In today’s work environment, the strength of a team often determines the success of a project or even an entire organization. Yet, building a truly cohesive team is one of the most challenging tasks for any manager. Why do some teams thrive while others struggle? According to Patrick Lencioni, it all comes down to mastering five key behaviors.

In his framework, The Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team, Lencioni outlines the essential elements that separate high-performing teams from the rest. These behaviors—Trust, Conflict, Commitment, Accountability, and Results—form the foundation of any effective team. But understanding these concepts is just the beginning. The real challenge lies in applying them to transform your team into a cohesive, productive unit.

In this post, we’ll explore each of Lencioni’s five behaviors in detail, discussing why they matter and how you can nurture them within your team. Along the way, we’ll also explore tools to help managers  implement these principles and build stronger, more cohesive teams. Whether you’re leading a small project team or an entire department, this guide will provide the insights you need to elevate your team’s performance to the next level.

Overview of the 5 Behaviors of a Cohesive Team

Building a cohesive team is not just about bringing together talented individuals; it’s about fostering a collaborative environment where everyone works toward common goals. Patrick Lencioni, a renowned expert in organizational health, developed the Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team framework to help leaders create teams that are not only productive but also resilient and engaged. Let’s take a closer look at each of these behaviors and why they are critical to team success.

1. Trust

Trust is the foundation of any cohesive team. But Lencioni doesn’t just refer to the kind of trust where you believe someone will do their job well. He talks about vulnerability-based trust—the kind where team members feel safe to admit mistakes, ask for help, and offer honest feedback. This level of trust allows teams to move beyond surface-level interactions and build deeper, more meaningful relationships that drive collaboration and innovation.

2. Conflict

Contrary to what many believe, conflict isn’t something to be avoided in teams. In fact, healthy conflict is essential for uncovering new ideas and addressing issues before they become bigger problems. Lencioni emphasizes the importance of engaging in constructive conflict—where team members passionately debate ideas and challenge each other’s thinking without fear of retaliation. When handled correctly, conflict leads to better decisions and stronger team alignment.

3. Commitment

Once a team has engaged in healthy conflict, the next step is to achieve commitment. This doesn’t mean that everyone must agree on every decision, but it does mean that everyone must be clear on what the decision is and be fully committed to it. Commitment requires clarity and buy-in, ensuring that all team members are on the same page and willing to move forward together. Without commitment, teams may become paralyzed by indecision or suffer from lack of direction.

4. Accountability

High-performing teams don’t shy away from holding each other accountable. In Lencioni’s framework, accountability means that team members don’t just rely on the leader to enforce standards—they hold each other to those standards. This peer-to-peer accountability fosters a culture of responsibility and ensures that everyone is contributing their fair share. When team members are accountable to each other, they are more likely to meet their goals and maintain high levels of performance.

5. Results

The ultimate goal of any team is to achieve results. But in a cohesive team, the focus is on collective results rather than individual achievements. Lencioni argues that teams must prioritize the team’s goals over personal recognition or success. This shift in focus ensures that all members are working toward the same objectives and that the team’s success is celebrated as a collective achievement.

These five behaviors are interconnected—each one builds on the previous and strengthens the next. Together, they create a powerful framework that can transform any group of individuals into a truly cohesive team.

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In-Depth Look at Each Behavior of a Cohesive Team

Understanding the five behaviours of a cohesive team is just the first step. To truly transform your team, you need to dive deeper into each behavior and learn how to cultivate it within your organization. In this section, we’ll explore each of the five behaviors—Trust, Conflict, Commitment, Accountability, and Results—in more detail. We’ll discuss why each behavior is essential, provide practical tips for nurturing these behaviors in your team, and show how TeamDynamics can support you in this journey.

By the end of this section, you’ll have a clear understanding of how to apply these behaviors in your team and why they are crucial for building a cohesive, high-performing unit. Let’s get started with the foundation of any successful team: Trust.

1. Trust

In the context of a team, trust goes beyond simply believing that your colleagues will complete their tasks. Patrick Lencioni emphasizes vulnerability-based trust, where team members feel safe to be open and honest with one another. This type of trust allows individuals to admit their weaknesses, ask for help, and be transparent about their challenges without fearing judgment or backlash. It’s about creating an environment where everyone feels comfortable being their authentic selves, knowing that their teammates have their back.

Why Trust is Important on a Team:

Trust is the cornerstone of any cohesive team. Without trust, the other four behaviors—conflict, commitment, accountability, and results—are difficult, if not impossible, to achieve. When team members trust each other, they’re more likely to engage in open dialogue, tackle difficult issues head-on, and work collaboratively toward common goals. Trust reduces the time and energy spent on defensive behaviors, allowing the team to focus on what really matters—achieving results.

