18 Jul Team Victory: Conquering Inattention to Results (Article 5 of 5)

It’s business as usual, but when you reflect on progress, there’s little or nothing to show for it. The results aren’t there, and nobody seems to care much about it. In our exploration of Patrick Lencioni’s Five Dysfunctions of a Team, we’ve navigated through the foundational elements that contribute to team failure: Absence of Trust, Fear of Conflict, Lack of Commitment, and Avoidance of Accountability. Now, we reach the peak of the model, the final dysfunction: Inattention to Results.

I believe it is essential to debunk and explore the practicality of the theories we have available. Often, we overlook crucial aspects because we don’t fully understand them. For instance, when we discuss the first dysfunction during our programs, delegates often think of unreliable colleagues who don’t arrive on time or people who slack off. However, that is just the tip of the iceberg. The trust we refer to here is about vulnerability—an environment where team members are comfortable sharing their insecurities, doubts, and failures. If you grasp this, only then can you understand what you need to do to develop an environment that cultivates trust. This lightbulb moment for our delegates a few weeks ago prompted this series!

Inattention to Results and its Impact on Teams

Inattention to results occurs when team members put their individual needs (such as ego, career development, or recognition) above the collective goals of the team. This dysfunction represents the ultimate failure to deliver on the team’s goals and can undermine the purpose and performance of the entire team. When personal priorities overshadow team objectives, the overall mission becomes compromised, leading to misalignment and underperformance.

When a team is not focused on results, the lack of goal achievement is a primary consequence. The primary objective of any team is to achieve its goals. When these are sidelined, the team’s purpose gets terminated. Research shows that teams with clear, measurable goals are significantly more successful in achieving them compared to those without (Locke & Latham, 2002). Reduced performance follows as high-performing teams are results-driven, and inattention to results leads to a drop in performance as team members are not working towards common goals. For example, a sales team that prioritises individual commissions over collective sales targets often sees overall performance suffer. Decreased morale is another significant impact. Team members who are committed to results may become disheartened if they see that others are not equally invested in achieving them. Studies indicate that morale directly impacts productivity and engagement (Harter, Schmidt, & Hayes, 2002). Additionally, teams that consistently fail to meet their goals can damage their reputation within the organisation, leading to a lack of trust from other teams and stakeholders. This erosion of trust can have long-lasting negative effects on collaboration and support.

Recognising the Signs

Some of the signs that a team is suffering from inattention to results include:

• Apathy towards outcomes: Team members show little concern for whether or not the team achieves its goals.
• Focus on personal success: A noticeable shift towards personal achievements rather than team success.
• Lack of accountability for results: Team members do not hold each other accountable for meeting objectives, as elaborated in our previous article.
• Culture of excuses: A tendency to make excuses and blame others when goals are not met.

Overcoming Inattention to Results

Addressing this dysfunction involves fostering a culture where the team’s results are important to all team members. Here are some strategies to achieve this:

1. Define and Communicate Clear Objectives

Often, performance issues are as a result of little to no clear, specific goals, leading to confusion, misalignment, and wasted efforts. To counter this, set SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) goals aligned with the organisation’s objectives. Clear goals provide direction and motivation, but defining them once is not enough.

Regularly communicate these goals to keep them at the forefront of everyone’s mind. This can be done through team meetings, emails, and visual reminders in the workspace. Overcommunication is key; it ensures everyone is consistently reminded of what they’re working towards and why it matters. As Patrick Lencioni points out, reiterating goals ensures they are deeply ingrained in the team’s daily activities, driving collective efforts towards common objectives.

Encourage team discussions around these goals. Facilitate conversations where team members can express their understanding, ask questions, and provide input. This not only clarifies any confusion but also fosters a sense of ownership and commitment to the goals. Aligning these goals with individual roles and responsibilities helps team members see how their contributions directly impact the team’s success, thereby increasing engagement and accountability.

2. Create a Results-Oriented Culture and Encourage Peer Accountability

Feedback conversations that only take place when things are not going well can be daunting and discouraging. Leaders should be as vocal when teams are doing well, reinforcing positive behaviours. Often, delegates complain about the surprises they get when they finally sit down with their manager to discuss their performance; they get feedback too late to do anything about it. Regular feedback allows for necessary adjustments and celebrating the small wins and recognition helps keep the momentum and lead to team success.

For even better outcomes, promote a culture where results are the key metric of success. Google’s use of Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) has been instrumental in maintaining a results-focused environment (Doerr, 2018). Also, encourage peer feedback so that team members can better understand how they can support each other. In our programs Purposeful Teams and Teams that Talk, we open channels for communication about team goals, asking questions like “What do you need from me to achieve the goals of this team?” Understanding work preferences and how to align them with team goals fosters collaboration and accountability.

Simon Sinek, renowned author and motivational speaker, emphasizes, “Feedback is essential for growth; it’s the only way we learn and improve.” Therefore, regularly review progress, provide ample opportunities for constructive feedback, and celebrate successes to keep the team focused and motivated.

3. Align Rewards with Results

Tying the rewards and recognition to the achievement of team goals rather than individual accomplishments can also be beneficial to overcome this dysfunction. This encourages team members to work together towards common objectives. A study by Lazear and Shaw (2007) supports the effectiveness of team-based incentives in driving performance.

It is important to note that rewards can vary—financial incentives, additional leave, professional development opportunities, or public recognition. To maximise the value of this exercise, incentives need to be tailored to individual preferences, ensuring they are meaningful to each team member as everyone has unique needs and motivations. For example, a young, single team member might value professional development opportunities, while a team member with a family might prefer additional leave or other family related benefits. As a seasoned WorldsView OD Practitioner often shares, the platinum rule, “Do unto others as they wish to be done unto them,” highlights the importance of striving to understand and cater to individual preferences.

Conclusion

Inattention to results can be a silent killer of team performance. By focusing on collective goals, fostering a results-oriented culture, and encouraging peer accountability, teams can overcome this dysfunction and achieve their objectives. As leaders, it’s crucial to create an environment where the success of the team is the highest priority, ensuring that every member is committed to achieving the desired outcomes.

If this framework makes sense to you and seems useful in developing your team, my recommendation is to always look beyond the symptoms. Avoid sticking a band-aid on your team issues and look for the underlying problems. For example, if you notice a lack of commitment (a symptom), it could stem from a fear of conflict (the underlying issue). By addressing these root causes, you can create lasting, effective change within your team.

Reflecting on the journey through Lencioni’s model, it’s evident that building a cohesive team requires addressing each dysfunction methodically. By fostering trust, embracing conflict, committing to decisions, holding each other accountable, and focusing on results, teams can overcome these common pitfalls and thrive.

At Worldview Academy, our Purposeful Teams program embodies this approach. Purposeful Teams™ is rooted in the belief that clarity of purpose, combined with a personal (individual) and shared (team) commitment to that purpose, is the most powerful catalyst for effective team performance. This program places the team in the organisational context, leveraging organisational mandates into team purpose. By engaging at the levels of the organisation, team, and the individual, teams can make sense of task and relationship issues. The team’s purpose is then translated into strategic priorities, leading to excellent execution. When teams are securely grounded in the “why,” they perform better, and all efforts are centered around achieving that purpose, which translates to favourable results in the end.

By applying these principles, teams can not only avoid the pitfalls of inattention to results but also thrive in achieving their collective goals, overcoming team dysfunctions and ensuring long-term success and organisational effectiveness.