Dysfunction No. 4: Avoidance of Accountability

"Once we achieve clarity and buy-in, it is then that we have to hold each other accountable for what we sign up to do, for high standards of performance and behavior. And as simple as that sounds, most executives hate to do it, especially when it comes to a peer’s behavior because they want to avoid interpersonal discomfort."

Patrick Lencioni

1. Encourage poor performance to improve

Peer pressure is not always a bad thing when applied for positive reasons – it can encourage personal and professional growth, let alone the well-being of a team as a whole.

2. View the team leader as the only source of discipline

First, it’s a heavy burden for the team leader. Second, by holding each other responsible, people show respect – it’s like saying, “I know you’re smart and skillful, and I know you can do it. So please, do.”

3. Question each other’s approaches

Some things just do not work, and if you see that, it’s better to do something about it, instead of pretending it’s all okay.

When team members refuse to openly discuss problems of performance or behavioral issues, a team becomes dysfunctional. The evidence of the fourth dysfunction, according to Lencioni, is low standards, which no one really tries to raise.

Scared to break up personal relationships, people prefer to turn a blind eye to any negative aspects of the work or behavior of their peers. However, by acting like this they only reach the opposite effect, provoking more dissatisfaction, which eventually deteriorates relationships instead of saving them.

Bringing issues to the surface, says Lencioni, shows respect and a belief that a person is capable of meeting higher standards. Peer pressure protects from bureaucracy (performance evaluations on managers’ part) and, what’s even more important, appeals to the sense of responsibility: hearing negative feedback from someone you respect and are friendly with makes you feel like you are letting them down. This is why it is a valuable instrument.

The fourth dysfunction can be reduced using the next techniques:

Publications of goals and standards. Setting the goals, the leader should not leave any room for ambiguity: everyone must know specifically what they have to do, and when. It is also important to make sure that everyone does whatever is required, to not let them just forget about the initial goals.

Simple and regular progress review. Team members should give each other feedback; this can be done either in oral or in written form. It is better when a progress review is conducted not by a person themselves but by their colleagues: people tend to procrastinate when they need to honestly evaluate their own progress.

Team rewards. A good idea is to create a culture of accountability – in other words, reward the team as a whole and not a person as an individual.

After all, the essence of a team is the collective effort, so team members must realize that each and everyone is accountable for the overall result. Everyone must feel accountable for the mistakes made, even if the problem that arose was not the sphere of their responsibility: this isn't about introducing a blame culture that heaps guilt and shame on individuals.

The Role of the Leader. The leader must encourage the team to function as an accountability mechanism, even though this may be challenging as it seems natural for a leader to praise and to chastise. They should be ready to intrude when necessary, but overall, team members need to have the freedom to create an environment where they can exchange thoughts and feel secure.

Connection to Dysfunction 5. If team members do not feel they are accountable for group work, they will not see the main team goal as their own one, focusing their attention on their own departments.