Like it or not, all teams are potentially dysfunctional. From the basketball court to the executive suite, politics and confusion are more the rule than the exception. Why? Because teams are made of imperfect, fallible human beings. At the same time, and in beautiful irony, being exceedingly human is also why teams succeed.

A former and quite successful client best expressed the power of teamwork when he once told me, “If you could get all the people in the organization rowing in the same direction, you could dominate any industry, in any market, against any competition, at any time.” When I repeat this to leaders, they immediately nod their heads but in a desperate sort of way. They grasp the truth while simultaneously surrendering to the perceived impossibility of it. Fortunately, there is hope!

Start with some simple questions: Does your team openly and readily disclose their opinions? Are meetings compelling and productive? Does the team make decisions quickly without getting bogged down in consensus? Do individuals sacrifice their own interests for the good of the team?

Even the best teams struggle with one or more of these questions, but the strongest organizations strive to ensure that their answers are “yes.” The first step in developing this healthy dynamic is to recognize roadblocks (dysfunctions) common to most teams. You’ll notice one begets the next:

• Absence of Trust – Team members are unwilling to admit mistakes or show weakness.
• Fear of Conflict – Without trust, teams choose guarded conversations over open debate.
• Lack of Commitment – Without healthy debate, individuals struggle to buy in to the objective. It feels ambiguous, misaligned, and frustrating, especially for top performers.
• Avoidance of Accountability – Without clear commitment, even strong team members hesitate to call out behaviors that impede performance.
• Inattention to Results – When accountability fades, shared achievement disappears, and personal aims like ego, recognition, or career advancement take priority over collective goals.

Striving to create a functional, cohesive team is one of the few remaining competitive advantages available to any organization. Functional teams avoid wasting time talking about the wrong issues. Functional teams make higher-quality decisions and accomplish more in less time with less frustration.

Here’s the simple truth: Successful teamwork is not about mastering subtle, sophisticated theories. It’s about embracing common sense with uncommon discipline. Every great team suffers a little—sometimes a lot—to achieve greatness. The same is true for any strong family. By embracing uncomfortable, relationship-threatening moments, we learn to demonstrate interpersonal courage, persistence, and forgiveness to work through them.

XOXO