📖 Business
Biz - Five Dysfunctions Pyramid
Patrick Lencioni's model for understanding why teams fail, presented as a pyramid of five interconnected dysfunctions. Each layer feeds the one above it, meaning failure at a lower level makes success at higher levels nearly impossible. The model is diagnostic — it tells you where to look first — and sequential — you must fix from the bottom up. Most teams try to address symptoms at the top (poor results, lack of accountability) without realizing the root cause lives at the base (absence of trust).
2
Minutes
2
Concepts
+45
XP
1
How It Works
The five dysfunctions, stacked as a pyramid from base to apex:
- Absence of Trust (base) — Team members won't be vulnerable with each other. They hide mistakes, avoid asking for help, and protect their image. Without trust, every other behavior becomes performative.
- Fear of Conflict — Without trust, people avoid productive ideological debate. Meetings become exercises in artificial harmony. Controversial topics get sidestepped. Real disagreements happen in hallways and back-channels.
- Lack of Commitment — Without healthy conflict, decisions lack genuine buy-in. People nod in meetings but don't actually commit. They hedge, delay, or silently undermine decisions they didn't help shape.
- Avoidance of Accountability — Without commitment to clear standards, people won't hold peers accountable. Calling out counterproductive behavior feels unjustified when no one actually agreed on the standard.
- Inattention to Results (apex) — Without accountability, individuals default to prioritizing personal goals — ego, career advancement, departmental status — over collective team outcomes.
The critical insight: you must fix from the bottom up. Trying to enforce accountability without trust and commitment is just policing. Trying to align on results without accountability is just hoping.