Like my other books, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team begins with a story written in the context of a realistic a. To help you apply the material in your own organization, a short section that follows the story details the five dysfunctions.
The Fable
LUCK
PART ONE
Under-
BACKSTORY
And even in the difficult economic climate in the valley, the company had every reason to go public. Although most of them personally seemed to like him well enough, they couldn't deny that under his leadership, the atmosphere in the company had become more and more troubling.
KATHRYN
It was no surprise that upon first reading her resume, board members questioned the Chairman's sanity when he suggested they hire Kathryn. For one, the board believed their chairman when he completely assured them that Kathryn would succeed.
RATIONALE
GRUMBLINGS
OBSERVATIONS
Most of its staff seemed almost paralyzed by their own knowledge of the technology, as if they had to do the programming and product design themselves to make the company fly. Kathryn knew that Jack Welch didn't have to be an expert at making toasters to make General Electric a success, and that Herb Kelleher didn't have to fly airplanes all his life to build Southwest Airlines.
THE STAFF
Company founder Martin Gilmore was the closest thing DecisionTech had to an inventor. Of all the members of the executive staff, Nick had the most direct impact on the start of the company's diversification.
PART TWO
Lighting the Fire
FIRST TEST
I'm sorry, Martin.” Kathryn waited for Martin to return, which he took his time doing. But we will have to push the meeting back a few days due to going abroad."
E ND RUN
Well, he said something to me about the ASA meeting and the off-site scheduling issue.”. And then if he and JR missed the first day or so of off-site, I think we'd be fine."
DRAWING THE LINE
Well, over the last eighteen months you've been pretty active with Jeff and the rest of the team. And the re-break hurts a lot more than the initial break, because you have to do it on purpose.”.
NAPA
She didn't want the first activity of the meeting to be scolding someone for being late. She was comforted by the knowledge that she would finally start what she had been waiting for for almost a month.
THE SPEECH
Over the next two days, we will complete this model and address each problem one by one. Most of the staff seemed to accept the point, but without much enthusiasm.
PUSHING BACK
I didn't hear you." Kathryn did her best to hide her distaste for sarcastic remarks that she had developed as a seventh grade class. So you don't agree with most things, and yet you seem unwilling to admit that you have concerns.
ENTERING THE DANGER
And while I understand that some people prefer to use a computer over a notebook, like you, Martin, I've found it to be just too distracting. It's easy to imagine the person sitting there checking emails or working on something else.”.
GETTING NAKED
As for Kathryn, her staff seemed more surprised and impressed not by her military training or automotive experience, but by the fact that she had been an All-American volleyball player in college. But Kathryn had been through this long enough to know that the euphoria would subside once the conversation turned to work.
GOING DEEPER
Yes, you're right." People were shocked that Martin, who seemed involved in the process, was defending Mikey - until he finished the punch line of his remark. No, I think it's good that we're diving into operational issues while we're talking.
POOLSIDE
REBOUND
After about an hour, Martin and Nick seemed to lose a little interest, and JR became more distracted every time his cell phone vibrated and went unanswered. Martin also said little, but seemed to be paying attention and still following the conversation.
AWARENESS
Whatever the case, it was clear to him now that Mikey's behavior was having a very real effect on the rest of the group. None of them could have guessed that another member of the team was struggling as much as she was.
GOALS
Frankly, I'm not sure any of this matters unless we close some deals, and fast." So tell me how we did in terms of public relations activity?” She put the question back to Martin, making it clear that he should know the answer.
DEEP TISSUE
I've worked in some pretty political companies in the past, and I don't know if we're all that bad.” At the same time, I don't want to downplay the very dangerous situation we're all in.
ATTACK
But if it only comes as a result of people holding back their opinions and their honest concerns, then it's a bad thing. As hard as it is sometimes to take a risk with your direct reports and confront them with something sticky, it's even harder with your peers.
FILM NOIR
When the group returned from their break, Kathryn decided to introduce a relatively amusing topic of discussion regarding the conflict, one that would interest them later in the day. The group seemed more suspicious than intrigued, but at least Kathryn had their interest for now.
APPLICATION
I mean, we've come a long way and we're going to have a lot of work to do in the next few months to close deals. I just think that when we go back to work, it will be easy to slip back into the same things we've been struggling with for the past few years.
PART THREE
Heavy Lifting
ON-SITE
If we don't take bold steps like this, we will miss opportunities to distance ourselves from our competitors. Why don't you try telling the rest of the group where you're from?
FIREWORKS
He also said he had never failed in his life, and he wouldn't fail here either.” He said he wanted to break away from his career label as a fieldman.
LEAKS
Although Kathryn couldn't deny that she was slightly glad that others in the organization recognized Mikey's behavioral issues, her primary reaction to Brendan's comment was disappointment. She wondered how many other employees in the company knew details about what happened at the offsites.
OFF-SITE NUMBER TWO
I just said we did a lot of sensitive exercises." She tried to be funny, but everyone could see that there was some truth in what she was saying. Your first team should be this one." She looked around the room to make it clear that she was referring to the executive staff.
PLOWING ON
What people fail to understand is that we're not investing in engineering - it's technology. We are asking how good our products need to be for us to win in the market.
ACCOUNTABILITY
No, trust is not the same as assuming that everyone is on the same page as you and that they don't need to be pushed. The team seemed to process the point well and Kathryn let it sink in for a moment.
INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTOR
But if you want someone in your department to put in their two cents, that would be fine.” It was clear she didn't think it was necessary. After announcing that there would be a long afternoon break until noon at six, she dismissed everyone.
THE TALK
The problem is that they don't respect me.” As the words came out of her mouth, Mikey seemed to realize the severity of her unintentional self-incrimination. You might find a company that values your skills and style more.” Kathryn wanted to withhold the next sentence, but realized it was in Mikey's best interest to hear it.
LAST STAND
You don't accept criticism from your peers or apologize when you're out of line." You know you're screwed, right?" Mikey wanted to punish Kathryn one way or another.
FLACK
And what we're going to do with marketing, we're going to start looking for a new vice president. And we'll simply have to tell employees and the press that Mikey is moving on.
HEAVY LIFTING
Before long, morale in the department began to deteriorate faster than ever, and our performance slipped further. I hear that a few weeks later he quit, and they hired someone else to run the department.
RALLY
Every head in the room nodded in support, even those who had argued against an outsider. I don't want to add more expenses because that will only mean your quotes will go up.
PART FOUR
Traction
HARVEST
Because I'm not sure we'll be willing to get in each other's faces if someone doesn't perform, or if someone starts acting against the good of the team.” But she decided she needed to let some of the air out of the team's balloon.
GUT CHECK
More importantly, for the rest of the day they engaged in some of the most passionate debates Joseph had ever heard and ended those debates with crystal clear agreements and no sense of lingering bitterness. By the end of the session, Joseph decided that he had joined one of the most unusual and intense executive teams he had ever seen, and he couldn't wait to become an active part of it.
THE MARCH
As relieved as everyone was that their worst fears had been allayed, there was still something bothering them. He said that as much as he wanted to stay with the team, it made more sense for him to be part of Nick's group.
The Model
AN OVERVIEW OF THE MODEL