How to put the fun back in dysfunctional
The 5 foundational building blocks to embrace your differences, establish alignment and build a badass team of high-performing superstars.
"Wait, we aren't dysfunctional, are we?"
Let me whisper something in your ear… "Even the best teams are dysfunctional at times. Yes, even yours."
Think about it - if you lead a team of any sort, you've quickly realized that people are vastly different. And they all bring their stuff. A whole heap of different shit stuff!
Yet, it's your job to somehow pull together a group of individuals with different backgrounds, experiences, upbringings, belief systems, and values and get them to work together harmoniously and be uber-productive high performers.
Good luck! Seems like good material for a reality TV show, right?
Good leaders, at a minimum, manage the dysfunction to help keep everyone happy. But sadly, that's all they do: manage, not lead. They put out fires here and there but sadly don't tap into the true potential of their team.
Great leaders embrace all the crazy differences each person brings to their team. They see diversity as an opportunity to build something truly remarkable. They aren't simply satisfied with happy employees but believe true job satisfaction comes when everyone is bought in, sees where they belong, and contributes 100% to a shared objective.
So instead of being the dysfunctional reality show team, why not be the leader who builds something actually fun to be around every day? When everyone is aligned, it truly is a work environment where people are joyful and productive.
The 5 foundational building blocks to build a badass team of high-performing, aligned superstars:
If you are not familiar with Patrick Lencioni and his work on The 5 Dysfunctions of a Team, I highly recommend taking the time to read his book. My team and I at CareerFrame use this framework when working with teams who could benefit from greater alignment. Many issues can be avoided by following these principles.
Building Block One: Build a foundation of trust
When there is a lack of trust, people protect themselves and protect their resources. This makes it challenging to collaborate and benefit from each other's creativity because individuals will keep more things to themselves.
Alignment for a team always begins with trust. Without it, it's impossible to find lasting success and impossible to perform at a high level. Literally, impossible! You'll just have a group of individuals all rowing in different directions vs. pulling together as a single unit.
So how do you build trust?
Trust is only established if there is vulnerability within a team. But what a scary word, right?
Vulnerability. 😱Just looking at the word makes you want to run and hide. The problem is vulnerability has a really crappy definition.
The dictionary definition of vulnerability: the quality or state of being exposed to the possibility of being attacked or harmed, either physically or emotionally.
No wonder nobody wants to get vulnerable at work! People think if I share things with you, you will hold that against me.
When my team works with other teams, we help them reframe that terrible definition of vulnerability. To be a great team, you don't have to share your childhood trauma or discuss the last 5 destructive romantic relationships you were in. Instead, vulnerability that builds trust in the workplace is simply sharing your humanity.
People who have no idea who you are naturally don't trust you. It's not because they are bad people; they just have no ability to process how to perceive you. So to protect themselves, they hold you at a distance.
The exercises we take teams through provide a safe place for individuals to be vulnerable. By the end, walls are dropped, and connections are made because you see your coworkers as humans with a story just like you. It’s amazing how much you just might have in common with a coworker and you had no idea before you got vulnerable.
Vulnerability allows team members to feel more comfortable being open and honest, sharing concerns, questions, mistakes, and roadblocks, ultimately leading to higher levels of team alignment and performance.
We teach people how to regularly bring healthy and safe vulnerability to their teams.
Building Block Two: Learn how to master conflict
When trust becomes the foundation, a team can start moving in a productive direction. The first thing that happens when trust is built is that teams can handle conflict much better.
However, conflict can be an icky word. People avoid it at all costs, leading to many destructive behaviors. They get defensive, fight to win, stop listening, blame others, overgeneralize, and more.
Conflict isn't fun, so in many organizations, you get a whole team of people who strive to keep the peace at all costs vs. dealing with problems. When peace becomes the primary objective, issues never get resolved. Problems fester, and people don't feel heard. On the outside, everything looks great, but on the inside, many volcanos are ready to erupt.
At our CareerFrame workshops, we teach teams to stop avoiding conflict. In fact, healthy conflict is the key to next-level success. However, this is a learned skill. Think about it. Most people haven't been modeled excellent communication skills as children. As adults, they bring those learned behaviors into their work environment.
But thankfully, with the right communication frameworks, conflict can become a healthy and constructive dialogue.
Instead of fretting about disagreeing with a coworker, with the right skills, a person can communicate clearly and effectively without everything blowing up. Team members can listen, learn, and grow when everyone masters healthy conflict.
Mastering conflict suddenly becomes the catalyst for a multitude of breakthroughs in your business.
Building Block Three: Get everyone committed
Is everyone on your team in this to win this, or are there members just punching the clock?
When only a few members of the team show commitment while others seem to go through the motions, animosity quickly grows. The go-getters feel frustrated, and everyone else starts to resent their frustration.
But what appears as a lack of commitment in an organization actually isn't that at all. There simply is a lack of buy-in.
Now don't get confused by the word buy-in. Buy-in doesn't mean that you have to reach unanimous consensus. Buy-in simply means everyone needs to be valued and heard. Listening to people's concerns and thoughts on any matter or decision is essential, especially for big directional decisions.
The goal is to get people to the point where they can say, "I may not agree with the direction, but I understand it and can support it."
Our CareerFrame workshops teach teams how to have "honest-while-respectful conversations" to build team commitment.
Building Block Four: Establish healthy accountability
Commitment to the common goal is excellent; however, keeping everyone accountable is even better. The problem with accountability is it has negative associations causing people to be fearful that someone is constantly looking over their shoulder. This is not accountability - that's micromanaging.
When accountability is working well, people proactively welcome, ask for and give feedback. Team members feel responsible for each other's performance and value feedback.
When a team is dysfunctional, there is a fear of discomfort when calling out a coworker on performance. Fostering a safe and trusting environment is vital, so accountability conversations are received with grace.
When working with a team, CareerFrame helps establish accountability habits, so feedback becomes an accepted norm by doing the following:
Openly publish goals and standards.
Create a set time to review progress regularly.
Create rewards for the entire team when individuals hit significant performance levels to create positive peer pressure.
When everyone is keeping each other accountable, the leader no longer needs to be the disciplinarian. The leader is free to support the team's success and only step in as the last line of defense.
Building Block Five: Measure results
This leads us to the last building block for a fully aligned team, results. Without measurable results, everyone has their own standard for success. It's impossible to know when to celebrate, when to push harder, or where to adjust.
When a team doesn't pay attention to results, they become satisfied with going through the motions. If you can't measure progress, there is a high likelihood that the activities you are doing are simply wasting time. Tasks at work are essential only if they create impact.
The highest-performing teams value and pay attention to the numbers. They believe that the systems and processes are there to guide and serve the results.
If a team downplays the numbers, there is a high probability of a lot of busy work happening. They will lose achievement-oriented employees, see easily distracted employees, and struggle to keep teams motivated to work together.
People love to know if they are hitting their targets, and having a way to measure results helps them see if they are winning.
Build a Fun and Aligned Team Today
Maybe your team has some alignment challenges or wants to supercharge their performance. Our team at CareerFrame walks teams through a full-day workshop on Building a High-Performing Team and Alignment.
This immersive workshop explores the necessity of building trust, mastering conflict, achieving commitment, embracing accountability, and focusing on results. You'll walk away more connected and unified as a group by the end.
What to expect:
Unite around your organization's purpose and direction
Agree on key behaviors
Understand the role each person plays
Deepen trust
Master conflict
Renew commitment