Team Foundations Pyramid

Purpose

This workshop uses Patrick Lencioni’s five-layer model of team foundations as a diagnostic and conversation tool. Teams assess themselves against the five layers — Absence of Trust, Fear of Conflict, Lack of Commitment, Avoidance of Accountability, and Inattention to Results — and identify concrete improvements.

At a glance

How to run

1. Present the pyramid (10 min): Walk through the five layers from bottom to top. Explain that each layer is a foundation for the next.
2. Self-assessment (10 min): Each person rates the team on each dysfunction (1–5 scale or red/amber/green). Use a printed questionnaire or digital form.
3. Layer-by-layer discussion (30 min): Starting from the bottom (Trust), reveal aggregated scores. For the lowest-scoring layer, facilitate a structured discussion: What specific behaviours indicate this dysfunction? What would improvement look like?
4. One action per layer (5 min): For the 1–2 weakest layers, agree on a concrete experiment to run in the next 2 weeks.
5. Close (5 min): Each person shares what they found most challenging to discuss — this itself builds trust.

Materials needed

• Team foundations pyramid poster or slide
• Assessment questionnaire (Lencioni’s official or a simplified version)
• Flipchart for capturing actions
• Sticky dots or digital polling for scoring

Pitfalls & common mistakes

• Starting at the top: Always work bottom-up. Trust is the foundation — skip it and everything above is superficial.
• Blaming individuals: Frame dysfunctions as team patterns, not personal failings.
• Going too deep too fast: If trust is very low, the team may not be ready for a full five-layer discussion. Start with trust-building exercises.
• Using it as a one-off: The model works best as a recurring diagnostic (quarterly).

Inclusion & accessibility

• Use anonymous assessment so people rate honestly without peer pressure.
• Provide the questionnaire in advance so participants can reflect.
• Facilitate in the team’s primary language.
• Create psychological safety ground rules before starting.

Variations

• Book club format: Read one chapter per week, then discuss the corresponding dysfunction.
• Leadership team focus: Tailor questions to leadership-specific behaviours.
• Combined with Working Agreements: Use dysfunction insights to create or refine team agreements.

When NOT to use this

• When the team is in acute crisis — the model is diagnostic, not therapeutic. Bring in a coach or mediator.
• When leadership is not willing to participate honestly — the team will see through the exercise.
• When the assessment will be used by HR or management for evaluation rather than team development.

Source & further reading

• Patrick Lencioni, *The Five Dysfunctions of a Team* (Jossey-Bass, 2002)
• Patrick Lencioni, *The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable* (Jossey-Bass, 2002)
• Patrick Lencioni, *Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions of a Team* (Jossey-Bass, 2005)