How to Build Trust:

Building vulnerability-based trust in a team requires intentional effort. Here are some actionable steps to foster trust within your team:

1. Encourage Open Communication: Create opportunities for team members to share their thoughts, concerns, and challenges. Regular check-ins and open forums can help break down barriers and build trust over time.
2. Lead by Example: As a leader, model vulnerability by admitting your own mistakes and seeking input from your team. When team members see their leader being open and transparent, they’re more likely to do the same.
3. Team-Building Activities: Engage in activities that promote team bonding and understanding. Exercises like sharing personal stories or discussing individual strengths and weaknesses can help team members connect on a deeper level.
4. Provide Feedback: Encourage constructive feedback within the team. When team members know they can give and receive feedback without fear of judgment, trust naturally grows.
5. Use TeamDynamics: TeamDynamics is a powerful tool that can help build trust within your team. By providing insights into each team member’s working style and how they relate to the team, TeamDynamics helps identify areas where friction in working styles might erode trust. With these insights, you can take targeted actions to strengthen trust, ensuring that your team is operating from a solid foundation.

Building trust is an ongoing process, but with the right strategies and tools in place, you can create a team environment where vulnerability is embraced, and trust thrives. This foundation will support all the other behaviors needed to create a truly cohesive team.

2. Conflict

Conflict often gets a bad reputation, but in the context of a cohesive team, conflict can be incredibly healthy and productive. Healthy conflict refers to open, honest debates where team members feel safe to express differing opinions, challenge ideas, and discuss concerns without fear of negative repercussions. It’s about engaging in constructive discussions that lead to better decision-making and innovation. Rather than avoiding conflict, cohesive teams embrace it as a necessary step toward growth and improvement.

Why Conflict is Important to a Cohesive Team:

Avoiding conflict might seem like a way to maintain harmony, but it often leads to unresolved issues, poor decisions, and lack of commitment. When teams shy away from conflict, they miss out on the opportunity to explore different perspectives and address potential problems before they escalate. Over time, this avoidance can breed resentment and create an environment where team members are disengaged and unwilling to contribute fully. On the other hand, teams that engage in healthy conflict are more likely to arrive at creative solutions, align around common goals, and make decisions that everyone can support.

How to Encourage Healthy Conflict:

Creating an environment where healthy conflict is encouraged requires intentional effort from both leaders and team members. Here are some strategies to foster productive conflict within your team:

1. Establish Ground Rules: Set clear expectations for how conflict should be handled within the team. Encourage respectful dialogue and make it clear that differing opinions are valued.
2. Promote Psychological Safety: Create a team culture where members feel safe to voice their opinions without fear of being judged or punished. When psychological safety is present, team members are more likely to engage in healthy conflict.
3. Model Healthy Conflict: As a leader, demonstrate how to handle conflict constructively. Show your team that it’s okay to disagree and that these discussions can lead to better outcomes. By handling conflicts in a calm and productive manner, you set the tone for the rest of the team.
4. Facilitate Open Discussions: Regularly hold meetings where team members are encouraged to share their thoughts and challenge ideas. Make sure that these discussions are focused on issues, not personal attacks.
5. Use TeamDynamics: TeamDynamics can be a valuable tool in identifying where conflict is stifled or unproductive within your team. By analyzing team interactions and individual working preferences, TeamDynamics can highlight areas where team members may be avoiding conflict or where discussions may not be as productive as they could be. Armed with this information, you can take steps to encourage more open and effective dialogue, ensuring that conflict serves as a catalyst for positive change rather than a source of tension.

By embracing healthy conflict, your team can move beyond superficial agreements and engage in meaningful discussions that drive progress. When conflict is managed effectively, it becomes a powerful tool for innovation, alignment, and achieving better results.

3. Commitment

In a cohesive team, commitment goes beyond mere agreement; it’s about ensuring that every team member is fully invested in the team’s decisions and goals. Commitment in this context means that, after healthy conflict and discussion, everyone is clear on the decisions made and is fully on board with them, even if they don’t completely agree. It’s about aligning around a common direction and being dedicated to the team’s success, no matter the individual opinions or initial disagreements.

Why Commitment is Important to a Cohesive Team:

Commitment is crucial because it directly impacts team alignment and effectiveness. When team members are truly committed, they are more likely to take ownership of their tasks, follow through on decisions, and work collaboratively toward shared goals. Without commitment, even the best decisions can fall apart during execution, leading to confusion, inconsistency, and a lack of progress. Commitment ensures that once a decision is made, everyone moves forward with confidence and unity, driving the team toward its objectives.

