. Nobody wanted to be the one to go against the CEO’s view.

Real, healthy conflict is possible when you have established clear ground rules for conversations. Techniques such as assigning a “devil’s advocate” or employing structured debate formats can help team members productively disagree with each other.

3. Examining Lack of Commitment

Ambiguous objectives and nebulous decision-making foster cynicism and disengagement. Teams lacking commitment are always left with a sense of dysfunction—stuck, scared to make a call either way.

This lack of action is often a result of fear of failure or misplaced priorities. I’ve seen it on teams where team members smile and agree during meetings but then later in the week come questioning or second guessing their role.

To address this, leaders need to be clear about what they want to achieve. Rather than, “Let’s sell more,” make it something specific. For example, make your objective specific, measurable and time bound such as, “Increase sales by 15% over the next quarter.

4. Understanding Avoidance of Accountability

Accountability keeps each team member on track to deliver on their promises. When it’s lacking, standards decline, and anger can fester. Behaviors such as consistently missing deadlines, finger-pointing and defensiveness are warning signs.

Now imagine a policy or incentive in which no one takes any measure to track progress until the deadline comes due—that’s a disaster waiting to happen. Frequent progress check ins are important.

These might be weekly check-ins in which each team member shares an update on their key deliverables. To make it work, leaders need to model accountability too, starting by owning up to their own missteps.

5. Analyzing Inattention to Results

When personal ambitions trump team priorities, the success of the group is no longer the priority. This dysfunction tends to show up as an absence of accountability, where team members hold each other accountable for personal goals instead of team goals.

Metrics are a way to re-focus everyone’s attention on what we’re all trying to achieve together. For instance, measuring team-wide performance indicators such as customer satisfaction or project completion rates helps everyone see the bigger picture.

The Five Dysfunctions Pyramid

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, as envisioned by Patrick Lencioni, is usually depicted as a pyramid. This pyramid visual is a great representation of how each dysfunction stacks and compounds the others, forming a pyramid of dysfunction dependencies. At the bottom is trust, the foundation for all successful teams.

Each layer above—conflict, commitment, accountability, and results—depends on the health and resolution of the layer beneath it. Think of it like trying to build a house: without a strong foundation, everything above it risks collapse. So, knowing these layers isn’t just nice to have—it’s critical.

Structure of the Pyramid

Lencioni’s dysfunctions pyramid consists of five layers, each layer identifying an essential element of teamwork. It begins at the base with Absence of Trust, rooted in a fear of vulnerability between team members. Vulnerability-based trust is when team members are safe to say I made a mistake, I need help, or I don’t know.

Without it, teamwork crumbles. In a team where no one will admit they’re losing their way on an idea, progress will slow to a crawl. As a result, frustration will only continue to build. Trust isn’t a “nice-to-have”; it’s a foundation upon which everything else is built.

Fear of Conflict occurs when teams don’t engage in open, honest, and constructive conflict. This isn’t about fostering shouting matches, but rather the productive exchange of diverse and sometimes opposing ideas. Without trust, conflict comes across as dangerous instead of productive.

Picture a team meeting where no one is willing to tell the CEO that her proposed plan would destroy the company because they’re afraid of her retribution. That silence can be incredibly damaging for the organization.

Following is Lack of Commitment, the land of indecision. Teams that do not engage in constructive conflict fail to achieve buy-in as people’s perspectives are left unvoiced. That results in half-baked initiatives.

For example, if a marketing team debates a campaign strategy but never resolves disagreements, their execution will lack cohesion and focus.

The fourth layer is Avoidance of Accountability, where members of the team are reluctant to call out peers on the team. This dysfunction flourishes in an environment where commitment is lacking. Without clear ownership, accountability for underperformance falls through the cracks.

Take a sales team that agrees on quarterly goals but avoids confronting a colleague who consistently underdelivers—this affects everyone’s results.

