Team challenges can really get in the way of progress, but they are often hard to spot. If you’ve ever felt like your team had all the skills in the world yet still struggled to get things done, you’re definitely not alone!
In this blog, we’re going to explore the five most common team challenges highlighted by Patrick Lencioni and share some easy ways to tackle them.
Common Symptoms
I ran into this problem when I was a Client Success Manager at a small IT firm in Austin, Texas. We had two main teams—sales and IT—and let me tell you, we constantly butted heads.
Instead of working together, there was this “us versus them” vibe, and honestly, it was holding us back. No matter how skilled we were, we always seemed to find ourselves stuck in a perpetual blame game due to poor communication and a lack of trust.
That’s when I came across The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni, and suddenly, things started making sense. In this book, Lencioni points out five key challenges that can really mess up teamwork, but once you know what they are, you can start turning things around.
Here’s what I learned—and how we made it work.
5 Common Team Challenges
Let’s break down Lencioni’s five most common team challenges along with different ways you can overcome them.
1. Trust is Very Low
First off, trust is everything. Without it, people just won’t be open with each other. The sales and IT teams barely spoke at our company, and when something went wrong, everyone quickly blamed the other side.
To fix this, I started weekly meetings where both teams could talk about their challenges and share their wins. With time, slowly people began to open up. Celebrating small wins along the way helped build trust, and we could finally start working as a team instead of against each other.
2. There is No Conflict
Once we started building trust, the next step was dealing with conflict—or rather, our fear of it. At first, our meetings were full of polite nodding, with everyone pretending to agree just to avoid disagreements. But that didn’t help solve real problems.
I made it clear that it’s okay to disagree—as long as it’s respectful. When people felt safe enough to speak up, we finally got to the root of our issues. And guess what? Once we faced the hard stuff head-on, we could actually start fixing it.
3. No One Wants to Commit
When teams avoid conflict, they don’t fully commit to decisions because they’re not all in. Sales would make promises to clients, but IT wasn’t always on the same page, so projects fell apart. And when that happened, both sides blamed each other.
To change this, I made sure everyone had a say in decisions before we moved forward. Once both teams felt heard and understood, we could commit to the same goals. That made a huge difference in how smoothly our projects ran.
4. No One Wants to Take Accountability
When people aren’t committed, they avoid holding each other accountable. I saw it all the time—when someone dropped the ball, nobody wanted to call it out. Everyone was just trying to keep the peace, but it made things worse in the long run.
In our weekly meetings, we set clear expectations for everyone. This was about making sure everyone knew their role and was ready to step up. Once we started holding each other accountable, things got a lot better. People were more responsible and less afraid to own their tasks.
5. No One Cares About Results
Finally, when accountability is missing, people focus more on their own work instead of the team’s success. Sales was focused on closing deals, and IT was focused on finishing projects. But no one was looking at how those things fit into the company’s overall success.
I reminded everyone about the bigger picture and how each of their efforts contributed to it. We started celebrating the team’s achievements, not just individual wins, and that shift in mindset helped us work toward a common goal.
Small changes—like building trust, encouraging open communication, and holding each other accountable—can make a huge difference in how your team works together.
Conclusion
In the end, most team problems aren’t about skills or experience—they’re about people.
So, the next time your team feels stuck, think about these five dysfunctions and how they might be playing a role.
