First team principles
Management is not just about managing direct reports or driving your own department’s outcomes—it’s about aligning with peers to move the entire business forward. This is the essence of first team principles [1].
Most managers assume their first team is the one they manage. But real success comes from aligning first with your peers—your cross-functional counterparts.
Applying first team principles is about redefining your primary allegiance. Instead of viewing your direct reports as your main team, you treat your peer management group—the people with whom you share accountability for the broader company—as your first team.
Many leaders, especially those new to an organization or recently promoted, tend to prioritize the success of their function over the success of their first team. This makes sense. New managers are often under intense pressure to perform, deliver results, and gain credibility. But pursuing your own department's wins at the expense of your first team can backfire. Shane Evans, CRO at Gong, shared that he wasted a full quarter arguing with a fellow executive over pipeline attribution, only to later realize they were both chasing the same goal. [2] Shane and his teammate were both right, but they weren’t aligned and cohesive on their first team’s goals.
Patrick Lencioni’s model, as presented in The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, helps explain why this matters. According to Lencioni, the five dysfunctions of a team include:
Absence of Trust: Without peer alignment, managers tend to protect their turf rather than collaborate.
Fear of Conflict: Teams that lack trust avoid difficult conversations.
Lack of Commitment: If peers aren’t bought in, initiatives stall or die due to a lack of follow-through.
Avoidance of Accountability: Finger-pointing thrives in a siloed environment.
Inattention to Results: Departmental wins take precedence over company success.
The key is to prioritize addressing these five dysfunctions with your first team, rather than focusing exclusively on your department and direct reports. Without intentional, consistent collaboration with your first team, functional teams drift, and execution suffers.
How do you get started? It starts with identifying your first team. From there, you have to prioritize time with them and treat their goals as your own. Then, as you build alignment and cohesion with your first team, you can work with your direct reports (and their reports) to apply this across the organization
First team principles turn a collection of departments into a cohesive company. Successful management is not just about managing your direct reports. It’s about being a great teammate to members of your first team.
Are you showing up for your first team?
Notes:
[1] This concept was popularized by Patrick Lencioni in The Five Dysfunctions of a Team.
[2] Sourced from Pillar Talk: Building Sales Leadership with Rick Smolen, Building Trust Across Functions with Shane Evans, June 27, 2025
Have thoughts on this topic? I'd love to hear from you! I'm @RickLindquist on X.