How many awkward group projects have you had in college? I’ve definitely had more than a few. But how do you improve the outlook for both you and your teammates? Nobody can read minds, so what can you do to make it a smooth project? How can you improve these skills so you can eventually become a productive team member in your future job? I asked myself these same questions after some of my own group projects, which motivated me to read a book about the topic. I landed on “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team”, by Patrick Lencioni, which is also available in the ILC’s Cavenaugh Leadership Library! In this blog post, I’ll share a few pointers and tips for current students, along with some personal examples.
There are 5 main components of Lencioni’s model:
Absence of Trust
Let’s start with an absence of trust. Lencioni describes trust in a team-based setting as “The confidence among team members that their peers’ intentions are good, and that there is no reason to be protective or careful around team members.” Standard definitions of trust emphasize the ability to predict someone’s behavior based on prior experience. Lencioni makes a case that constructive team members spend their time and energy on the task at hand rather than being disingenuous or overtly self-conscious around one another. For example, on a group project in freshman year, I just wanted to put my head down and work rather than discuss anything with my team beforehand. This led to a lot of goal misalignment, and I ended up doing work I didn’t even need to do. Teams like this tend to waste time and dread team meetings. They also fear offering ideas or accepting help. When you start feeling scared to voice your ideas in a team, that’s a telltale sign to start building more trust. You can best accomplish this by being vulnerable with others early in the project, especially if the project spans an entire semester. Asking for help, admitting weaknesses, and openly giving and receiving feedback can foster this trust.
Fear of Conflict
Next is a fear of conflict. Conflict is a necessity in life – from things like negotiating a price, to having a different opinion with a classmate on a group project. Lencioni says it is crucial to distinguish productive, idea-based conflict from destructive fighting. Teams that engage in productive conflict are aware that their real purpose is to get the best possible solution in a short amount of time. Lencioni also says that members of a great team leave heated ideological debates with a readiness to jump into the next one. Ironically, the teams that try to avoid conflict to not hurt other team members’ feelings tend to encourage a certain type of tension that leads to members talking bad about others behind their back. This happened to one of my teammates during sophomore year - let’s call her Jenny. Another teammate had a great deal of feedback for Jenny, but felt too afraid to hurt her feelings. This teammate started texting me about their problems with Jenny behind her back. Ultimately, avoiding the conversation caused more harm than having an honest discussion with Jenny ever would have. Luckily, there are a couple of ways to prevent this from happening. The first is to establish that conflict is productive and is a tool to get to an eventual solution. Additionally, teams must be able to speak openly about critical issues (which can only be possible if you have trust within a team!). Start developing the ability to understand the perspective of each team member and use it to find a solution. Employers are always looking for this skill when it comes to teamwork.
Lack of Commitment
The next component is lack of commitment. Lencioni describes commitment in a team-based context as a “function of two things: clarity and buy-in”. The book argues that sometimes seeking consensus is “dangerous” because it can lead to a lot of groupthink, and others might feel pressured to suppress their issues with the decision. Strong teams consider everyone’s input and expect each member to support the decision once it is made. Most ways to prevent a lack of commitment are established in the early phases of the project. One method is to make sure everybody understands their roles and the importance to the overall goal. I’ve done team meetings where, before we even talk about the content, we talk about what we will be able to do after the meeting or what we’ll be able to accomplish during it. Your team needs to understand the project direction, objective, and mission statement. A great way to gauge commitment from team members is to create deadlines and emphasize their importance.
Avoidance of Accountability
The fourth component is avoidance of accountability. Lencioni describes this as “willingness of team members to call their peers on performance or behaviors that might hurt the team”. When close teammates dodge accountability to avoid ‘ruining’ their relationship, resentment builds as expectations go unmet and group standards decline. One way to prevent avoidance behavior is through peer pressure, even if it sounds counterintuitive. For instance, when teammates missed deadlines, I made sure to submit my work on time. When the whole team follows this standard, the individual who struggles to meet deadlines often starts to adjust. It is also super important to establish goals, standards, and best practices as a team before beginning the project. That way, if someone isn’t adhering to these “guidelines”, it becomes easier to give them that hard feedback. I usually do a “team charter” at the beginning of semester-long projects, where we have a discussion of expectations the team has for each other. Some discussion topics for this include response time, deciding a meeting time in-person, and being proactive about some of our weaknesses to see where we can help each other out.
Inattention to Results
The last component is inattention to results which is defined by Lencioni as “when team members care about something other than the collective goals of the group.” For example, in companies this looks like prioritizing profit over group goals. Though for students, this could look like prioritizing their own grades or prioritizing another RSO instead of the current group. Great teams focus on collective results as opposed to individual results. I had a team last semester where a couple of people only cared about their grade and made little attempt to help the group. They did the bare minimum, while the rest of us had to pick up the slack, yet we all got an A. It all felt a bit unfair. Some ways to prevent this include not letting one person (or a small group of people) do the entire project and celebrating success as a team and not on an individual level. The reward (good grades) is something that can be achieved by the hard work of the group, instead of the hard work of a few.
Group dynamics is one of the competencies in the Leadership Center model that I believe is most important for post-graduate careers. But it’s also one of the most neglected, especially when compared to the competencies focusing on the self (self-knowledge, self-management, etc.). It might sound counterintuitive to focus on group settings when thinking about leadership, but in most situations, it is best to lead with those on your teams rather than assuming a leadership role right away. This is how you can build a genuine relationship with your teammates.
