Building High-Performing Teams: The Five Behaviors Framework

Since leaving the world of professional sport, I’ve built a successful career as a high-performance coach and inspirational speaker.  The framework I have found most effective in helping teams develop and improve their performance is the Five Behaviours of a Cohesive Team, founded on Patrick Lencioni’s best-selling book The Five Dysfunctions of a Team where he outlines common pitfalls that prevent teams from reaching their full potential.

Let’s have a look in more detail.

Understanding Vulnerability-Based Trust

 The foundation of the Five Behaviours model is trust.  More specifically, vulnerability-based trust that goes beyond the conventional notion of being able to predict another’s behaviour and performance confidently and instead involves a deeper level of openness; admitting mistakes, asking for help without fear of judgment, and being candid about uncertainties. This form of trust requires courage.

For instance, think of times when you hesitated to seek assistance from a teammate, fearing it might be seen as a weakness. Such reservations can lead to wasted effort and a lack of genuine collaboration. Conversely, when there is vulnerability-based trust,  it leads to a confidence among team members that their peers’ intentions are good and that there is no reason to be protective or careful around the group.  They create an environment where everyone feels valued and understood, fostering a dynamic that is invaluable for high performance.

The Role of Conflict in Team Dynamics

Teams must have vulnerability based trust in order to successfully engage in the next behaviour which is conflict. Although the idea of conflict might seem counterintuitive to many people, conflict can be a positive factor on a team, as long as the team engages in productive conflict. This involves passionate dialogue and debate about key issues, encouraging diverse viewpoints and rigorous discussion to arrive at the best solutions. This kind of healthy conflict ensures that all voices are heard and all ideas are put on the table. Team members have the opportunity to question, to challenge and disagree with ideas and decisions, all with the intention of finding the best answers and making great decisions.

From my experience in sports, the best teams were those where we could argue and challenge each other’s ideas without taking it personally. This led to better strategies and stronger team cohesion, as everyone was focused on a shared goal rather than individual egos.

Commitment: Aligning on a Shared Goal

Commitment is the third essential behaviour of a cohesive team and is predicated on achieving the previous two behaviours. Team members will be more likely to commit to a decision if they have engaged in productive conflict, whereby they are sharing and discussing different ideas and perspectives around the decision. They need the opportunity to question it and understand the rationale for it before they will buy into it.

In business teams, it’s common to hear claims of commitment, but the real question is whether everyone is committed to the same thing. Without a clear, unified priority, team members may pull in different directions, leading to missed deadlines and half-hearted efforts.

Commitment requires both clarity and buy-in. Clarity ensures everyone knows what they are committing to and has all the information they need to move forward with the decision and most importantly their role in achieving it. Buy-in means that even if there was initial disagreement, team members support the decision fully once it is made. This unity is crucial for moving forward with confidence and purpose.

Accountability: A Pillar of High Performance

Accountability is the fourth behaviour, and again relies on the previous three because without commitment or understanding of team agreements, they won’t be able to hold one another accountable. This is often the most challenging behaviour to foster. It involves the willingness to call out peers on poor performance or counterproductive behaviour, which people naturally find uncomfortable. But without accountability, the quality of work diminishes, deadlines are missed, and resentment can build among team members. This is why it’s vital to have established trust, as it makes difficult conversations easier and more constructive.

Teams that hold each other accountable maintain high standards and prevent minor issues from becoming major problems. This culture of accountability ensures that everyone is working towards the same high-performance standards.

Focusing on Collective Results

If team members don’t have this repertoire of behaviours they may fall into the trap of focusing on their own goals and results rather than those of the team. High-performing teams engage in the fifth behaviour which is a focus on collective results, aligning individual goals with the broader team objectives. Leaders play a crucial role in creating this focus, ensuring that every team member understands how their work contributes to the overall goal.

Teams that fail to prioritise collective results can become distracted, stagnate and fail to grow. However, by fostering a culture where the team’s success is paramount, leaders can drive growth and ensure that all efforts are directed towards achieving shared goals.

Building a high-performing team is a multifaceted challenge with behaviours that are interlinked and foundational to high performance. It takes time, effort and commitment.

We can help your team to develop cohesion and high performance. Contact us to discuss further.