The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: Book Review

Patrick Lencioni is now one of my favorite authors of business-related books. I previously reviewed his Silos, Politics and Turf Wars, and in the comments Val Sanford said The Five Dysfunctions of a Team had “transformed the leadership team in my previous company.” So I put it high on my Audible download list, for when my monthly credits became available.

In this leadership fable and the 40-minute theory discussion that follows, Lencioni outlines his model for what makes teams dysfunctional. In my next post, I will approach his five elements from a positive perspective, as they are exemplified by one of the best and truest teams I have every had the joy of observing.

  1. Absence of of Trust. “This occurs when team members are reluctant to be vulnerable with one another and are unwilling to admit their mistakes, weaknesses or needs for help. Without a certain comfort level among team members, a foundation of trust is impossible. ” When team members are concerned that others will pounce on their weaknesses or mistakes, the trust needed for working together effectively is undermined.
  2. Fear of Conflict. “Teams that are lacking on trust are incapable of engaging in unfiltered, passionate debate about key issues, causing situations where team conflict can easily turn into veiled discussions and back channel comments. In a work setting where team members do not openly air their opinions, inferior decisions are the result.”
  3. Lack of Commitment. “Without conflict, it is difficult for team members to commit to decisions, creating an environment where ambiguity prevails. Lack of direction and commitment can make employees, particularly star employees, disgruntled.”
  4. Avoidance of Accountability. “When teams don’t commit to a clear plan of action, even the most focused and driven individuals hesitate to call their peers on actions and behaviors that may seem counterproductive to the overall good of the team.”
  5. Inattention to Results. “Team members naturally tend to put their own needs (ego, career development, recognition, etc.) ahead of the collective goals of the team when individuals aren’t held accountable. If a team has lost sight of the need for achievement, the business ultimately suffers.”

This book is part of the core curriculum for Social Media University, Global not because it directly deals with social media, but because SMUG is about making practical business use of social media, because teamwork is essential to business success and because social media tools can greatly enhance teamwork and collaboration.

The social media tools themselves aren’t magic, though, and they’re not able to fix dysfunctional interpersonal relationships.

So, SMUG students, get this book! It’s well worth buying, but in keeping with our “everything is free” policy, you can check it out from a local library. And if you’re not yet a SMUG student, enroll now.

Launching the Mayo Clinic Health Policy Blog

In my work for Mayo Clinic, my major responsibilities are for our Mayo Clinic Medical Edge syndicated news products and for leadership of our social media team. Last week I wrote about our Mayo Clinic fan page in Facebook, which has been successful so far. After a low-key start, we’ve seen strong growth in our number of fans, with 376 as of this writing, and have also had some gratifying wall posts. Check out our page here.

Now we’re starting our first major blogging initiative, as part of our Mayo Clinic National Symposium on Health Care Reform, which will be held next week in Leesburg, Va. You can read about it here.

I hope regular readers of this blog also will check out the Mayo Clinic Health Policy Blog, and will participate in the discussion. While we had a low-key start with the Facebook fan page, I expect the Health Policy blog to get active much more quickly. With live streaming of the general sessions, with a high-profile keynote speaker and moderator in Tom Brokaw and with the work that has gone into developing a first-rate program, hopefully the blog will have high visibility.

I’m planning to connect with bloggers who write about health policy, health reform, health insurance, health care quality and related issues. We also will be linking the blog from the symposium site starting next Monday, so people can watch the streaming live (or archived) video and share their ideas.

You can subscribe here to RSS updates from the symposium blog, or click here to sign up for e-mail updates.

What other suggestions do you have? How can we most effectively engage people in this health reform discussion, so we can begin to build the consensus for effective health reform?

Engaging Key Stakeholders through Social Media

Today I had the pleasure of giving a presentation to MHSCN, the Minnesota Health Strategy and Communications Network. This also provided me an opportunity to try Slideshare.net, a service that is like YouTube for presentation decks, so that I can share the slides with those who attended (and anyone else.)


This was a great group, highly engaged and interested in the subject matter, which was using social media to engage employees and to communicate with outside stakeholders.  It was a fun opportunity to offer a SMUG Extension Class. I hope lots of the MHSCN members will decide to enroll.

For those who attended, I would appreciate any feedback on the presentation, and would be happy to answer any additional questions you may have.

Facebook 203: Security and Applications

Late last week I got a message from someone who wants to be known as “The Harmony Guy,” saying he had devised a method that could have been successful (eventually) in meeting the terms of the SMUG $100 Facebook Hacker Challenge. Harmony Guy is a social hacker of the “white hat” variety, as you’ll see in his blog, where he publicly exposes security flaws from social networking sites and urges the companies to fix them.

I learned a lot about Facebook security through my interaction with him, and if you click the (more) link, you will, too. Here’s what he said:

Continue reading “Facebook 203: Security and Applications”

Mayo Clinic Facebook Page Highlighted

I was interviewed earlier this month for an article in 1to1 Media about Mayo Clinic’s Facebook page. Here’s an excerpt:

Like any Facebook user, the Mayo Clinic’s page allows the not-for-profit organization to post information about itself, link to its three websites (for patients, consumers, and research and education), display “wall post” messages and photos, offer video and audio podcasts, provide updates on news and events, and connect with friends. Beyond that, Aase says, “what we really hope to have it be is all about people telling their own stories—describing what their experience was like here and connecting in that way.”

The opportunity for patients to directly tell their stories online is an important word-of-mouth component for Mayo Clinic. “Social networking sites like Facebook are one means by which people stay in touch and share experiences,” says Ed Keller, CEO of the word-of-mouth research and consulting firm Keller Fay Group. “Allowing people to express themselves—telling their stories in their own voice to their friends, family, and other members of their social network—is proving to be a powerful way for brands and organizations to join the consumer conversation and to help improve their own brand position as a result.” Consumer self-expression brings authenticity and impact, Keller adds. “If consumers are happy with their experience with the Mayo Clinic, and they tell others, it will undoubtedly help Mayo to grow its reputation and market presence.”

That’s certainly Aase’s hope. “When [patients] are telling their stories, their friends will see that and may be likely to check [us] out,” he says. “That’s like the word of mouth that happens over the back fence.”

Check out the rest of the article here, and thanks to Jason Alba at FacebookAdvice.com for his favorable review.

Update: The Rochester Post-Bulletin picked up this blog alert and published a story today.