Christian Leadership
A Paper Submitted To
Liberty Theological Seminary
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
For Completion of the Course
CLED 610
Christian Leadership
By
Theresa Mahan
LIBERTY THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY Abstract Goal setting is imperative for any team to succeed. One of the ways for achieving this task is to learn and overcome the five dysfunctions of a team. Patrick Lencioni’s book, Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions of a Team is a field guide designed to teach teams how to accomplish this task. The absence of trust is the first dysfunction viewed in Lencioni’s book. There are many reasons why team members do not trust each other. The goal is for a team to become trusting of one another emotionally and fundamentally. Through meetings, workshops, and offsite events, members can participate in activities where they share their weaknesses, fears, goals, and opinions.
The fear of conflict is dysfunction 2. This fear is common in Christian Leadership teams. Conflict is important to teamwork. Learning how to work through conflict is the real issue. Lencioni writes in his book that trust is the important ingredient in mastering conflict. Dysfunction number 3 is the lack of commitment. Lencioni defines commitment as the “ability to defy a lack of consensus.” In another words teams can get along and get the job accomplished, even when not everyone agrees with each other. Exceptional leaders are those that lead a team to a decision and commitment to an idea.
Dysfunction number four is Avoidance to Accountability. Teams that commit to decisions and standards of performance expect each other to be accountable. Each team member must be held accountable in order for the team to accomplish its goals. Dysfunction number five is the Inability to focus on results. The author writes; “We have a strong and natural tendency to look out for ourselves before others, even when those others are part of our families and our teams.”
According to the book, a
Liberty Theological Seminary
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
For Completion of the Course
CLED 610
Christian Leadership
By
Theresa Mahan
LIBERTY THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY Abstract Goal setting is imperative for any team to succeed. One of the ways for achieving this task is to learn and overcome the five dysfunctions of a team. Patrick Lencioni’s book, Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions of a Team is a field guide designed to teach teams how to accomplish this task. The absence of trust is the first dysfunction viewed in Lencioni’s book. There are many reasons why team members do not trust each other. The goal is for a team to become trusting of one another emotionally and fundamentally. Through meetings, workshops, and offsite events, members can participate in activities where they share their weaknesses, fears, goals, and opinions.
The fear of conflict is dysfunction 2. This fear is common in Christian Leadership teams. Conflict is important to teamwork. Learning how to work through conflict is the real issue. Lencioni writes in his book that trust is the important ingredient in mastering conflict. Dysfunction number 3 is the lack of commitment. Lencioni defines commitment as the “ability to defy a lack of consensus.” In another words teams can get along and get the job accomplished, even when not everyone agrees with each other. Exceptional leaders are those that lead a team to a decision and commitment to an idea.
Dysfunction number four is Avoidance to Accountability. Teams that commit to decisions and standards of performance expect each other to be accountable. Each team member must be held accountable in order for the team to accomplish its goals. Dysfunction number five is the Inability to focus on results. The author writes; “We have a strong and natural tendency to look out for ourselves before others, even when those others are part of our families and our teams.”
According to the book, a