The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable (2002) by Patrick Lencioni, Book Review

I finished reading this last week. Insightful and challenging book. The format is simple, just like the One Minute Manager Series if you're familiar with Ken Blanchard's books. It's a leadership fable (a short fictional story with lessons) about Kathryn Petersen, Decision Tech's new CEO, who faces a typical and dangerous leadership crisis that will bring down the company if it's not treated quickly, namely, a dysfunctional core team. The storyline seems quite realistic to me, and the context of the story helped get the lessons across nicely.  "Not finance. Not strategy. Not technology," writes Patrick Lencioni, "it is teamwork that remains the ultimate competitive advantage, both because it is so powerful and so rare." I've worked in companies and currently, in NGO and volunteer group. I say it's true. Teamwork is powerful and rare, often talk about but lacks examples.

The five (5) dysfunctions of a team model consist of: 1) ABSENCE OF TRUST. This is due to invulnerability. "Team members who are not genuinely open with one another about their mistakes and weaknesses make it impossible to build a foundation for trust." 2) FEAR OF CONFLICT. "Teams that lack trust are incapable of engaging in an unfiltered and passionate debate of ideas." So, team members resort to politics and guarded comments. This will lead to 3) LACK OF COMMITMENT. Why? Because there is no ownership and buy-in to the ideas or decisions. So, this naturally deteriorates to 4) AVOIDANCE OF ACCOUNTABILITY and 5) INATTENTION TO RESULTS. Besides invulnerability, the enemies are artificial harmony, ambiguity, low standards, and an unhealthy ego.

Well, being aware and in the know of all of these dysfunctions is not enough. Read the book to get a better picture of why teamwork is crucial today. Plus, the book also includes a team assessment and suggested tools to overcome obstacles and strengthen your team (I also would like to recommend At The Table and The Working Genius podcasts with the author). I wanted to try to apply some of them in my leadership field. But keep Mr. Lencioni's words in mind: "[The Model] is simple, at least in theory. In practice, however, it is extremely difficult because it requires levels of discipline and persistence that few teams can muster."

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Timothy, Be Respectful and Don't Show Favoritism (1 Timothy 5:1-2)

 

“Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, young men as brothers, older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity”

(1 Timothy 5:1-2, ESV)

Last week I saw a viral video online in Malaysia, where there was a fight at a Mamak restaurant (probably before the month of Ramadhan) between an older man with a young woman. I care less about what is the real issue but when I saw the older man hits the woman and the young woman kicked the man, my heart boil with rage! This is not an unusual scene, however. We all probably have witnessed – or experience ourselves – at least verbal abuse or even physical abuse between these two generations in social media, within our community, among family members, and even in the church. This evil behavior must not be among the believers! After Paul writes to Timothy to “keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching” (1 Timothy 4:16) as a leader in God’s church and a teacher of God’s Word, he then reminds him of his attitude toward others: BE RESPECTFUL.

“Do not rebuke” or “Never speak harshly” (NLT) or “Don’t reprimand” (Philips) is a negative statement for a positive reminder: BE RESPECTFUL. Toward who? All people! Older men, younger men, older women, younger women. Inside and outside the church. The word “rebuke” means to “strike with blows.” It is primarily speaking of beating with words but I think we can extend that to beating with fists too. Although young Timothy was very influential and his leadership was sealed by God’s authority (see 6:20) and the apostle’s approval (see 4:11; 6:2b), he must not abuse his power but instead “set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity” (4:12). Having said that, the reminder to BE RESPECTFUL toward everyone also means we must NOT SHOW FAVORITISM (see James 2:1) regardless of their age, gender, and the nature of the relationship. If an older man or woman needs to be corrected, then, go to him or her in a kindly manner and speak to him or her as one would speak to a father or mother. In the same manner, reproof younger believers as brothers and sisters in Christ. Don’t sugarcoat the truth when you have to discipline them. The goal is not condemnation but repentance. Be firm, clear, and “speaking the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15).

