Newspapers / Fayetteville State University Student … / April 13, 2011, edition 1 / Page 6
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6 The Voice, For students, By Students 1 April 13, 2011 www.fsuvoice.com send news tips to the editor; agarcia1@broncos.uncfsu.edu BOOK REVIEW: THE FIVE DYSFUNCTIONS OF A TEAM Cooperation and teamwork breed success By John Caldwell Voice staff writer “Not finance. Not strategy. Not technol ogy. It is teamwork that remains the ultimate competitive advantage, both because it is so powerful and so rare,” is how Patrick Lencio- ni introduces his NY Times best-seller, The Five Dysftmctions of a Team. Mr. Lencioni is the president of The Table- top, a management consulting firm whose clientele include At&t, Fedex and Westpoint. Mr. Lencioni has written six books.. Regardless of what brings you to campus on a regular basis, you make up part of a team we could call “Team FSU.” Certainly many relate to FSU being a family. But family members must recognize the role teamwork plays in their effort to be effective in all mat ters concerning that family and their estab lished desires and goals. “Cooperative effort by the members of a group OP team to achieve a common goal,” is the simple way Webster’s II New River side Dictionary defines teamwork. And by definition, FSU is made up of small teams, that come together to form larger teams, that ultimately serve the goals of the FSU team, by way of teamwork. As a member of the “Bronco Family,” you are a part of that team, deriving benefits for yourself and hopefully, for your teammates . Whether in the classroom with students in the role of team players and the professor as their team coach, or in the multitude of cam pus organization and clubs, or in any of the many administrative and support teams that see to the needs of the university family, all can benefit by placing value on teamwork. All FSU students, staff, and administra tors rely on others at some point during the course of their day. Most times those inter actions are crucial to productive outcomes to all concerned. Sometimes we don’t recognize how our actions, or lack thereof, impact our team(s), for the better and for the worst. “For all the attention that it has received over the years from scholars, coaches, teach ers, and the media, teamwork is as elusive as it has ever been within most organizations. The fact remains that teams, because they are made up of imperfect humans beings, are in herently dysfunctional,” writes Mr. Lencioni. “Like so many other aspects of life, team work comes down to mastering a set of be haviors that are at once theoretically uncom plicated, but extremely difficult to put into practice day after day. Success comes only for those groups that overcome the all-too- human behavioral tendencies that corrupt teams and breed dysfunctional politics within them.” “The Fable,” and “The Model,” are the two sections Mr. Lencioni divides his work into. He first tells the fable of a realistic but fictional organization that he says allows the readers to learn more effectively by allowing readers to relate to the characters. In “The Model,” Mr. Lencioni outlines what he de fines as the five dysfunctions of a team in detail, and includes a team assessment with suggested tools to overcome the issues that might be plaguing your team. In summarizing the dysfunctions, Mr. Len cioni writes that they can be mistakenly inter preted as five distinct issues to be addressed in isolation of the others. “But in reality they form an interrelated model, making susceptibility to even one of them potentially lethal for the success of a team.” He gives a cursory overview of each dysfianction as follows: The first dysfunction is absence of trust amongst team members. If team members are not genuinely open with each other about their mistakes and weaknesses, it is impos sible to build a foundation of trust. Absence of trust creates the circumstance for the second dysfunction, fear of conflict. Teams that lack trust are incapable of fully and honestly debating issues as they resort to veiled discussions and guarded comments. The inability to openly discuss issues leads to a lack of commitment. If team members are unable to fiilly air their views, it is un likely that they will be fiilly committed to the decisions of the group. Team members will inevitably avoid ac countability if are not fully bought into the decisions of the group. How can they stand up and be counted on issues if they were not completely committed to them initially? Inattention to results occurs when team members put their individual needs (such as ego, career, recognition or reward) or even their division above the collective needs of the team. Failure to hold one another ac countable creates an environment where the fifth dysfianction can thrive. Ray Thomas knows all too well the benefit derived from effective teamwork. The FSU general manager of the student run “Bronco- iRadio.com” says he always preferred team oriented sports to individual competitions, during his youth and collegiate days. Mr. Thomas explained that those earlier experi ences of teamwork have served hiih quite well throughout his career in broadcasting. He described a multiplier effect when indi vidual members recognized and honored the group as a team effort. “Teamwork is the essential of any activ ity that brings together more than one person working toward a common goal. You have to put the personal feelings aside along with the ego, and understand what the common goal is, and be focused on that,” said Mr. Thomas. “At the end of the day it’s gonna benefit the entire team as long as that person over all in charge of the team is a fair and genu ine person, the entire team will be rewarded. It’s like that old saying you reap what you so. If we all sow together we will all reap together. The ultimate consequence of team work is that we can all dream together for a common goal, and reap the ultiinate success. Everyone wants to be successful. When I hear ‘team’ that’s what has been instilled in me from my younger days, from my various coaches over the years.” If you recognize your role as a teammate on at least one the multitude of teams that make up “Team FSU,” and wish to see the maximum expression of the inherent poten tial the “Bronco Family” is imbued with, pick up a copy of Mr. Lencioni book. Relate the work to your team(s), to see if it speaks to any shortcomings, then seek ways to imple ment those lesson learned as well as share your insight with your teammates. “I sincerely hope (the book) helps your team overcome its particular dysfunctions so that it can achieve more than individuals could ever imagine doing alone. That, after all, is the real power of teamwork,” is how Mr. Lencioni sums up his vision. Couch Potatoes Jovian Turnbull Rosenthal ull house baby!! games in a row! Odd, this is the same trash that was suppovse be thrown out 2 weeks ago. h-uh..,Where are the custodial workers!?! This game is rigged! Dang, so I guess now we go back to work? Nonsense Islimael, we will just get wh'ats-her-face to clean like we always do. duh!
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