Five Dysfunctions of a Team Assessment

Find the dysfunction that's holding your team back.

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What is the Five Dysfunctions of a Team assessment?

Patrick Lencioni's book The Five Dysfunctions of a Team (2002) describes five problems that build on each other: Absence of Trust, Fear of Conflict, Lack of Commitment, Avoidance of Accountability and Inattention to Collective Results. A team that can't admit mistakes won't argue honestly, and a team that doesn't argue won't really commit to its decisions. This assessment is TeamRetro's own adaptation of that model. Each person rates the five privately on a 1 to 5 scale, with a description at every step, from "We hide weaknesses and mistakes" to "We are openly vulnerable and trusting." The combined scores and the spread show which dysfunction is strongest, and the conversation that follows turns it into specific steps.

Dimensions

Team Dysfunctions

The five interrelated behaviors that determine whether a team builds trust and delivers results together.

  • Absence of Trust

    The fear of being vulnerable stops us from building trust with each other.

    • We hide weaknesses
    • Trust is uneven
    • We are openly vulnerable

  • Fear of Conflict

    There is artificial harmony which can stifle constructive conflict in the team.

    • We avoid all conflict
    • Conflict is guarded
    • We debate openly

  • Lack of Commitment

    Team members do not follow through on actions due to the lack of clarity or buy in.

    • No real buy-in
    • Partial buy-in
    • Full commitment

  • Avoidance of Accountability

    We do not hold each other accountable for behaviors and performance because we want to avoid interpersonal issues.

    • We avoid accountability
    • Accountability is patchy
    • We hold each other to account

  • Inattention to Collective Results

    There is a focus on individual goals, rather than the collective success of the whole team.

    • Individual goals first
    • Mixed focus
    • Collective results first

When to use this health check

  • When the team feels stuck, divided or low on trust and you want to understand why
  • At a team offsite or a retrospective about how the team works together
  • When a team or leader is new and you want a baseline
  • After conflict, missed commitments or poor results, to find the behavior underneath
  • Every few months, to see whether trust and accountability are changing

Tips & tricks

  • Tell people their answers are anonymous so they're honest about sensitive dynamics.
  • Discuss the results as a team and start with the lowest score. Because the dysfunctions build on one another, a problem with trust often explains the rest.
  • Turn the results into concrete agreements with owners, so the conversation changes behavior.
  • Re-run it after a few months to see whether your changes are working.
  • Talk about patterns and behaviors, not individuals.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Five Dysfunctions of a Team assessment based on?
On the five dysfunctions Patrick Lencioni described in 2002: absence of trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance of accountability and inattention to results. Each one builds on the one below it. This check is TeamRetro's own adaptation, not the official assessment, which belongs to Lencioni's firm, the Table Group.
How should we interpret the scores?
Lower scores show where a dysfunction is strongest. Because each dysfunction builds on the ones beneath it, work on trust and conflict before moving up the model.
How often should we run this health check?
Every one to three months. That's often enough to see whether your changes are working and to keep team health part of the regular conversation.
Who should take part?
Everyone on the team, so the results reflect every perspective and give you a shared starting point.
Is this the same as a Five Dysfunctions of a Team assessment?
It covers the same five dysfunctions, but it's TeamRetro's own adaptation, not the official Table Group assessment, and TeamRetro isn't affiliated with the Table Group. Your team rates each of the five privately, then reads the combined result and the spread together. It's free and takes about ten minutes.
What are the assessment questions?
There are five, one for each dysfunction, and everyone answers them privately on a 1 to 5 scale. Absence of trust runs from "we hide weaknesses and mistakes" to "we are openly vulnerable and trusting". Fear of conflict runs from "we avoid conflict and stay silent" to "we engage in passionate, productive debate". Lack of commitment runs from "decisions lack clarity and buy-in" to "we fully commit to clear decisions". Avoidance of accountability runs from "we avoid holding each other accountable" to "we readily hold each other accountable". Inattention to results runs from "we prioritize individual goals and status" to "we are united on collective results". The team sees the combined scores and the spread, which is where the real conversation starts.

Adapted from the five dysfunctions model set out by Patrick Lencioni in The Five Dysfunctions of a Team (2002). The model and the official assessment belong to the Table Group. This is TeamRetro's own adaptation, not the official assessment, and TeamRetro is not affiliated with the Table Group.

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