The Five Dysfunctions of a Team - Dysfunction #1; The Absence of Trust

The Foundational Dysfunction: Overcoming the Absence of Trust on Ministry Teams

In this episode, the hosts begin a five-part series on Patrick Lencioni’s The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by focusing on the foundational issue: the absence of trust. They discuss how unmet expectations can breed suspicion, and define trust as believing the best about others, especially when mistakes, lateness, or failures occur. The conversation emphasizes that trust grows through leader-initiated vulnerability, honest communication, and creating a culture of grace rather than performance, where people feel safe admitting weakness, asking for help, receiving correction, and taking risks. They outline consequences of low trust—self-protection, filtered conversations, dangerous feedback, performative meetings, buried conflict, and breakdown of collaboration—and suggest practices like direct conversations, defending teammates, clear expectations, valuing discipleship, using strengths and personality tools, investing personal time, and apologizing quickly.