An agile team should work together and achieve the goals that it has defined in a timely manner. However, there are numerous dysfunctions, which can keep the agile teams away from achieving the results in a timely manner. That’s why it is important to have a clear understanding about these 5 dysfunctions of a team and take appropriate steps to eliminate them.
Lack of trust will be the first dysfunction of a team. It is not just referring to trust, but vulnerability based trust. The team should trust each other. This can be done when the team members have a clear understanding about the strengths and weaknesses of each and every one.
The second dysfunction of a team is lack of conflict. Trust is needed by an agile team, so that they will be able to engage in conflict. In other words, it would ensure ideological and constructive conflict.
The third dysfunction would be lack of commitment. The team members should have a strong understanding on how commitment would build on trust, which is based upon trust.
Fourth dysfunction of a team is lack of accountability. If the agile team is fully committed, all the people should remain accountable. This is something behavioral.
The last dysfunction of a team is all about results. This dysfunction is built upon all the other dysfunctions as stated above. In other words, this is where the team will be able to work together and achieve group results at the end of the day.
By having a clear understanding about the 5 dysfunctions of a team, the team members will be able to ensure productivity of a team. On the other hand, it would ensure the creation of a healthy environment within a team, where each and every team member will enjoy working.
— Slimane Zouggari