How to Foster Commitment:

Fostering commitment within a team requires clear communication, strong leadership, and a shared sense of purpose. Here are some strategies to ensure commitment within your team:

1. Clarify Decisions: After discussions or debates, make sure that decisions are clearly communicated and understood by all team members. This clarity helps eliminate any ambiguity and ensures that everyone knows what is expected of them.
2. Involve the Team: Involve team members in the decision-making process as much as possible. When people feel that their opinions have been heard and considered, they are more likely to commit to the final decision, even if it’s not exactly what they initially wanted.
3. Set Clear Goals: Ensure that the team’s goals are well-defined and aligned with the team’s values and mission. When team members see how their work contributes to the larger picture, they are more likely to be committed to the team’s success.
4. Revisit and Reinforce: Regularly revisit team decisions and goals to reinforce commitment. This can help address any lingering doubts or concerns and keep everyone aligned and motivated.
5. Use TeamDynamics: TeamDynamics can help foster commitment within your team. By analyzing team dynamics and individual behaviors, TeamDynamics provides insights into how well team members are aligned with the team’s ways of working, an enabler of team commitment. If there are areas where commitment is lacking, TeamDynamics can help you identify the root causes and take targeted actions to strengthen commitment across the team.

Commitment is the glue that holds a team together, ensuring that everyone is moving in the same direction and working toward the same goals. By fostering commitment, you can create a team that is not only cohesive but also highly effective in achieving its objectives.

4. Accountability

In the context of team dynamics, accountability refers to the willingness of team members to hold themselves and each other responsible for adhering to the team’s goals, standards, and commitments. It’s about ensuring that everyone is doing their part and that there are clear expectations for performance and behavior. In a cohesive team, accountability is not just top-down from leaders to team members; it’s also peer-to-peer, where colleagues feel empowered to call out unproductive behaviors and encourage each other to maintain high standards.

Agile methodologies are a popular technique for improving team accountability.

Why Accountability is Important to a Cohesive Team:

Accountability is critical for maintaining team standards and ensuring that the team operates at its best. Without accountability, even the most committed and well-intentioned teams can fall into complacency, where standards slip, and responsibilities are neglected. This can lead to frustration, resentment, and ultimately, failure to achieve the team’s goals. On the other hand, when accountability is strong, team members are motivated to meet their commitments, address issues proactively, and consistently perform at a high level. This culture of accountability drives the team’s overall effectiveness and helps ensure that everyone is contributing to the team’s success.

How to Promote Accountability:

Promoting accountability within a team requires clear expectations, consistent follow-through, and a supportive environment where team members feel comfortable holding each other accountable. Here are some strategies to promote accountability:

1. Set Clear Expectations: Clearly define roles, responsibilities, and performance standards for each team member. Make sure everyone understands what is expected of them and how their work contributes to the team’s goals.
2. Foster a Culture of Transparency: Encourage open communication about progress, challenges, and setbacks. When team members are transparent about their work, it’s easier to address issues and keep everyone on track.
3. Encourage Peer Accountability: Empower team members to hold each other accountable. This can be done by establishing norms that promote feedback and by creating an environment where it’s safe to challenge one another constructively.
4. Lead by Example: As a leader, model accountability by holding yourself to the same standards you expect from your team. When team members see their leader taking responsibility, they are more likely to do the same.
5. Use TeamDynamics: TeamDynamics is an effective tool for holding a team accountable to its norms. By defining a team’s ways of working, TeamDynamics allows cohesive teams to understand whether or not they are actually living into the norms and behaviors they have set, helping to identify areas where accountability may be lacking. By using TeamDynamics, you can monitor progress, address gaps, and take proactive steps to ensure that everyone is meeting their commitments and contributing to the team’s success.

Accountability is the backbone of a high-performing team. By promoting a culture of accountability, you ensure that your team remains focused, motivated, and committed to achieving its goals. With the support of tools like TeamDynamics, maintaining and enforcing accountability becomes more manageable, leading to sustained success for your team.

5. Results

In a cohesive team, the focus is on achieving collective results rather than individual goals. This means that every team member prioritizes the success of the team as a whole over personal accolades or achievements. The team’s goals are the ultimate measure of success, and every action taken by the team should be aligned with driving toward those goals. This collective focus ensures that all team members are working together, contributing their best efforts to achieve shared outcomes.

