Unlock Your Team's Potential: Fix Dysfunction, Boost the Bottom Line!

Cathie Leimbach • November 4, 2025

Hey team leaders! Ever wonder why some companies soar while others stumble? Patrick Lencioni's bestseller, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, nails it: workplace dysfunctions such as no trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoiding accountability, and ignoring results lead to mediocre performance at best. But here's the good news—smart leadership development changes the game!


Start with building trust. Train leaders to open up and be vulnerable. Teams bond, ideas flow, and costly mistakes drop.


Next, embrace healthy conflict. Teach team leaders to make it safe for team members to share the pros and cons of current or new ways of doing things. This helps everyone understand different perspectives.  


Then, drive commitment. Leaders who clarify goals, ask everyone to share their level of buy-in, and address their concerns get everyone bought in. People focus on high value work and get more done. .


Hold folks accountable through coaching. Leaders learn to give kind, direct feedback by praising good work and calmly providing more training as needed.  Turnover plummets and the quality and quantity of work improves.


Finally, focus on results. Be clear on expectations. Keep score by monitoring progress weekly or daily.  Acknowledge team wins when the goals are met.


Winning sports teams pay attention to these Five Behaviors of a Team. How would a World Series winner have been determined this week without trust among the players and coaches, openness to tough coaching, the whole team working together, players focusing on their specific positions, and getting players around the bases to get the top score?


Every workplace can benefit from these team behaviors as well. Lencioni's research proves it: Companies who prepare their leaders to overcome these 5 common workplace dysfunctions, improve the culture and see huge financial gains. Invest in your leaders today. Your bottom line will thank you!


Click here to learn more about the painful cost of team dysfunction.

Quiet Cracking: Why Burnout Is Harder to Spot—and Fix—Than You Think

By Cathie Leimbach • October 28, 2025
Based on Jen Colletta’s article To Tackle ‘Quiet Cracking,’ Start with Transformation in These 3 Areas.

Maximize Your Day: Start the Night Before

By Cathie Leimbach • October 21, 2025
Want to boost your performance? According to James Hewitt, author of Regenerative Performance , a truly high-performance day doesn't begin when your alarm goes off—it starts the night before. Hewitt shows that rest isn't a reward you earn after a busy day; it's a vital part of your work strategy. Think of sleep as a required meeting for your brain and body to repair and prepare. Without proper rest, you can't show up as your best self, and the consequences are serious. Here’s a startling fact from research: Staying awake for 17 to 19 hours straight can impair your performance as much as having a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.05% . While the legal limit for driving in the U.S. is 0.08% BAC, many countries consider 0.05% to be legally impaired. After 24 hours of wakefulness, impairment is similar to having a 0.10% BAC, which is well over the legal limit. This level of fatigue slows your reaction time by up to 50%! To avoid this dangerous drop in performance, Hewitt offers a few top tips for better sleep: Create a Buffer: Spend the hour before bed winding down. Avoid work, stressful news, and intense exercise. Manage Your Light: Dim the lights and stop using electronic screens about 30 minutes before sleep. Be Consistent: Go to bed and wake up around the same time every day. By making sleep a priority, you're not just resting; you're actively preparing for success with a sharp, clear, and high-performing mind. View Maximize Your Day to see exactly how fatigue affects your performance!