As for men, especially in the ministry, I would like to warn us: be extra careful when dealing with younger women. If you need to “encourage” them – as you must – do it as “sisters” in Christ and “in all purity.” In most cases, it is better to “take one or two others along with you” (Matthew 18:16) to create accountability. We all have heard the reported news about the abuse and sexual misconduct among Christian ministers. Don’t be a statistic! H.A. Ironside commented on this verse wisely: “Never to act toward any young woman in a way he would not like some other man to behave to his own sister.” Or read how J.B. Philips paraphrases it: “Treat the younger women as sisters, AND NO MORE” (emphasis mine). 

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Five (5) Trusting Leadership Behaviors

Reading three articles from Forbes, SUCCESS, and Inc. Magazine websites on leadership and trust yesterday. Here are five (5) trusting leadership behaviors great companies are known for. These can also be applied to any organization, group, and team ✅ #ServeToLead #GrowingLeader #LeadershipAndTrust

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Kobe Bryant on Leadership: If You are Going to Be a Leader, You are Not Going to Please Everybody

Kobe Bryant was one of the greatest NBA players of all-time and an icon in the sports world. I'm not a sports fan, but I'm a fan of greatness. His ceaseless work ethic and incredible drive really inspired me. He once said, "I don't want to be the next Michael Jordan, I only want to be Kobe Bryant." He inspired me to be ME. In honor of Bryant's legacy (1978-2010), I want to share with you one leadership reality that we can learn from Kobe:

"Leadership is lonely... I'm not going to be afraid of confrontation to get us to where we need to go. There's a big misconception where people thinking winning or success comes from everybody putting their arms around each other and singing kumbaya and patting them on the back when they mess up, and that's just not reality. If you are going to be a leader, you are not going to please everybody. You have to hold people accountable. Even if you have that moment of being uncomfortable" 💪🧔#ServeToLead #GrowingLeader

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Ten (10) Questions for Successful Team

"We don't work for each other," says Stanley C. Gault, "we work with each other" 😉 In my opinion, team leadership is the highest leadership there is. Successful teams are ones whose members say YES - to big dreams, to great challenges, and to each other 💪

Take a look at the following ten (10) questions 👇 by John C. Maxwell's book, Teamwork Makes the Dream Work. If you and your teammates can say YES to them, then you are well on your way to accomplishing your dream:

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BOOK REVIEW Managing by Accountability: What Every Leader Needs to Know about Responsibility, Integrity - and Results (2007)

LESS THAN 10 MINUTES BOOK REVIEW on M. David Dealy with Andrew Thomas's Managing by Accountability: What Every Leader Needs to Know about Responsibility, Integrity - and Results (2007)

At its core, accountability is the responsibility to act. It is the commitment to do the right thing and stand by your decisions. And it is something that must come from within 😊. In this video, I would like to share 5 Key Lessons that I Learned from this book. Enjoy!

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Angelus' Quote: Leader and Accountability

Being accountable means that you accept responsibility for the outcomes expected of you, both good and bad. You don’t blame others. And you don’t blame things that were out of your control.

Until you take responsibility, you are a victim. And being a victim is the exact opposite of being a leader. Great leaders take the initiative to influence the outcome and take responsibility for the results.

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Book Review: It's Not About the Coffee (2007) by Howard Behar

It's Not About the Coffee: Leadership Principles from a Life at Starbucks (2007)
by Howard Behar (with Janet Goldstein)

"At Starbucks, the coffee has to be excellent, from the sourcing and growing to the roasting and brewing. The vision has to be inspiring and meaningful. Our finances have to be in order. But without people, we have nothing. With people, we have something even bigger than coffee," that is what Howard Behar, senior Starbucks executive since 1989, deeply believes. He has also served as executive vice president of sales and operations, president of Starbucks International, president of Starbucks North America and also one of the company's board of directors (since 1996). Through experience, he has helped establish the Starbucks culture, which stresses the importance of "people over profits." In this book, he revealed the 10 principles that guided his leadership – and not one of them is about coffee. "There can be no coffee without people."

