Casey Anthony and 4 Dysfunctions of a Team

What does Casey Anthony have to do with you? Plenty. She
reminds me how dysfunctional some teams are. The Anthony family
hits the exacta for nailing 4 dysfunctions of a team.

(btw, I think the verdict was…correct! Uh-oh, I see nasty
comments in my future.)

One thing to remember is that most dysfunctional teams don’t
realize they’re dysfunctional. It usually takes someone from
the outside to see the dysfunction. I saw one of Casey’s former
boyfriends interviewed the other night, and he was surprised how
dysfunctional the family was.

Whereas Casey probably didn’t notice the dysfunction, it was
obvious to this guy. Why? Because according to him, he grew up
in a “normal” family. When he arrived at the Anthony home, he
felt like he was in The Twilight Zone.

So, let’s look at some of the dysfunctions he noticed, and see
if they apply to teams you know. Or teams you’re on. Or,
heaven forbid, teams you lead.

Keeping Secrets: If you’re often blind-sided by finding out
about key events/info/situations after everyone else does, this
one applies to your team. Remember that Lee Anthony, Casey’s
brother, supposedly found out about Casey’s pregnancy after she
delivered.

Usually it’s a trust issue. People don’t tell you because
you’ll get mad at them, or use the incident against them later.
All sorts of reasons. Your job is finding out why you’re always
the last to know.

Destructive Conflict Resolution: Yelling, screaming,
threatening may make you feel better initially, but they’re
destructive methods for conflict resolution. And they destroy
teamwork. Conflict resolution must be constructive so that it
enables team members to work together effectively in the future.

Badmouthing Other Team Members: Apparently, all the Anthonys
displayed remarkable skill at badmouthing each other, sometimes
in front of everyone. We shouldn’t badmouth anyone, especially
members of our team.

If you notice team members making disparaging remarks about
other team members, you as the leader (or even if you’re not the
team leader) must let people know that such talk detracts from
teamwork. That it prevents your team from fulfilling its noble
purpose. And that you won’t tolerate it.

Living in the Past: According to the ex-boyfriend, the Anthonys
(all of them) were continually bringing up previous failures,
slights, etc., some of which had occurred years earlier. The
inability of people to “let go” of these incidents makes
constructive conflict resolution impossible.

There you have it: 4 dysfunctions of a team.

Teams are supposed to work together effectively, so that
together they accomplish more than they would working
individually, on their own. That’s synergy. The Anthony family
has what I call “negative synergy.” Together they perform worse
than the sum of their individual efforts.

Your job is to look at your team, identify any dysfunctions, and
then take actions to remove those dysfunctions. Usually
dysfunctions indicate a lack of trust. So building trust will
be a big part of eliminating the dysfunction.

Which dysfunctions apply to your team? What are you doing to
eliminate them?

Until the next post, keep leading the way!

PS  I'm really interested in your reaction.  Let me know what
you think!

Copyright (C) 2011 by Terry Wall

July 4th Reminds Us What's Important

July 4th, and I can't help thinking about all the men and women in our armed forces who are deployed somewhere far, far from home.  They're fighting wars, and protecting our freedom.

And I'm reminded of how important leadership is to them, and how the leaders, whether or not they're officers, make important life or death decisions every day.  To a certain extent, it trivializes the decisions we make in our work lives.

I'm not saying that the decisions we make aren't important.  They are.  But they pale in comparison to the decisions leaders make every day on the battlefield, in supporting the frontline war-fighters, in carrying out the war on terror.

Let's face it.  We make a wrong decision, and the consequences aren't that bad.  Sure, someone might get mad if the report wasn't complete, or if we forget to do something.  But the worst thing that can happen usually is that we lose a client, or some revenue.  Even when we're talking about large amounts of money, it's not the same as on the battlefield. 

On the battlefield, the decisions are much more important.  Make a mistake there, and people die.  Or are maimed, physically and emotionally.

I work with some defense industries, but even with them, most day-to-day workplace decisions don't have battlefield consequences.  Those decisions involve technological support of the warfighter, and are very important.  But they're not as important as battlefield decisions.

So let's keep what we do in perspective, and remember that the art of leadership as practiced on the battlefield has life or death consequences.  What we do is important, but what they do has the greater significance.