Why Results are Important to a Cohesive Team:

A results-oriented mindset is crucial for driving success because it aligns the entire team around common objectives. When team members prioritize collective results, they are more likely to collaborate effectively, support each other, and stay motivated to overcome challenges. This focus on results prevents the team from becoming sidetracked by individual agendas or conflicts and keeps everyone’s efforts directed toward achieving the team’s goals. Moreover, a strong focus on results fosters a sense of shared ownership and accountability, where each team member feels responsible for the team’s overall success.

How to Stay Results-Focused:

Maintaining a focus on collective results requires consistent effort and strategic planning. Here are some strategies to help your team stay results-focused:

1. Set Clear, Measurable Goals: Establish clear, specific, and measurable goals that the entire team is committed to achieving. Ensure that these goals are aligned with the organization’s broader objectives and that each team member understands their role in contributing to these goals.
2. Regularly Track Progress: Monitor the team’s progress toward its goals regularly. Use metrics and performance indicators to track how well the team is doing and identify any areas where adjustments may be needed. Regular progress reviews help keep the team aligned and focused on the desired outcomes.
3. Celebrate Achievements: Recognize and celebrate the team’s accomplishments as they reach milestones or achieve key goals. Celebrating successes reinforces the importance of collective results and motivates the team to continue striving for excellence.
4. Minimize Distractions: Encourage the team to stay focused on what matters most by minimizing distractions and keeping team members aligned with the goals. This might involve reprioritizing tasks, eliminating unnecessary meetings, or streamlining processes to ensure that the team’s energy is directed toward achieving results.
5. Use TeamDynamics: TeamDynamics can help teams maintain their focus on achieving results by providing insights into team dynamics, performance, and alignment with goals. By helping you get a handle on the team’s ways of working, you can focus more of your team’s energy on delivering against its objectives. TeamDynamics helps ensure that the team remains committed to achieving its shared objectives, driving success for the entire organization.

By keeping a strong focus on collective results, your team can achieve its goals more effectively and build a culture of success. With the right strategies and tools like TeamDynamics, you can ensure that your team remains aligned, motivated, and dedicated to achieving the results that matter most.

Comparing the 5 Behaviors of a Cohesive Team to Lencioni’s “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team”

Patrick Lencioni’s book, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, is a widely recognized and respected guide that explores the common pitfalls that prevent teams from reaching their full potential. In this book, Lencioni outlines five dysfunctions that, when left unaddressed, can derail even the most talented teams. While this framework has helped countless leaders identify and address these issues, Lencioni later introduced The 5 Behaviours of a Cohesive Team as a more positive, action-oriented approach. Essentially, these five behaviors are the mirror image of the dysfunctions, providing a roadmap for building stronger, more effective teams.

Read our in-depth summary and manager's guide of The Five Dysfunctions of a Team.

Trust vs. Absence of Trust

In The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Lencioni identifies the absence of trust as the root cause of team dysfunction. When team members are unwilling to be vulnerable with one another, they withhold information, avoid asking for help, and fail to offer constructive feedback. The Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team flips this concept on its head, emphasizing the importance of vulnerability-based trust. By building trust, teams lay the groundwork for honest communication and collaboration, turning a potential weakness into a powerful strength.

Conflict vs. Fear of Conflict

The second dysfunction, fear of conflict, leads teams to avoid tough conversations, often resulting in unresolved issues and poor decision-making. In contrast, Lencioni’s five behaviors encourage healthy conflict as a necessary ingredient for team success. By embracing open, constructive debate, teams can surface new ideas, address challenges head-on, and ultimately make better decisions. This shift from avoiding conflict to actively seeking it transforms a potential dysfunction into an opportunity for growth.

Commitment vs. Lack of Commitment

A lack of commitment often stems from ambiguity or unresolved conflict, leading to indecision and inaction. The Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team advocates for clarity and alignment, ensuring that all team members are fully committed to the group’s decisions. By fostering commitment, teams can move forward with confidence, knowing that everyone is on the same page and ready to execute the agreed-upon plan.

Accountability vs. Avoidance of Accountability

Avoiding accountability is a common dysfunction that can quickly erode a team’s effectiveness. When team members hesitate to call each other out on unproductive behaviors, standards slip, and performance suffers. The Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team turns this on its head by promoting a culture of peer-to-peer accountability. In cohesive teams, members hold each other to high standards, ensuring that everyone is contributing to the team’s success and maintaining a high level of performance.

Results vs. Inattention to Results

The final dysfunction, inattention to results, occurs when team members prioritize their own interests over the team’s collective goals. This lack of focus can lead to poor outcomes and a lack of cohesion. The Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team emphasizes the importance of focusing on collective results, encouraging team members to put the team’s success above their own personal ambitions. By shifting the focus from individual to team achievements, cohesive teams are more likely to reach their goals and celebrate their successes together.