At the apex is Inattention to Results, where individual agendas trump the shared success of the team. This layer is indicative of a deeper dysfunction—a breakdown in accountability. When people focus on their own success instead of what is best for the team, hitting shared goals becomes a daunting task.

These layers are not separate silos. By addressing trust first, it establishes the strong base required to address the next level dysfunctions. It’s the equivalent of repairing a leaky basement before you even consider the roof.

How Each Dysfunction Builds on Others

The dysfunctions are very much connected, with each one feeding into the next. Take, for example, an inattention to trust root cause. Without trust, the fear of conflict follows, as team members shun healthy debate.

This avoidance creates a lack of commitment, including the death of honest dissent, where collective decisions seem like coercion instead of consensus. In turn, this creates an avoidance of accountability, because no one is truly committed to results.

Finally, this leads to an inattention to results, because personal goals are more important than group goals. Though tragic, real-world examples underscore these cascading effects.

Or think about a tech startup that’s experiencing a leadership crisis of their own. Team members are afraid to speak up when they disagree with the product roadmap (fear of conflict), which leads to poorly informed alignment (lack of commitment).

So when deadlines are indeed missed, no one is accountable for the holes. This lack of accountability leads to missed launch dates and dissatisfied customers.

A flowchart of these relationships would show a clear downward spiral: trust impacts conflict, conflict shapes commitment, commitment drives accountability, and accountability influences results.

It is this interconnectedness that makes a holistic approach so vital. Tackling one dysfunction in isolation and neglecting the rest usually results in short-term improvements and long-term chaos.

Real-Life Examples of Team Dysfunctions

Getting to the heart of team dysfunctions real-life examples always help make the intangibles more relatable. These examples highlight how these dysfunctions manifest, their consequences, and actionable insights for improvement. Each real-life example illustrates the importance of addressing these dysfunctions directly.

We need to do it with integrity, transparency, and a firm dedication to individual and systemic improvement.

Examples of Trust Issues in Teams

When individuals start withholding information, avoiding vulnerability, or second-guessing their colleagues’ work, those are all signs that trust is lacking. With one manufacturing team, a breakdown in trust was creating regular project delays. Technical staff began to feel uncomfortable providing candid critiques of design deficiencies, making the situation even more dire.

This led to a toxic cycle of wasted time and aggravation. Mistrust eroded even that communication, creating conditions where collaboration was all but impossible. The long-term effects of mistrust can include low morale, high turnover, and missed opportunities.

Teams without trust struggle to innovate because members hesitate to share bold ideas. To rebuild trust, strategies like fostering open dialogue, setting clear expectations, and following through on commitments are crucial. A simple checklist for assessing trust might include questions like: Are team members openly sharing ideas? Do they support each other during challenges?

Instances of Conflict Avoidance

By avoiding conflict, you’re just pushing issues under the rug for them to boil over later. One tech startup had this happen when employees fled from confronting a dangerous pattern on their product roadmap. That failure to communicate led to incomplete tasks, missed deadlines, and ultimately a product that was a poor fit for customer needs.

This avoidance not only affects team morale, but freezes progress in its tracks. Healthy conflict resolution is possible when leaders foster a culture that encourages diverse opinions and perspectives. Practice having difficult conversations or using structured frameworks such as “I feel, because, I need” statements.

Real-world examples of conflict avoidance are avoiding difficult conversations with underperforming team members, avoiding conflict in meetings, or delaying hard calls.

Cases of Lack of Commitment

Unclear goals can cause team members to disengage. One nonprofit team, for instance, found it difficult to do so when their goals were poorly articulated. Without any clarity, team members ended up focusing on what they thought was important, leading to further misalignment.

Leadership ensures commitment by establishing a clear vision with realistic goals. It makes sure each person knows their part in the overall plan. Solutions, like regular check-ins with the team and visual tools such as progress trackers could help.

