How to Conquer the Dysfunctions of Any Project Team

Consultants face a unique teamwork challenge: they often team with clients and others on engagements with high expectations and compressed schedules. And many consultants rarely work with the same team twice.
But, as Lencioni points out in his December 2005 interview in Management Consulting News, “Real teamwork remains elusive in most organizations. Teams fall victim to dysfunction because they are made up of human beings, and we are inherently messy, fallible creatures.”
Lencioni goes on to explain that the five dysfunctions of a team are absence of trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance of accountability, and inattention to results. Telltale signs of team dysfunction include, for example, boring team meetings.
Rewarding team, rather than individual, performance is one of Lencioni’s suggestions for improving performance standards. “If a leader really wants team behavior, he or she needs to establish a collective sense of success or failure, and then work to ensure that everyone feels compelled to meet high standards of performance.” Lencioni adds that “On a good team, there is nothing more gratifying than receiving genuine accolades from a peer or a manager.”
In addition to this exclusive interview with Lencioni, the December 2005 issue of Management Consulting News includes:
•Keeping Consulting Projects on Track to Success, by Rob Cimini
•Why Consultants Should Blog, by Dave Lakhani
•Lessons from HR Executives
•And more
The December 2005 issue of Management Consulting News may be read online at http://www.managementconsultingnews.com/2005/newsletter_dec_05.htm. Subscriptions are complimentary.
About Management Consulting News – published since 2002, Management Consulting News is a monthly online newsletter with interviews, articles, and news for consultants worldwide. The editor of Management Consulting News, Michael W. McLaughlin, is a principal with Deloitte Consulting LLP and co-author of the book Guerrilla Marketing for Consultants (Wiley, 2005). For more information see http://www.managementconsultingnews.com.