Behar starts with the idea that if you regard employees and customers as human beings, everything else will take care of itself. "We're all human." If you think of your staff as people (not labor costs) they will achieve results beyond what is thought possible. And if you think of your customers as people you serve (not sources of revenue) you'll make a deep connection with them, and they'll come back over and over. He often repeats this mantra: "We are in the people business serving coffee, not the coffee business serving people." This book is about people, the importance of putting people first. "If you grow people," he writes, "the people grow the business."

The 10 principles in this book have been integral to Starbucks from the start and remain so today claimed Behar. He shares inside stories of turning points in the company's history as it fought to hang on to these principles while growing exponentially. You'll read about Starbucks' success stories and even failure stories, real-life examples and those who work at Starbucks and coffee/people business – such example of leadership vulnerability. About 50% of the time I spend reading this book, I read it at Starbucks all over Kuching area. I used these principles to measure (outwardly) how they treat the customers (including me), how they communicate with each other, their attitude overall, and how proud they are working at Starbucks. I've discussed some of these principles with the baristas (one of them is my schoolmate) – and even fellow customers who sat next to me – at Precinct 88, Jalan Song, Kuching. "It's true," I said to myself as I closed this book and sipped my Americano, "Starbucks is different: they treat their customers as human beings."

The 10 Leadership Principles are:

#1 KNOW WHO YOU ARE: Wear One Hat. Our success is directly related to our clarity and honesty about who we are, who we are not, where we want to go, and how we're going to get there. When organizations are clear about their values, purpose, and goals, they find the energy and passion to do great things.

#2 KNOW WHY YOU'RE HERE: Do It Because It's Right, Not Because It's Right for Your Resume. The path to success comes from doing things for the right reasons. You can't succeed if you don't know what you're trying to accomplish and without everyone being aligned with the goal. Look for purpose and passion in yourself and the people you lead. If they're not there, do something.

#3 THINK INDEPENDENTLY: The Person Who Sweeps the Floor Should Choose the Broom. People are not ‘assets', they are human beings who have the capacity to achieve results beyond what is thought possible. We need to get rid of rules – real and imagined – and encourage the independent thinking of others and ourselves.

#4 BUILD TRUST: Care, Like You Really Mean It. Caring is not a sign of weakness but rather a sign of strength, and it can't be faked – within an organization, with the people we serve, or in our local or global communities. Without trust and caring, we'll never know what could have been possible. Without freedom from fear, we can't dream, and we can't reach our potential.

#5 LISTEN FOR THE TRUTH: The Walls Talk. Put the time into listening, even to what's not said, and amazing results will follow. You'll know what your customers want, you'll know why the passion is missing from your organization, and you'll learn solutions to problems that have been sitting there waiting to be picked.

#6 BE ACCOUNTABLE: Only the Truth Sounds Like the Truth. No secrets, no lies of omission, no hedging and dodging. Take responsibility and say what needs to be said, with care and respect.

#7 TAKE ACTION: Think Like a Person of Action, and Act Like a Person of Thought. Find the sweet spot of passion, purpose, and persistence. "It's all about the people" isn't an idea, it's an action. Feel, do, think. Find the balance, but act.

#8 FACE CHALLENGE: We Are Human Beings First. Use all the principles to guide you during the hardest times. If the challenge is too big if you find yourself stuck, take small bites. But remember to put people first, and you'll find the guidance you need.

#9 PRACTICE LEADERSHIP: The Big Noise and the Still, Small Voice. Leading can be the noisy "I'm here!" kind of thing. But don't ever forget that leaders are just ordinary human beings. Don't let the noise crowd out the truth. Listen to your still, small voice. Let quiet by your guide.

