Companies don’t start off being dysfunctional, it happens over time.  While I’ve heard many employees complain that their company is dysfunctional they usually are giving their diagnosis of dysfunctional when the issue really is misinformation.  The fact that an employee doesn’t understand every aspect of the organization does not mean the organization is dysfunctional.  Dysfunction is the gap between reality and rhetoric.
     When strategic plans are heavy on talk but weak on action you have dysfunction.  When the CEO brags about the “open door policy,” but people are punished for speaking up you have dysfunction.  Or when plans are made, but resources are not properly allocated, you have dysfunction.
     Here are three telltale signs that your organization is suffering from dysfunction.

1. You’ve got leaders who fake it.
     Leaders must take a stand, even when it is unpopular.  Leaders must be willing to take action, even when the outcome is not certain.  Leaders must be willing to provide direction, even when the environment is constantly changing.  Leaders who pretend that everything will be okay, when the rest of the organization knows that something must be done are contributing to their organization’s dysfunction.

2. You’ve got managers and supervisors who like to point fingers.
     No organization can flourish in an environment that penalizes risk taking or trust.  How you handle situations when the risk taking doesn’t pay off makes all the difference between having your organization innovate verses stagnate.
     When you see a pattern of blaming and people trying to protect their turf something is wrong.  The remedy is to put your trust in the people who are willing to take a risk, support them in their responsibilities, and don’t penalize them for trying something new.

3. You’ve got a CEO who doesn’t set priorities.
     When things are happening so fast that it seems priorities don’t matter, that is when dysfunction creeps in.  Unbridled growth or change is never good.  Setting priorities, managing goals, and watching the agenda makes sure that resources and people are properly utilized to meet the organization’s objectives.

     A dysfunctional business is like a car that can’t fire on all cylinders – it might move forward for a while, but at some point it will lose momentum and stop.