Here’s a simple comparison:

Examples of Avoiding Accountability

Actions such as passing the buck or being late with deliverables are indicators of an absence of accountability. These problems in one marketing agency led to missed client campaigns and frayed relationships. The team had a habit of not wanting to have hard conversations about underperformance, which resulted in recurring errors.

The costs of not holding people accountable are lost productivity and compromised reputations. Strategies to foster accountability include establishing expectations, implementing measures of performance, and recognizing achievements.

Just the opposite — great teams regularly do peer reviews and are transparent about how they make decisions.

Cases of Ignoring Team Results

When personal agendas come before the team’s goals, the outcome can be catastrophic. The sales department was completely focused on individual quotas. Unfortunately, their lack of coordination caused them to lose out on the opportunity to land such a big client.

Celebrating team accomplishments brings everyone together, builds morale, and keeps everyone inspired. Aligning individual efforts with team results can be achieved by setting shared goals, using team-based incentives, and regularly reviewing collective progress.

A checklist might include: Does the team celebrate milestones? Is the individual work supporting the larger goals?

Identifying and Addressing Dysfunctional Patterns

Strong teamwork is fostered through trust, accountability, and a shared vision. When dysfunctions set in, they can quietly infect even the most high-functioning teams. Identifying these red flags from the onset and meeting them with concrete plans of action is key to building a high-functioning, united team.

Recognizing Trust Deficits in Teams

Trust is the bedrock of any great team. Without it, collaboration is contrived, and the team starts to play defense. Distrust can often surface in very insidious ways. Perhaps you may see team members being afraid to ask questions, unwilling to give candid feedback, or operating independently instead of functioning as a cohesive team.

Instead, a leader could find, for instance, that meetings have become too quiet, with no discussion occurring beyond the status updates. Addressing these trust issues needs to happen right away. Letting these dysfunctional patterns fester only exacerbates the rifts, taking even more time and energy to repair.

A great place to start is through honest and transparent communication. Team-building exercises, such as collaborating on diagnostic tests, can expose behavioral tendencies and create space for greater empathy. For instance, at the end of one such session, a team member once expressed a deeper connection in just forty-five minutes.

To rebuild trust, focus on consistency and transparency. Leaders can foster trust by modeling vulnerability—admitting mistakes, sharing challenges, and showing empathy. A simple checklist for assessing trust might include questions like: Are team members open about challenges? Do they offer support without hesitation?

Spotting Signs of Conflict Avoidance

Conflict avoidance usually presents itself as a desire for harmony, but underneath the surface, lack of clarity can freeze action in its tracks. Typical red flags are when teammates nod in apparent agreement at meetings. They could dodge difficult discussions and complain about their concerns to coworkers instead of confronting the problem head-on.

Without debate, they fall into strategic paralysis. This was most recently seen in Blackberry’s inability to pivot when market demands shifted. Unresolved conflicts can eat away at team performance in the long run. Fostering healthy communication modes begins with how you manage discussions and making it a priority to ensure all voices are heard.

Leaders can model curiosity by asking questions such as, “What different points of view are we not considering?” This moves the conversation from a place of conflict to a space of cooperation. Signs of conflict avoidance to watch for include:

• Meetings with unanimous but unenthusiastic agreement

• Persistent undercurrents of frustration or resentment

• Avoidance of direct communication about disagreements

Fostering an environment of open and honest discussion allows teams to get beyond that avoidance and address issues directly.

Detecting Commitment Challenges

When commitment gets weak, teams become demotivated. Examples of this include consistently missing deadlines, lackluster contributions, or people on your team constantly second-guessing decisions. For instance, Farrell, a team member, confessed to feeling underutilized while his peers struggled with core responsibilities, leading to frustration.

Lack of commitment may be due to a lack of clarity around objectives, leaving teams feeling lost and unable to commit. Setting concrete, quantifiable objectives gets everyone on the same page. The company took a step back to redefine its goals and establish responsibility.

Because of that, it was able to hit or exceed its revenue targets three out of four quarters. Begin by determining the most important priorities and making sure every member of the team knows how they contribute to those priorities. A checklist for commitment assessment might include:

• Are goals clearly defined and shared with the team?

