LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

"The ultimate dysfunction is inattention to results. Great teams put the success of the whole above individual recognition." Patrick Lencioni

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

We're looking at the each of the dysfunctions that Lencioni describes in his book, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team.

We looked at TRUST the first week, then we looked at the FEAR OF CONFLICT then COMMITMENT. Last week we looked at ACCOUNTABILITY and today we'll finish be talking about RESULTS.

We've done a quick walk through The Five Dysfunctions of a Team from Patrick Lencioni and I hope this has pushed you to dig deeper into the book.

His approach to results really made sense to me but I wish I had learned that years earlier!

My first job as a Youth Pastor back in the 80's was at a large church in Los Angeles. I was 21 years old, I hadn't been trained in youth ministry, but somehow I landed this job and was in way over my head.

I was invited to attend the Deacon & Elder Meeting and was encouraged to simply observe and learn how church leadership functioned.

I remember at that first meeting, no one mentioned the youth ministry of the church. They talked about everything else, but nothing was said about the Youth Group. I then set out to make myself known to the leadership of the church.

I became louder, I wanted to share my opinions about everything, I felt that I needed to defend everything that I was doing, and I got more and more frustrated because no one seemed to care.

Finally one of the Deacons pulled me aside and asked me why I was so frustrated, and I shared that it felt that no one cared about the youth group. No one was asking me questions, no one seemed interested, and no one seemed to value what I was spending my time and energy doing.

He looked at me and said this: "Russ, we're not talking about it because it seems to be going really well. The Deacons and Elders are working on things that affect the whole church and they're not concerned about the Youth Ministry because they believe in you and trust you."

Again, had I understood Lencioni's definition of results at the time it would have helped me understand this.

I was focused on MY AREA, MY ISSUES, MY JOB. I didn't understand that I also had a role with the whole church. My role was to see the church impact peoples lives, and the Youth Ministry was just one small part of that.

I began to understand this, but I'm sure I kept rolling my eyes at the meetings, I kept trying to be seen and I was always promoting what I was doing, but over time I learned to let the results speak for themselves and it wasn't my job to prove my worth to everyone.

Later in life I became much less selfish and looked at the big picture, not just my part of that.

This is what Lencioni is talking about with RESULTS.

The reasons people don't embrace the shared goals and results they're all working for is because as leaders, we're trying to:

• Protect our Status. We want to look good and we want to be recognized for what we do.

• Promote our Area. We want to operate in our own silo, ensuring that our area is getting attention first, then we'll look at the bigger goals.

We spend so much time taking care of ourselves that we forget that we're a part of something much bigger.

Oh to go back in time, but I'm so thankful to that leader for speaking truth to me. What I wish he would of said is "Russ, it's not about you!" It took some more years for me to finally learn that.

Think of a time that you were focused on protecting yourself so much that you forgot about the larger vision, the bigger picture. How do you feel about that today?

LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

"Failing to hold someone accountable is ultimately an act of selfishness." Patrick Lencioni

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

We're looking at the each of the dysfunctions that Lencioni describes in his book, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team.

We looked at TRUST the first week, then we looked at the FEAR OF CONFLICT. Last week we talked about COMMITMENT. We're working through all five dysfunctions this month and identifying some areas we might need to pay special attention.

Today we're talking about ACCOUNTABILITY and we have one more dysfunction to look at next week.

I remember a lesson on accountability very clearly. I was a church custodian as a 14-year old and my father was the Pastor. I assumed the job would be fairly easy in that my dad was my boss, and it really didn't take much to clean the church.

I would clean every Saturday Morning, then I would show up early on Sunday to dust and make sure everything was good.

A few weeks into my working career my dad showed up early on Sunday and he walked around the church with me and identified some areas that I had failed to clean. I had missed some spots with the vacuum, I hadn't dusted the piano very well, and there was trash blown in from the street on the patio. These are all things he had asked me to do, but either I just didn't do them, or I didn't do them well.

Remember, I assumed the job would be easy and thought I could just get it done quickly. What I learned was that there were some really clear expectations of me in order to earn that 100 Sucre (yes, a fortune at that time in Ecuador) paycheck. Not only was I given the expectations, but I was held to that standard.

I'm not sure I was ever a great custodian (ask my mother about my bedroom), but I learned how to do what was expected of me. I learned a lesson in accountability and learned how to ensure that my Dad, the Pastor, wouldn't find my work unfinished or not done well.

Accountability is simply my willingness to accept responsibility to do what I say I'll do or what I agree to do.

In the case of my church job, accountability happened when my "boss" checked to see that I was doing what I had agreed to do to the standard that was expected.

When did the word ACCOUNTABILITY become a negative term? Why do we so often push against it?

LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

"Commitment is a function of two things: clarity and buy-in." Patrick Lencioni

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

We're looking at the each of the dysfunctions that Lencioni describes in his book, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team.

We looked at TRUST the first week, then last week looked at the FEAR OF CONFLICT We're working through all five dysfunctions this month and identifying some areas we might need to pay special attention.

I'm assuming this is a refresh, but I'm still surprised by the number of people I run into who have never walked through Lencioni's Five Dysfunctions Model. If you're one of them, stop reading my summaries and read his book. It's worth the read!

I love this quote on commitment because it's so simple, yet as a leader, I can't count the number of times I asked people to COMMIT without having the clarity around the project defined and without giving people the opportunity to BUY-IN.

LACK OF COMMITMENT is Lencioni's third dysfunction.

Years ago a good friend invited me to serve on his Board. I responded quickly by saying yes, then I asked some questions about expectations and what value he thought I could bring to the Board. His reply was simply to come and engage and then we'd work that all out.

I attended my very first Board Meeting, and we were all challenged to do some things for the organization that surprised me. They wanted me to donate financially a specific amount, they wanted me to commit to raise funds, and they wanted me to take a specific role in a capital campaign.

I was surprised at the expectations, and at the first break of the meeting, I pulled my friend aside, who was the President, and asked him why he hadn't shared these expectations with me earlier. He simply replied, "If I had shared these with you earlier, you wouldn't have joined the Board."

My response: I resigned at the end of that first day of meeting, and I'm sure I was the shortest serving Board Member in that organizations history. My reason for resigning was that I wasn't given the opportunity to AGREE to what was happening, but had been expected to just follow along.

Lessons learned:

• If someone asks me to serve, I ask many more questions today than I did before, even when the request comes from a friend.

• While I can't know everything, due diligence is really important so that I can make an informed decision.

• After asking questions, doing the due diligence, I'm then able to commit and buy-in to what I've been invited into.

• If there's any questions or concerns, I don't just move forward, but I address those head-on and work towards clarity first, then I respond.

Do you have any stories like mine where you made a decision without having all the needed information? What was the result of that?