In summary, the Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team can be seen as a more positive, proactive approach to overcoming the challenges outlined in The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. By focusing on building trust, embracing conflict, fostering commitment, promoting accountability, and driving results, teams can not only avoid dysfunction but also thrive in today’s competitive environment.

How TeamDynamics Complements Lencioni’s Five Behaviors Framework

Patrick Lencioni’s Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team provides a powerful framework for building effective, high-performing teams. But understanding these behaviors is just the beginning. To truly transform your team, you need actionable tools that can help you implement and sustain these behaviors over time. This is where TeamDynamics comes in. As a personality test designed specifically for modern teams, TeamDynamics aligns perfectly with Lencioni’s framework, offering practical insights and strategies that enhance each of the five behaviors. Let’s explore how TeamDynamics supports and elevates the development of a cohesive team.

1. Trust:

Trust is the foundation of a cohesive team, built on vulnerability and openness among team members.

TeamDynamics helps identify and define a team’s core behaviors, including how team members communicate and process information. By understanding these dynamics, team members can better appreciate each other’s strengths and vulnerabilities, fostering the kind of vulnerability-based trust that Lencioni emphasizes. TeamDynamics also assesses individual preferences, helping teams build trust by recognizing and accommodating different working styles.

2. Conflict:

Healthy conflict is essential for innovation and effective decision-making within a team.

TeamDynamics provides insights into how your team makes decisions and processes information, helping to identify areas where conflict might arise. By understanding these dynamics, teams can engage in more productive, constructive debates. TeamDynamics also helps pinpoint where conflict may be stifled or where communication breakdowns occur, enabling leaders to address these issues and promote healthy conflict.

3. Commitment:

Commitment ensures that all team members are aligned and fully invested in the team’s decisions and goals.

TeamDynamics assesses how individual preferences align with the team’s core behaviors, ensuring that everyone is on the same page. By providing clear insights into how decisions are made and plans are executed, TeamDynamics helps teams achieve the clarity needed for commitment. When team members understand and agree on the team’s direction, they are more likely to be committed to the collective goals.

4. Accountability:

Accountability is about holding each other responsible for maintaining the team’s standards and achieving its goals.

TeamDynamics tracks how well individual behaviors align with the team’s core dynamics. This allows for continuous monitoring of performance and behavior, making it easier to hold team members accountable. By providing a clear picture of how the team functions, TeamDynamics empowers teams to maintain high standards and ensure that everyone is contributing effectively.

5. Results:

A focus on collective results is the ultimate goal of a cohesive team, prioritizing team success over individual achievements.

TeamDynamics ensures that the team’s core behaviors—communication, decision-making, and execution—are all aligned with achieving the team’s goals. By assessing how individual preferences fit within these dynamics, TeamDynamics helps keep the team focused on collective outcomes. This alignment drives the team towards its objectives, ensuring that everyone is working together to achieve the desired results.

Why TeamDynamics is the Best Choice:

While Lencioni’s framework provides an excellent foundation for understanding the behaviors that make teams cohesive, TeamDynamics takes it a step further by offering actionable insights and tailored recommendations that are specifically designed for modern teams. TeamDynamics not only helps you understand your team’s core behaviors but also provides a clear path for aligning individual preferences with these behaviors, ensuring that every team member is contributing to the team’s success. By integrating these insights into your team’s daily operations, TeamDynamics helps you sustain the behaviors that lead to cohesion, making it the best choice for leaders looking to build and maintain high-performing teams.

In essence, TeamDynamics complements and enhances Lencioni’s Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team by offering a comprehensive, actionable approach to understanding and improving how your team works. It’s more than just a tool; it’s a strategic partner in your journey toward building a truly cohesive and high-performing team.

Conclusion

Building a cohesive team is essential for any organization that wants to thrive in today’s competitive environment. Patrick Lencioni’s Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team provides a clear and actionable framework for achieving this goal. By focusing on Trust, Conflict, Commitment, Accountability, and Results, you can transform your team into a unit that not only works well together but also consistently achieves its goals. The value of cohesion cannot be overstated—it’s the key to unlocking your team’s full potential and driving long-term success.

If you’re ready to take your team to the next level, consider how TeamDynamics can help. With its focus on defining and aligning your team’s core behaviors, TeamDynamics offers the insights and tools you need to build a truly cohesive and high-performing team. Whether you’re looking to enhance trust, encourage healthy conflict, or keep your team focused on results, TeamDynamics provides the support you need to make it happen.

To learn more about how TeamDynamics can benefit your team, explore our additional resources, including related blog posts, or check out a free trial today. Start your journey toward a more cohesive team and see the difference it can make for your organization.