This information came from a session during the 2024 ELEVATE conference and expo. Don’t miss ELEVATE in Phoenix, Arizona, on Nov. 2-5, 2025.
High-performance teams don’t just materialize; they are cultivated by purposeful actions.
If you’re looking to improve the nature of your teams and your overall company culture, it’s important to first address the five common dysfunctions of a team.
5 Dysfunctions of a Team
Patrick Lencioni’s model outlines the five frequent issues in team dynamics.
The most common dysfunction is the absence of trust. This is where fear of being vulnerable prevents team members from building trust with one another. Teams that lack trust are reluctant to ask for help, jump to conclusions and hide mistakes.
Trust takes time to foster, but making an effort to be vulnerable first as a leader and conducting exercises that help team members see what others bring to the table can help.
The second level of dysfunction is fear of conflict. Employees prioritize artificial harmony at the expense of productive ideas. Team members are more focused on politics than solving overarching problems within your organization.
Acknowledge that conflict can be productive and that avoiding it can make it harder for your company to make necessary changes. Celebrate different viewpoints as a chance to consider a challenge in a new light.
The third level of dysfunction is a lack of commitment. Teams that avoid conflict also develop a fear of failure. A lack of buy-in causes teams to fail to make decisions they’ll stick to.
When a team lacks direction and priorities, make sure there is clarity about your goals and deadlines to hold them accountable. Regularly communicate how everything your organization does feeds into the larger mission.
The fourth tier is avoidance of accountability. This is when employees will avoid holding one another accountable for their behaviors and performance for the sake of interpersonal peace.
Publicly sharing standards and who needs to deliver what makes it much harder for poor performers to skate by. Team members should regularly discuss with each other their efforts to reach shared standards. Also, tying team rewards to overall achievement can drive employees to hold each other to these higher expectations.
The fifth form of dysfunction is inattention to results, where employees are more concerned with their individual goals and personal status rather than the team’s collective success.
An effective way to ensure employees are all striving towards the same result is to tie their rewards to these specific outcomes. Leaders must also set their focus on results, as employees will follow their example.
Traits of High-Performing Teams
On the flip side of dysfunctional teams, high-performing teams have a holistic form of thinking, and decisions are supported more strongly by everyone. This is because they understand the ‘why’ at a deeper level, and there is clarity and focus in the business.
On these teams, individuals feel comfortable sharing their concerns and mistakes without fear of retribution or embarrassment. Everyone also provides constructive feedback, celebrating wins and highlighting opportunities for improvement.
Everyone on a high-performing team understands the company’s purpose and values and is committed to achieving them. The team features an ambitious growth mindset. Individuals have a shared understanding to hold one another accountable.
One of the ways to drive your team toward high performance is to use behavioral anchors associated with core competencies as they are observable and easy to evaluate. Some of these include communication, analytical thinking, teamwork and self-directed leadership.
For instance, with communication, you can regularly evaluate when employees are keeping their manager and team members informed of their progress and problems, if they state their opinions honestly and in a straight-forward manner and maintain open dialogue with others and actively listen.
Whatever strategies you put in place should establish pillars of excellence and incorporate coaching and feedback into performance measurement processes.
For more content like this, register for next year’s ELEVATE in Phoenix, Arizona, on Nov. 2-5.
