Being vulnerable can change the dynamics of a team completely according to Patrick Lencioni. This is not like the vulnerability we see when talking about basic trust, where we expect others to be truthful or to do what they say they will do. Vulnerability-based trust, that Lencioni is interested in, requires team members to let down their guard, admit failures, and seek help without fear of judgment. Something that people find very hard to do in any environment, let alone in an office scenario.
What is the Five Behaviors Model?
The Five Behaviors combines the framework of Lencioni’s model for teamwork with personalized insights to create team development solutions that can empower individuals.
In today’s story we will focus on the trust element of the Five Behaviors pyramid.
When talking about trust, the focus is on a willingness to be completely vulnerable with one another. And knowing how to ask for help. It means a level of reliance on each other within a team. This is because of the strength of the team’s values. Values that translate as being genuinely transparent and honest with one another.
Vulnerability-Based Trust in Action
Patrick Lencioni is a very visible individual. You can find him on YouTube, and a host of other platforms. You don’t have to buy his books to know about him or the message he is trying to convey. He uses many stories to help explain his ideas, many of them are fictional. But a few years ago, he shared one that was a true story. This is the story:
Lencioni once worked with a startup company in the San Francisco Bay Area where he lives. It was a startup “on steroids” according to Lencioni. It was cash rich, had a great product, and most importantly a world-class leadership team. The future was bright, the stars looked like they were aligned for the company.
A few months into their journey, the startup contacted Lencioni’s firm to do some work with the leadership team.
As part of the project, Lencioni attended a staff meeting at the startup. During the meeting two important things were picked up:
- Lower than expected market penetration by the startup
- When the Head of Marketing spoke at the meeting all the other leaders sat in silence. Not just any silence, but an uncomfortable silence
When the marketing lead shared her experience with other members of the team it was always the same. Silence.
Lencioni confronted the members of the team about this. When challenged they explained how, even if they had a different opinion to the head of marketing, she would never acknowledge that they might be right. She was always right. The rest of the team concluded that there was no point bothering with sharing their opinions anymore.
How Every Team Member Needs to Embrace Vulnerability
A few weeks later Lencioni ran a two-day workshop for the leadership team where they spoke about trust, vulnerability, strategy, tactics and a host of other topics. After the first day the team went to a restaurant to integrate. After the dinner the marketing lady stood up and stated:
“We’ve been talking about trust today, and I wanted to let you all know that I have been married for ten years to my husband,” she explained. “It’s only the last year that I have learnt to trust my husband. This means that I will probably not be able to trust any of you any time soon. Maybe ever.”
Lencioni discussed the problem with the CEO of the startup and they concluded together that the lady had a fundamental trust issue. For a couple of months Lencioni worked with the CEO to help change the approach of the marketing head. However, it became clear that this was a losing battle. The lady’s trust issues were simply too deep, and she would always struggle to be vulnerable in a group. In the end they parted ways.
Once the head of marketing had left the organization, the first leadership meeting after her departure was completely different. It felt like it was a completely different team of people. The dynamics changed immediately. Lencioni’s take away is:
“If just one member of a team cannot be vulnerable,” Lencioni highlighted. “It’s going to spread like a disease to the entire team.” Everybody needs to be able to be vulnerable and acknowledge their weaknesses.
Lencioni believes the only way to overcome this challenge is if the leader of the entire organization goes first. Shows their vulnerability. Is open about their mistakes. Fosters trust within the team.
From Servant Leadership and Design Thinking to Vulnerability in a CEO’s Role
Since the 1990s many things have changed. It’s not just Patrick Lencioni who can help HR professionals adapt to change. There are others like Simon Sinek too. There are tools like DISC that can help us identify the behaviours we need to address. Most importantly, there are trends like the concept of ‘servant leadership’ or ‘design thinking’ that can help us adapt.
As leaders of people, as a HR professional or as an executive, it is important to know how to foster the right culture within your organization.
As the world of work continues to change and as new tools like AI become available, or new generations come into the workplace, it is critically important for us to stay abreast of changes. And to embrace them.
Patrick Lencioni’s work has helped us create some of the foundations in the way we work at Verita HR. His approach to openness has been key in creating an inclusive workplace. We engage with the market and look for synergies with our partners that are based on the same principles that Lencioni stands for. It’s this approach that makes Verita HR unique.
At Verita HR we are ready and available to help organizations understand the most important trends. You can talk to the specialists at Verita HR who are all kept up-to-date on the most important topics and trends to affect the Polish and global job markets.
Verita HR offers services including RPO | Permanent Recruitment | Outsourcing | Media Services
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About Verita HR News
Content at Verita HR News is brought to you in collaboration with the editorial team at Magazyn Rekruter. Magazyn Rekruter, a brand within Verita HR Group in Poland, is the longest standing recruitment and human resources industry magazine in Central Eastern Europe. The first issue was published in March 2010. Find out more at: Portal Branży HR i Biznesu (magazynrekruter.pl)
See Also:
Gen Z in the Workplace: What Poland’s HR Leaders Need to Know – Verita HR
Is Assessing your Team using DiSC still fit for Purpose? – Verita HR
What Does an Organizational Development Manager Do? – Verita HR
