Nearly Everyone Over-Estimates How Well They Work On a Team
Learn the Mental Bias that Prevents Team Development
Is the most significant barrier to developing high-performing teams a misperception that we don’t need to spend time learning how to be better teammates?
Recent survey data points to this possibility.
In 2020, the State of Teams report was released by John Wiley & Sons. It surveyed over 20,000 employees worldwide about their experience working on teams.
One particular item stood out in this survey: 99% of respondents believe they are good team members. If virtually everyone is a good team member, it seems impossible for team-related issues to exist.
Additionally, this data seemingly contradicts Gallup’s annual workplace survey. Gallup’s Workplace survey found that 77% of the global workforce is not engaged or, worse, actively disengaged (Gallup, 2024).
Can you be a good team player who is not engaged in your work?
I don’t believe so.
So what’s going on here? The answer likely lies in a mental bias called the Dunning-Kruger effect.
The Dunning-Kruger Effect on Team Performance
The Dunning-Kruger effect showcases how most people generally rate their abilities, attributes, and personality traits as better than average.
However, a small portion of the population with higher-than-average skills or competencies does the opposite. They are found to rate their skill and competency level as lower than it actually is.
Interestingly, this cognitive bias is almost identical to Wiley’s survey data in the State of Teams report. With 99% of people reporting they aren’t the problem on a team, the report also found that the same individuals also see problems on teams related to trust and accountability.
So, how does this finding impact team development?
If someone believes that teamwork comes naturally to them, they are less likely to see the need to learn it. A dysfunctional cycle can begin if every team member thinks they aren’t the problem.
As the old saying goes, if you point the finger, you have three fingers pointing back at you.
For team development to begin, an excellent first step is to ensure that everyone recognizes they have some role in causing disruptions and frustrations in others, regardless of whether those disruptions and frustrations are intentional.
This awareness can begin the development process. Fortunately, it is now possible to measure this through a team assessment called the Five Behaviors of a Team, based on Patrick Lencioni’s work.
The Reality of Teamwork
Patrick Lencioni’s pyramid model of teamwork offers a way to measure team effectiveness and shows a pathway through team dysfunction. The model measures a team’s overall perspective on how well they:
- Trust one another
- Engage in productive conflict around differing ideas
- Commit to decisions
- Hold each other accountable
- Focus on achieving collective results
This model is available as an assessment-based training program called the Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team. Teams that complete the assessment receive a detailed report on how they rate each of the five areas. After spending time in a facilitated session, they can re-rate themselves to see if they have improved with practice.
Over 13,000 people have completed the program, and there is a lot of data that helps us understand the reality of teamwork today.
Mistrust on Teams
Mistrust on a team is a huge barrier to engaging in effective teamwork.
However, many teams don’t exhibit clear signs of mistrust. Instead, they work in a predictive way but not necessarily a trusting way.
In this atmosphere, teams will not say anything that will ‘rock the boat’ or showcase their vulnerabilities if something goes wrong.
When reviewing the data from the 13,000 responses to the trust questionnaire, 79% of respondents indicated that members of their team don’t acknowledge weaknesses in each other.
This is a clear sign that team members won’t be vulnerable around each other, which indicates a lack of trust.
Lack of Accountability on Teams
The fourth level on Lencioni’s pyramid of teamwork is accountability.
Without accountability, team performance falls. Clients and customers move on to competitors or different products.
Similar to the data on trust, close to two-thirds of assessment respondents indicated a lack of accountability on their team.
At this point, it might be clear that there is a vast gap between our perception of how well we work on a team and the reality of our teams today.
If you are finding a lack of urgency to work on team-related skills, it’s very possible serious issue are lurking beneath the surface.
As evidenced throughout this article, just because 99% of people believe they are good team members doesn’t mean that their team views them in the same manner.
Become Certified in the Five Behaviors Model
The Five Behaviors Training model combines a team survey with insights from Everything DiSC.
Individuals who complete the program will see clear data about their team’s state and how their personality can promote and affect their team atmosphere. This powerful combination helps steady highly dysfunctional teams and take average teams to the next level.
The Five Behaviors Certification is a natural next step for anyone using Everything DiSC as part of their training curriculum.
Looking for an external trainer to help with your team development?
Our organization has worked with these tools since their development in 2015. Please fill out the form below to let us know more about your team, organization, and the issues you are looking to solve.