#10 DARE TO DREAM: Say Yes, the Most Powerful Word in the World. Big dreams mean big goals, big hopes, big joys. Say yes, and enjoy all that you are doing, and help others to do the same.

I can't agree with all the things that he said here. I still believe that we need a small dose of rules (with independent thinking); sometimes ‘noises' is good for a leader; and say ‘yes' is not the most powerful word in the world (say ‘no' is the closest one, in my opinion). Of course, there are even more things that I would agree with, especially, that leadership is "all about the people." Basically, Behar has written an excellent book about the power of servant leadership and putting others (employees, clients, customers, etc.) first! Superb!

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Self-Leadership #13 Build A Great Team (No Lone-Ranger In Leadership)

Self-leadership is not an isolation, lone-ranger pursuit. Every great leader must (eventually) build a great team. I believe that a team of people working together with discipline, singleness of purpose and a commitment to excellence could prevail no matter how heavily the odds were stacked against them. "Alone we can do so little," said Helen Keller, "together we can do so much." Pele, a legendary footballer, once said, "No individual can win a game by himself." Ryunosuke Satoro also speaks on the same note: "Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean." Ken Blanchard, leader of leaders, put it this way: "None of us is as smart as all of us." To build a great team and team spirit there are three interrelated elements needed: common goals, complementary skills and abilities, and mutual accountability.

Common Goals create drive and energy. A team that hungers and aiming for the same outcome is a motivated team. Common goals foster the subordination of the individual will to the group will. Andrew Carnegie observed, "Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision." If a team is to reach its potential, each member must be willing to sacrifice or aligned his or her personal goals to the common goals of the company or organization.

Complimentary Skills and Abilities makes each member plays to his or her unique strengths such as strategy, planning, operations or leadership while minimizing the weaknesses of each other. "It's a simple fact," writes Naveen Jain confidently, "no individual can be good at everything. Everyone needs people around them who have complementary sets of skills."

Mutual Accountability grows out of complementary skills and abilities. In sport, for example, teammates ultimately end up playing for each other. A key component that every good coach will do to the team was getting each player to believe that every other player would do his or her part the best as possible each time he or she was called upon to do so. How? By emphasizing the common goals, by believing in each individual players, by drilling the team relentlessly in the fundamentals. By the time a good coach was done with the team, each one will be saying to himself or herself: "I'm talented. I'm skillful. I can make a difference and I'm fully prepared to perform the best of my ability. I'll do it for the team to win!"

A great leader will show and tell the team exactly what he expected of them. He convinced them that they had everything they needed to succeed – the training, the preparation, and the skills. He emphasized that each player have an important part in the team. And in all of this, a great leader creates an atmosphere of togetherness, inclusiveness, and solidarity. Henry Ford puts it this way: "Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success." Leaders, don't walk alone – build great teams!

Here are three (3) ways you can use to nurture the sense of team in your organization:

Fit Your Game to the Talents of Your Team: A team works together most successfully when each individual component is used to best advantage. Tailor your approach to fit the abilities of your team members.

Emphasize Responsibility and Loyalty: Teams depend on an extraordinary cohesiveness. Encouraging all members of an organization to support and aid other members in the pursuit of shared goals will strengthen this bond.

Focus on Team Success Rather than Personal Glory: A good leader must encourage and exemplify the attitude of placing the interests of the team first and sublimating his or her personal visions of glory to the team's success. Only then can we expect others to do the same. I once said to a president of a Student Christian Fellowship (SCF) that, "If the project is successful, praise your teammates immediately; if the project failed, first, examine yourself."

P.s: To learn more about how to create and build a great team, I recommend John C. Maxwell’s The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork.

