Use it when: You want to get ahead of potential team problems.
When it comes to leading a team, there’s a lot of emphasis on what you should do. But, the Lencioni model flips that standard approach on its head by spelling out the pitfalls that successful teams need to avoid.
In short, rather than answering “what makes a successful team?” it answers “what doesn’t make a successful team?”
This model was established by Patrick Lencioni, author and expert on organizational health, in his 2005 book The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. Using a pyramid, Lencioni says the following five factors could ultimately lead to a team’s downfall:
1. Absence of trust: team members don’t feel that they can be comfortable, honest, and vulnerable with each other.
2. Fear of conflict: team members are afraid to rock the boat, so they keep their lips zipped in an effort to maintain harmony.
3. Lack of commitment: team members arent devoted to the teams goal and their work together.
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4. Avoidance of accountability: team members don’t recognize, respect, or appreciate the role they each play in their collaboration.
5. Inattention to results: team members lose sight of the bigger picture of what they’re working toward together.
Pros of this model:
-It helps existing teams pinpoint the source of their dysfunction so they can address it.
-It gives leaders an actionable list of pitfalls to avoid when establishing new teams.
Cons of this model:
-It isn’t based on research or empirical evidence, something that several critics have pointed out.
-It doesn’t dig as deep into how leaders can actually address the common dysfunctions.
3. The GRPI Model
Use it when: You need to understand why your team is underperforming.
Developed by organizational theorist Dick Beckhard in 1972, the GRPI model is another model that focuses on helping leaders understand why their teams might not be achieving peak performance.
When things aren’t going well on your team, it’s tempting to point the finger at interpersonal conflicts. But, as Beckhard’s GRPI model shows, there are a number of other elements that play a role in helping a team be its very best. These include: