“No one on a cohesive team can say, ‘Well, I did my job. Our failure isn’t my fault.’” ― Patrick Lencioni, The Advantage: Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else In Business

You’ve heard it many times before: “Come on. I need you to be a team player.”

Which means that you’ll be working late tonight—by yourself—to meet someone else’s commitment.

Sound familiar?

It seems too often that goals are in conflict. One department has not staffed appropriately so they rely on another group to fill the gaps. Sales people are focused on deals, Marketing is focused on awareness, Development is focused on delivering on time. What’s needed is a team of peers working together for a common goal; a team with mutual respect for each other’s skills.

In too many organizations, the leaders focus only on their objectives, protect their budgets, protect their headcounts—they act as chief advocates of their…