“This looks good in general, but there are several items that need to be corrected.”
…No response.

“As I’ve asked before, how do you know everyone wants to continue to stay on the team?”
…No response.

“I recommend we tap the brakes on asking the directors to create their promotional videos. Without some upfront coordination, we run the risk of, once again, having incorrect information being conveyed because we acted before we coordinated internally. Let’s first provide the directors with aligned talking points and coordinated calls to action before they get creative on their own.”
…The response to the group was: We’re not tapping the brakes. We’re hitting the accelerator!

“Were you able to validate these numbers beyond Roger’s 16-year-old recollections you shared with me last week?”
…No response to the group but a private message was sent saying, “Let’s not push this further. I’m OK accepting Roger’s word.”

“What are the team’s goals for next year?”
…No response to the group but a private message was sent saying, “We don’t have time for meetings. We have too much to do.”

Do You Have a Leadership Dysfunction Problem?

If you get no response or your challenges get brushed aside when you provide candid feedback, question the senior leadership team’s actions, or repeat questions that have been deflected during leadership team meetings or via group emails or chat channels, you’ve got problems. Your leadership team is dysfunctional and your organization’s survival is at risk.

If you get no response when you provide candid feedback, question the senior leadership team’s actions, or repeat questions that have been deflected during prior leadership team meetings or via group emails or chat channels, you’ve got problems. Your leadership team is dysfunctional and your organization’s survival is at risk.

While listening to a podcast recently on board dysfunction, one of the panelists referenced Patrick Lencioni’s 2002 bestselling book, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. I’ll be honest. When the panelist mentioned the book, my first thought was: That book is 20 years old! However, as the panelist quickly listed the five dysfunctions, I realized a prospective client was experiencing every one of them! The comments I’d been hearing from newer members of the management team during my preliminary interviews were highlighting a senior leadership team that:

• Didn’t trust one another
• Didn’t know how to engage in productive debate and conflict
• Didn’t know how to commit themselves or gain commitment from others
• Didn’t want to hold themselves or others accountable for their actions and inactions
• Didn’t understand the value of strategically aligning their directors and teams’ actions for results

Basically, the senior leadership team doesn’t know how to lead. Because of this, the organization has a disengaged management team and employee population, has no viable leadership pipeline, has inefficient operations, and has a customer base that doesn’t understand the value of its products and services.

Can this organization and leadership team turn things around? Yes – if the senior leadership team acknowledges it is dysfunctional and is willing to change. If not, time will tell how much longer this organization will survive trying to do what it’s always done.

Don’t let leadership dysfunction put your business at risk. It may be time to stop doing what you’ve always done.

Copyright MMXXI – Liz Weber, CMC, CSP – Weber Business Services, LLC – www.WBSLLC.com +1.717.597.8890

Liz supports clients with strategic and succession planning, as well as leadership training and executive coaching. If you think you may have a leadership dysfunction problem, contact us today!