How to Avoid Dysfunction Junction and Find Team Synergy

Even at the highest levels of leadership, dysfunction can quietly erode performance. It can appear in subtle ways—fractured communication, unproductive meetings, competing agendas, or a pervasive sense of inertia. The boardroom is not immune. In fact, where the stakes are highest and perspectives most diverse, boards can find themselves stalled at what I call ‘Dysfunction Junction’. 

I have worked closely with executive teams and boards across industries, and it’s rarely a matter of inadequate skill or lack of intent. More often, it’s the result of dysfunctional dynamics. For any team, including boards, to be successful, paying attention to their dynamic is as important as the work of the board. Governance professionals are usually highly capable individuals. But capability alone does not create a cohesive board. Without clarity of purpose, alignment of roles, and a shared behavioural standard, the board can inadvertently become a site of tension rather than cohesion. 

The antidote? Board synergy—when members apply rigorous intellectual curiosity and leverage their collective capacity for the greater good of the organisation. Here are five key principles to avoid dysfunction and build team synergy in the boardroom.

Read: Beyond the Single Cause: Why Influential Leaders Embrace Complexity

1. Clarify the Board’s Collective Purpose

Effective boards operate with a shared understanding of their purpose. This is not the overarching purpose of the organisation, but how the board specifically adds value in relation to that purpose. While compliance and fiduciary duties are foundational, the most effective boards go further, articulating their collective ambition. Too often, purpose is assumed rather than explicitly agreed upon. Yet assumptions are fertile ground for misalignment. Ask yourself:

“If I were to speak with each board member privately, would they articulate our role and purpose in consistent terms?”

If the answer is uncertain, it's time for conversation about purpose. Begin by revisiting your charter, reflecting on current strategy, and identifying where the board can add the most value.

2. Establish Clear Principles

Governance is a game with high stakes and high complexity. To function effectively, boards need more than technical knowledge. They need agreed ways of working. That means clear operating principles, behavioural expectations, and protocols for how decisions are made and how members interact. Is the focus strategic oversight, risk mitigation, innovation guidance, or all of the above? Are there agreed norms around meeting preparation, discussion etiquette, and how dissent is handled? These “rules of engagement” should not be taken for granted. When clearly defined and regularly reinforced, they become the foundation for trust and respect, two of the most essential ingredients for effective relationships. 

3. Encourage Constructive Dissent

One of the most enduring myths about high-performing boards is that they operate in constant agreement. In reality, robust governance requires robust debate. Diversity of thought is essential to strategic thinking and effective decision making. However, conflict must be constructive. Boards must cultivate an environment where it is safe to respectfully challenge prevailing views, raise uncomfortable questions, and express minority perspectives. Without this, boards risk falling into groupthink or tacit agreement. As Chair or a senior director, your role is to model and invite open dissent. Consider asking:

“Is there a perspective we haven’t considered?”
“Are there risks we may be overlooking?”
“What are we avoiding in this conversation?”

Fostering this kind of open inquiry not only improves decision-making—it strengthens board cohesion over time.

4. Recognise and leverage strengths 

Every director at the table brings their unique lived experiences, technical competence, and leadership capability. High-performing boards identify and leverage the unique strengths of their members, that means knowing who brings what, and making space for those strengths to be used with purpose. Whether it’s leading a discussion on risk, offering sector insight, or asking the strategic question no one else is thinking to ask - this is where value is created. 

Chairpersons create the conditions for this to happen. They invite contribution proportionate to those with the most expertise on the agenda items; whilst balancing opportunities for different views to challenge and broaden thinking. Regular board evaluations can help assess whether individual strengths are being effectively harnessed, and whether the board’s composition supports its strategic goals. 

5. Prioritise Relationships 

While the board is a professional forum, its effectiveness is underpinned by trust, respect, and collegiality. Boards are, after all, human systems. Without a sense of connectedness and alignment, even the best governance frameworks can fail to deliver impact. Investing in relationships means making space for social connection through regular check-ins, shared experiences, informal conversations, and time spent understanding each other’s values and motivations. Boards that trust each other communicate more openly, challenge more constructively, and recover from setbacks more quickly.

From Dysfunction to Flow

Board synergy is not accidental. It is the product of conscious effort and commitment to prioritising both board processes, and board functioning.  When a board moves from dysfunction to synergy, the organisation benefits from leveraging the full capacity of its collective wisdom. If your board is sensing friction, disengagement, or inefficiency, see it not as failure but as feedback. Dysfunction is a signal that the dynamic needs realignment. With intention and leadership, you can transform your boardroom from dysfunction junction to a site of renewed energy and focus. 

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