Breaking the Dysfunction – Leadership Lessons from the Top

A Deep Dive into The Five Dysfunctions of a Team and How They Played Out in a Real-World Leadership Setting

Introduction – When Leadership Fails, Teams Collapse

Great teams don’t just happen – they are built, nurtured, and led with intention. But what happens when leadership itself becomes the source of dysfunction?

Patrick Lencioni’s The Five Dysfunctions of a Team lays out a brutally honest framework for why even the most talented teams fail. I experienced these dysfunctions firsthand in a high-stakes leadership role during a period of rapid organizational growth. Despite breakthrough achievements, the internal dynamics at the leadership level made success harder than it needed to be.

This isn’t a theoretical breakdown. It’s a lived reflection on what happens when trust erodes, conflict is feared, commitment is weak, accountability is absent, and results become secondary. Let’s break them down and more importantly, let’s learn from them.

Absence of Trust – The Crippling Fear of Vulnerability

What the Book Says: The foundation of every great team is trust, not just in competence but in character. When team members don’t trust each other, they hide weaknesses, avoid difficult conversations, and operate in silos.

How It Showed Up: In one leadership setting I was part of, trust was conspicuously absent. Senior decision-makers were more focused on self-preservation than collective progress. Instead of acknowledging knowledge gaps and learning from one another, many pretended to have all the answers.

I recall a pivotal strategy meeting where a senior leader, faced with a complex market challenge, insisted on a course of action that most of us knew was flawed. But no one spoke up. Not because we didn’t know better, but because no one felt safe enough to challenge the narrative. That decision ended up costing the company a major client.

The Impact?

• Decisions took longer because collaboration was weak.
• Misinformation spread because no one admitted mistakes.
• People second-guessed each other’s intentions.

Leadership Lesson: Building trust starts with modeling vulnerability. If leaders don’t admit mistakes, ask for help, or share challenges, no one else will. A culture of silence is a culture of failure.

Application for Leaders:

• Be the first to admit when you don’t know something.
• Foster an environment where team members feel safe to challenge ideas.
• Trust must be built before results can be achieved.

Fear of Conflict – When Silence Kills Progress

What the Book Says: Teams that fear conflict become yes-men. Instead of debating issues openly, they avoid tough conversations, leading to artificial harmony, which breeds resentment and inaction.

How It Showed Up: In the leadership group I was part of, there was a deep resistance to conflict. Critical challenges were rarely addressed head-on. There was a pattern of nodding in agreement during meetings, only to disagree in whispers afterward. Dissent happened in hallways and emails, not around the table where it mattered.

One vivid memory: a budget realignment discussion where no one dared to question a clearly unrealistic projection. A week later, back-channel emails were flying, some even suggesting pulling out of key projects. But the moment to raise concerns had passed. Silence won, and so did stagnation.

The Impact?

• Important problems went unaddressed.
• Meetings became performative rather than productive.
• The loudest voices, not the best ideas, won.

Leadership Lesson: The best teams debate fiercely but respectfully. Disagreement isn’t dysfunction, it’s a sign of engagement. Leaders must create an environment where healthy conflict is welcomed, not avoided.

Application for Leaders:

• Encourage open, honest, and direct conversations.
• Don’t mistake silence for agreement, push for real discussion.
• Train your team to separate conflict from personal attacks.

Lack of Commitment – When No One Owns the Plan

What the Book Says: Teams that fail to commit to decisions are stuck in limbo. Without clear buy-in, execution suffers, and progress stalls. Commitment is not about consensus; it’s about clarity.

How It Showed Up: In my experience, decisions were often met with surface-level agreement but little follow-through. Initiatives were nodded through but quietly undermined. This led to:

• Rehashing the same discussions repeatedly.
• Quiet reversals of decisions without transparency.
• A vacuum of accountability when results didn’t follow.

I remember spearheading a digital transformation initiative that had unanimous verbal support. But post-meeting, resistance emerged. Budgets weren’t approved, timelines were ignored, and key team members were reassigned. When asked why the project failed, no one could point to a single decision, because no one had truly committed in the first place.

The Impact?

• People hesitated to take ownership.
• Big initiatives lacked momentum.
• The organization suffered from leadership paralysis.

Leadership Lesson: Leaders must demand clear, unambiguous commitment. Once a decision is made, it’s final, not open for quiet renegotiation later.

Application for Leaders:

• Don’t let meetings end with vague agreements, get explicit commitments.
• Clarify who is responsible for what and by when.
• A lack of commitment at the top trickles down to the entire organization.

Why This Book Should Be on Your 2025 Reading List

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team is a must-read for any leader who wants to:

• Build high-performance teams that trust and challenge each other.
• Develop a culture of open communication and accountability.
• Eliminate politics and dysfunction that slow progress.
• Ensure that decisions lead to real action and impact.

If you’re serious about building a strong leadership culture, add this book to your 2025 reading list.

Let’s Talk: Engaging Patrick Lencioni

Patrick Lencioni , your insights in The Five Dysfunctions of a Team are invaluable to leaders at every level.

• What inspired you to write this book?
• What’s the most common dysfunction you’ve seen at the executive level?
• How can leaders turn dysfunction into a competitive advantage?

I’d love to hear your thoughts and continue the conversation!

Final Thought: Dysfunction Is a Leadership Problem

Leadership isn’t just about making decisions, it’s about building teams that can execute them effectively.

Have you experienced dysfunction at the highest levels of leadership? Let’s discuss in the comments.

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