Last updated: 10th September 2026
Is your team having the conversations that lead to better decisions – or avoiding them? Many teams appear to work well together but still experience:
- slow or unclear decision-making
- meetings that revisit the same issues
- unspoken tension or artificial harmony
- inconsistent follow-through
- reluctance to challenge poor performance
- competing priorities that distract from shared goals
These challenges rarely disappear after a single team-building session.
The Five Behaviours® provides HR and L&D professionals with a practical, assessment-led framework for helping teams improve how they work together- and turn better teamwork into stronger performance.
What is The Five Behaviours?
Developed with Patrick Lencioni and based on his model from The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, The Five Behaviours helps teams strengthen five essential areas:
- Trust – being open, honest and willing to show vulnerability
- Conflict – debating ideas constructively instead of avoiding difficult conversations
- Commitment – creating clarity and genuine support for decisions
- Accountability – taking shared responsibility and addressing unhelpful behaviour
- Results – prioritising collective outcomes over individual interests
The behaviours build on one another. Without trust, productive conflict is difficult. Without open debate, commitment can remain superficial. Without genuine commitment, accountability becomes inconsistent – and collective results suffer. The goal is not to eliminate disagreement. It is to help teams use disagreement productively and move forward with greater clarity, pace and confidence.
What could a more cohesive team achieve?
A productive, cohesive team is more likely to:
- make better decisions more quickly
- address difficult issues before they escalate
- ask for help and admit mistakes
- use the skills and perspectives of every member
- leave meetings with clear decisions and ownership
- challenge one another respectfully
- stay focused on shared priorities
- spend less time navigating politics and confusion
For HR and L&D teams, the model also creates a shared language that can support leadership development, team coaching and wider organisational change.
Is The Five Behaviours right for your team?
The Five Behaviours Team Development experience is designed primarily for an intact team: a group of people who work together regularly and share responsibility for results. It is particularly relevant when a team:
- is newly formed or has recently changed
- is bringing together different functions or perspectives
- needs to rebuild trust
- avoids conflict or struggles to disagree constructively
- experiences slow decisions or limited buy-in
- relies too heavily on the leader to enforce accountability
- needs to align around a significant goal or period of change
Before beginning, be clear about what the organisation wants the programme to achieve. “Improving teamwork” is broad. A more focused outcome – such as improving decision-making, strengthening peer accountability or aligning a leadership team around strategic priorities – will make the learning easier to apply and evaluate.
How to run a Five Behaviours programme
1. Start with the business need
Speak with the team leader and, where possible, several team members before planning the programme. Explore questions such as:
- What is the team trying to achieve?
- What is helping or hindering performance?
- Which conversations are not currently happening?
- Where do decisions or actions become stuck?
- What would successful change look like?
This discovery stage helps you connect the programme to real work rather than treating it as a standalone learning event.
2. Secure commitment from the team leader
The team leader plays a critical role in creating the conditions for honest discussion. They need to be prepared to:
- participate fully
- listen without becoming defensive
- acknowledge their own contribution to team dynamics
- invite constructive challenge
- reinforce agreed behaviours after the programme
If the leader treats the experience as something that needs to “fix the team”, participants are unlikely to engage openly.
3. Prepare participants properly
Explain the purpose, process and expectations before asking participants to complete the assessment. People should understand that:
- the programme is developmental, not evaluative
- there is no ideal DiSC® style
- individual and team insights will be handled sensitively
- honest participation is essential
- the aim is to improve collective performance
Good preparation reduces anxiety and helps participants arrive ready to work on real issues.
4. Use the assessment to create insight
The Five Behaviours Team Development assessment measures how the team is performing across Trust, Conflict, Commitment, Accountability and Results. It is powered by Everything DiSC®, helping participants understand how their individual preferences can influence the team’s dynamics. For example, different team members may naturally vary in how quickly they speak up, challenge an idea, make a decision or address a missed commitment. These differences are not inherently positive or negative – but they can affect how the five behaviours show up within the team. The resulting profile gives the team an objective starting point for discussion, identifying strengths as well as areas requiring attention.
5. Facilitate the conversations that matter
The profile is a catalyst, not the finished intervention. Effective facilitation helps the team move from “What does the report say?” to:
- What does this look like in our team?
- When does this behaviour help or hinder us?
- What are we currently avoiding?
- What do we need from one another?
- What will we do differently?
The facilitator must create enough safety for honesty while keeping the conversation purposeful. That means allowing productive tension without letting discussion become personal, unfocused or damaging.
6. Turn insight into visible action
The programme should end with a small number of clear behavioural commitments. For example, the team might agree to:
- raise concerns during the meeting rather than afterwards
- clarify decisions, owners and deadlines before closing a discussion
- invite challenge before committing to a major decision
- address missed commitments directly and respectfully
- review collective goals at every team meeting
Keep the actions specific, observable and connected to the team’s priorities. A long list of vague intentions is unlikely to create lasting change.
7. Reinforce and measure progress
Building a cohesive team takes continued attention. One workshop can create momentum, but new habits need to be practised and reinforced. Plan follow-up activity from the outset. This could include:
- regular check-ins during team meetings
- shorter sessions focused on individual behaviours
- coaching for the team leader
- peer feedback and accountability
- a review of the team’s agreed actions
- a Five Behaviours Progress Report to measure change over time
The aim is to embed the five behaviours into how the team meets, decides, communicates and delivers – not simply to remember an enjoyable workshop.
Three ways to introduce The Five Behaviours
The right delivery approach depends on your internal capability, the number of teams involved and the level of support required.
1. Let us facilitate the programme for you
This is ideal when the team is facing sensitive or complex challenges, or when an independent facilitator would make honest conversations easier. The Fruitful Group can work with leadership teams and intact teams to design and facilitate a programme around their specific objectives.
2. Facilitate it internally
If you already have experienced internal facilitators or team coaches, you can use The Five Behaviours assessments, profiles and facilitation resources to deliver the programme within your organisation. We can help you select the appropriate solution, set up the assessments and access the resources required.
3. Develop your internal capability
If you want to use The Five Behaviours across several teams, developing internal practitioners can provide greater flexibility and long-term value. Our training and support can help your HR, L&D or coaching professionals build the knowledge, competence and confidence to facilitate meaningful Five Behaviours programmes.
Ready to build a more cohesive team?
The Five Behaviours gives teams more than a language for discussing teamwork. It provides a structured way to uncover what is holding performance back, have the conversations that matter and agree how the team will work differently. Whether you would like us to facilitate a programme, support your internal delivery or help develop your facilitators, The Fruitful Group can recommend an approach based on your team, objectives and wider development strategy.
Talk to us about your team’s current challenges and explore the best way to get started.