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Self-Leadership #11 Lead With Integrity

"The supreme quality for a leader is unquestionably integrity," exclaimed Dwight D. Eisenhower. "Without it, no real success is possible, no matter whether it is on a section gang, on a football field, in an army, or in an office. If a man's associates find him guilty of phoniness, if they find that he lacks forthright integrity, he will fail. His teachings and actions must agree with each other." Integrity is the manifestation of an unshakeable set of principles – principles that you will not violate under any circumstances.

Currently, I'm reading Coach Wooden's Leadership Game Plan for Success. One reason late Wooden was able to extract an extraordinary effort from his players was that they understand that he was making an even greater effort for them. True, he wasn't experiencing the bruises and muscle strains that the players were experiencing daily on the practice field but he pushed himself to the limit just as he pushed them. He came early, left late and almost never took a day off. All nights he thinks of game strategies and how to improve the team and individuals personally. He was leading with integrity – demonstrating the same commitment he demanded from his players.

Leaders have to impress who and what they are – on the people around them. This means you do what is right. You do what you say. You conform to the values that you expect of others. William D. Lawrence puts it like this: "Integrity is the integration of one's life around his core values." In some sense, your behavior is predictable because you are consistent in your decisions and your actions.

Integrity has a cost. I've learned from my lack of integrity in the past that: You must weigh the depth of your commitment before you undertake to lead with integrity. You will be tested – by cynics, by critics, by those interested more in style and image than in meaning and substance, and even by your own past failures and mistakes. So you need to make sure that you have deep enough reserves to act – consistently – as a person of integrity. People will be watching what you do more than listening to what you say. To be a leader is to lead others. And how should a leader lead? With integrity.

Consider the following tactics to help you lead with integrity:

Live What You Teach: Great leaders win the hearts of their followers. They do so by being involved with the team and making that commitment clear. The more they see integrity in their leaders, the more their trust in them.

Let Them See You Sweat: Why should other people kill themselves for the organization or team if you, the leader, not the first one to jump?

Build Accountability: Act your integrity. Take responsibility when you screw up and take credit when you meet with success. And make sure this applies to everyone else.

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Help Child Deal with Divorce #8 Annabel, the Pain Can Be Eased by Sharing

Dear Annabel,

            I can understand how you feel, the pain seems to won't go away. The pain from a divorce is not like the pain you get from hitting your thumb with a hammer. The pain from a sore thumb can be treated with ice, some medicine or over time, it will heal. The pain from divorce can't be treated with a medicine or ice, but it can be eased a lot by talking, sharing and converse about it. Bel, if you keep your feelings to yourself it only makes the pain harder to take, and talking about it makes it easier to deal with. I'm glad you share with uncle and aunty about this, but we're not always there for you physically. We can only do so much. Of course, we want to be there for you but it would be good if you can share with someone that is close to you.

            You can talk to friends, family members, school counselors, your pastor and even your parents. Your mom and dad might be very busy now with their own pain that they forget to ask you about yours. That's okay, you can share with them later. And talk to God, pray to Him. Pour out your heart to Him. He will listen to you. "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" (Matthew 7:7-11). You're God's child, ask and tell Him!

            Do you know any Christian adults or friends that may have experienced the same thing as you do? A woman counselor is good. Ask your parents to arrange for an appointment with a counselor (or if you're okay, I can arrange it for you). Counselor knows exactly what you are going through and they can give you the tools you need to deal with your pain.

 See you next week!

Angelus

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Things I Wish My Father Knew #5 Discipline Your Child

Every child

must sometimes be

disciplined

by his

earthly

or

Heavenly Father

in order that he may learn

self-control,

responsibility and

accountability.

Love

is the key

to discipline.

So…

Discipline your child

in love

because you love him,

just as your

Heavenly Father

disciplines

you

because

He loves you!

“Our fathers disciplined us

for a little while

as they thought best;

but God disciplines us

for our good,

that we may share

in His holiness.

No discipline seem pleasant

at the time, but painful.

later on, however,

it produces a harvest

of righteousness and peace

for those who have been trained by it”

(Hebrews 12:10-11)

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