In 2002, Patrick Lencioni published The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. The format was unusual for a management book: a corporate fable, almost a short novel, following the takeover of an executive team. The model itself fits on a page: a five-tier pyramid, foundation to peak.

Twenty years on, this model remains one of the most useful I know for running a sales team. Not because it's revolutionary — it isn't. But because it forces you to ask the right questions, in the right order.

1. Absence of trust

This is the foundation. Without trust, nothing holds. Lencioni speaks of vulnerability-based trust: the kind that lets a sales rep say in a meeting "I don't know how to close this deal" without fearing it will surface later in their performance review.

On the ground, this translates to very simple things. Do my reps call me when a deal goes sideways, or do they wait for the forecast to mention it? Do they dare to tell me a marketing message isn't landing? Do they admit their mistakes without dressing them up?

If your best reps hide their blind spots from you, it isn't a talent problem — it's a trust problem.

2. Fear of conflict

A team that doesn't push back in meetings aligns on the lowest common denominator. Lencioni distinguishes ideological conflict (healthy, around ideas) from interpersonal conflict (toxic, around people). The two are often confused.

A team meeting without disagreement isn't a productive meeting — it's a polite meeting. My job as a manager is to provoke disagreement, not to smooth it over. And to do it in a frame where the person doesn't feel attacked.

3. Lack of commitment

Commitment comes from resolved conflict. If a decision was made after a real debate, everyone will carry it. If it was imposed — or worse, born of soft consensus — no one will truly defend it.

In sales management, this means territory strategy or quarterly KPIs need to be debated before they're locked in. Not democratically — the final call is mine — but with real space for pushback.

4. Avoidance of accountability

When the team is committed, accountability flows horizontally: a rep can give feedback to another rep without going through the manager. It's culturally hard, especially in France where we tend to leave the dirty work to the manager.

The signal it's working: a rep who misses their target gets challenged by their peers before I do it myself. At that point, the team partially manages itself.

5. Inattention to results

Top of the pyramid. If the four floors below hold, the collective result comes before the individual one. A rep is willing to hand a lead to a colleague better positioned to close it, because they know it'll come back around.

In practice, this is rare. Very rare. Most teams stay stuck at level 2 or 3. That's normal — it's an ideal model, not a protocol. But having the frame lets you know where you are, and where you're stuck.

How I use it

Once a quarter, I run the diagnostic — alone first, then with the team. Which of the five floors are we weakest on? Lencioni offers simple tools: team off-sites, structured personal sharing, Myers-Briggs or DiSC exercises, formalized peer feedback.

The trap is attacking the top (results) without dealing with the base (trust). It never works. A sales team missing its targets doesn't have a numbers problem — it has a problem on one of the floors below.

Further reading

Published 18 April 2026. A remark, a disagreement, an experience to share? Email me.