This assignment is based on the video “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team.” (Link below) Although the video is from 2013, the dysfunctions Patrick Lenconi illustrates are timeless and as important as ever to be aware of now.

Five Dysfunctions of a Team Patrick Lencioni Talk 2013 – YouTube

Part 1 – Please answer to this question:

Of the 5 dysfunctions, describe a situation where you encountered one and how you were able to overcome it? Or, if it was a situation that could not be overcome, what happened and what did you learn?

Part 2 – Respond to two other people’s posts. Keep your comments genuine and constructive.

– Student A’s post: “So one situation that pops right into my mind is the fear of conflict. I was apart of a class and was in charge of other students. I had an issue with how one of my students was acting and treating others. I didn’t know if I had the place to stand up and say something or not. It bothered me the whole night and the whole next day until we had the class. It had bothered me so much because I didn’t want others to think this behavior was okay or that this is how the class is. I had talked to one of my peers in the class in the same position as me, that person told me no you’re sticking up for someone who may fear to speak up or who is afraid there will be conflict. You’re doing the right thing at the end of the day. Well I did say something to the person in charge of me in that class and it blew up way more than I was expecting. I wasn’t trying to get anyone in trouble or feel any type of way about the situation. I just saw someone not being treated fairly and wanted to stick up for what I thought was right and so they can get a great experience from the class. Well after it all blew up and I felt terrible for even bringing it up because of all the conflict that had occured with doing so. I then had spoke with the professors of that class and just told both of them my side and why I even said anything in the first place. One thing that really helped me was that the professors had my back and appreciated me for speaking up. One thing that I will never forget is that my professor told me ” you don’t let the turkeys get you down, you just eat them for Thanksgiving”. As I mentioned nothing really got resolved but one thing I learned is that no matter if you say something or not at the end of the day you have to live with yourself and your choices you made. Also with going off of what my professor said, not everyone is going to understand you or like you but you have to like yourself at the end of the day. That’s all that matters. So even though I spoke up even though I was afraid of conflict, I say it’s better than not saying anything and letting behavior like mistreating others continue, I say I won at the end of the day.”

– Student B’s post: “During my time as a prep equipment operator, I experienced the 4th dysfunction which is avoidance of accountability. Often times when I was working in this position, we were so short staffed that I would have to work through my breaks since no one was trained to relieve me. This frustrated me as a worker, so I notified my supervisor and HR that I do not appreciate or enjoy having to constantly work through my breaks just because they could not find the time to train others to fill in my role. The company I was working for refused to take accountability for their poor planning and did not take action or initiative to correct mistakes that they were implementing within the work environment. After I brought it to their attention, they did nothing and provided no explanation for a course of action to improve my working condition to a more favorable one, they should have been able to realize that they had poor planning and management of the situation they were placing me in and developed a plan to fix it, instead they accepted the conditions how they were.

This was a situation that could not be overcome and what ended up happening is that I put in my two weeks notice and got enrolled at CWU to finish up my degree since it was always in my plan to return back to school at some point. I learned that keeping workers happy and satisfied within their roles is vital to keeping talent from leaving and keeping them enthusiastic about showing up to work. Having conversations with your workers about issues they are experiencing in the workplace is not enough, solutions for their conflicts must be planned out and discussed with them so they understand that an effort is in place to better the situation.”