• Do team members actively support decisions once they’re made?

• Is there visible enthusiasm for achieving objectives?

Identifying Lack of Accountability

Without accountability, teams will quickly spiral into dysfunction. Behaviors such as missed deadlines, poor quality of work, or passing the buck should raise alarm bells. Letting bad work slide, for example, can hurt overall morale and establish a culture of acceptable mediocrity.

Within months, this can create havoc, as happened when three analysts resigned, plunging their department into turmoil. Accountability begins when expectations are clearly communicated. Leaders need to set clear accountabilities and schedule regular follow-up meetings to ensure accountability and momentum.

For example, establishing weekly milestones helps everyone on the team stay focused and reduces the potential for excuses. Celebrating accomplishments at all stages bolsters accountability by making clear that these hard-earned efforts will not go unrecognized. Indicators of accountability challenges include:

• Missed deadlines with little explanation

• Uneven workload distribution among team members

• A lack of follow-through on commitments

Observing Misaligned Focus on Results

A results-driven mindset keeps team focus on aligning their efforts toward common goals. When personal ambitions start to trump the collective success, there’s dysfunction. When team members are more concerned with personal recognition or just doing their job, it can quickly sink the ship.

This is typically indicative of being out of sync with the team’s high-level goals. Creating a culture that is focused on improving results starts with ensuring that every person’s role is connected to the team’s goals. It could be, for example, in the course of a strategic planning process, where a team can explore how individual members’ work helps to achieve collective success.

Highlighting team wins over individual champions only doubles down on this competitive mindset. A checklist for team alignment might include:

• Are individual goals aligned with the team’s objectives?

• Do team members recognize their contributions to collective success?

• Is collaboration prioritized over competition?

Conclusion

Creating a strong, united team may require some work, but the benefits are invaluable. Trust deepens, communication becomes more transparent and effective, and objectives harmonize when dysfunctions are dealt with directly. Great teams prosper only when their members feel safe, valued, and heard. It’s not about getting it right the first time—it’s about a commitment to continuous improvement.

True transformation occurs only when you commit to solving these issues as a priority. Get started with baby steps. Work on just one issue to start. Whether you’re focused on fostering trust or sharpening accountability, every step you take in the right direction creates new momentum.

What’s one challenge your team is facing right now? Share your thoughts or experiences in the comments below—I’d love to hear from you!

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the five dysfunctions of a team?

The five dysfunctions are absence of trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance of accountability, and inattention to results. These five dysfunctions make it impossible for teams to succeed or work together.

What is the Five Dysfunctions Pyramid?

The pyramid is a visual representation that illustrates the way in which the five dysfunctions are connected to one another. Trust at the bottom serves as the base, then conflict, commitment, accountability, results on the top.

How do I identify team dysfunctions?

Place your finger on the pulse. Find clues to dysfunction such as communication issues, missed deadlines, disengagement, or competing agendas. Consistent feedback loops and team reviews are a good way to identify problems.

Can the dysfunctions occur in any team?

Yes, even your team can be plagued by these dysfunctions, no matter how big or small, or what industry you are in. Awareness along with proactive, engaged, and empathetic leadership can go a long way toward avoiding or addressing them.

How can a team improve trust?

Teams can develop trust by learning to communicate openly, being vulnerable with one another, and following through on what they say they will do. Trust exercises and one-on-one meetings are equally effective.

Why is accountability important in a team?

Accountability holds feet to the fire so everyone owns their piece of the action. It fuels productivity, minimizes finger pointing, and prevents the team from chasing shiny objects outside of their common objectives.

What are real-life examples of team dysfunctions?

Like when a project deadline is missed because a lack of communication led to misunderstanding or when team conflict is sidestepped by hasty behavior, not resolution. These dysfunctions are sometimes unbearable and always destructive, resulting in low morale and terrible outcomes.