Trust, conflict and a healthy organization

I felt like Pac-Man.

When I got my hands on The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni, I gobbled it up and then read all of his books. Lencioni's books are wildly easy to read with interesting narratives and are spot on with their messages.

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team (2002) points out that a strong-functioning team must have five crucial points in order, and at the base is trust. Without trust, an organization really is not a "team." Rather, it is a fake type of entity where people's insecurities and infighting will attract more time and even headaches than actual production. Trust is crucial!

After trust is in place, healthy conflict is a must? What type of team can move forward if it does not address its important issues? In some worlds, the word "conflict" is negative. Some use it synonymously with "fight" or "bad." That's not what conflict is at all. It is dealing with issues that prevent the organization from moving forward.

Commitment is the next step to a strong functioning team. It's important to define what "commitment" entails. I have seen commitment defined as absolute No. 1 priority in life. I don't think that is what it really is. Rather, commitment applies to certain values and missions that define the team, and that is a more accurate definition.

The next steps involve accountability and results, and they all stem from trust. Recently, I was told about an organization with accountability as its focus for the year. Is that even possible if trust, conflict and commitment are not in place? Well, I think you know the answer.

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team focuses on the absolute basics of team and leadership, and I urge all to read it. It was presented to me as a handbook for a team, and it is exactly that.