This week a group of Punchkickers had the opportunity to see renowned speaker Patrick Lencioni, author of bestseller The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, address the common obstacles that organizational teams face in the workplace.

Lencioni spoke about what makes an organization healthy, with a focus on cultivating a culture of trust and accountability. With minimal politics and high morale, organizations thrive and have high productivity with low turnover. While maintaining a high quality of work and attracting high-caliber clients is always a priority for companies, Lencioni pinpoints the importance of leadership’s ability to calibrate team members to be vulnerable—which generates trust and allows for healthy conflict—which in turn is critical to team buy-in and, ultimately, results.

“If people don’t weigh in, they won’t buy in. They don’t have to get their way. But they have to participate.”

Lencioni believes that it’s important to recognize that participation and acknowledgment of team members’ ideas breeds their willingness to be more actively involved, and results in a more engaged and committed team. And while organizations can frequently focus on hitting metrics and business objectives, the cultural side of the business can be the most important factor for ensuring that teams hit those goals.

Check out Patrick Lencioni’s best-selling book here.