A Conversation on Organizational Dysfunction
In June 2025, we held a casual coffee chat about why this topic matters, how to solve dysfunction, and how to share the essential tools with your network.
Michael Gregor and Liberation Labs co-founder Viva Asmelash sat down to talk about the motivation behind this course, why dysfunction is so prevalent in organizations today, and what leaders can do about it.
Here are a few takeaways from our chat:
Universal Dysfunction: Organizational dysfunction is a widespread human challenge, affecting all types and sizes of groups, from small activist collectives to large global corporations.
Similar Problems, Regardless of Scale: The core issues experienced in large organizations are remarkably similar to those in smaller groups, highlighting universal elements of human collaboration and organization.
Missing "Glue" Skills: A primary cause of dysfunction is the lack of investment in essential skills that hold organizations together—related to interpersonal dynamics, communication, decision-making, conflict, and intentional culture-building.
Empowerment to Act: Many people overlook dysfunction as normal; the course aims to help individuals recognize it as abnormal and understand their agency to influence and improve their work environments.
Check out the course here at LinkedIn Learning: How to Spot Organizational Dysfunction and Fix It.
Here’s a summary of the conversation, with a recording below.
Why This Matters Now
Viva Asmelash: We're in a moment where something is happening in every corner of the world - unrest, suffering, oppression. History tells us that moments like this are forks in the road for who we become as individuals, teams, and communities. Dysfunctional groups are simply not well-positioned to meet this moment. If there are deep-rooted or surface-level problems, groups can't be in the best place possible to be a powerful force for good.
The Universal Nature of Dysfunction
Michael Gregor: This course takes 15 years of my experience across over a hundred organizations - small and large, nonprofit and for-profit, public and private. I kept seeing the same themes again and again. What I wanted to do is help people understand their agency, their ability to make a difference, even when a situation feels insufferable or just feels really bad but normal.
I started my career in politics and community organizing, then moved to corporate management consulting in 40,000-person global corporations. These are all the same problems I felt in my activist groups when I was 20 years old. These problems aren't unique to a particular industry or type of organization - they're about humans working together and creating effective teams.
Why Dysfunction Is So Prevalent
Michael: Our education and training focus on specialties - HR, communications, science, policy, marketing. But we're not getting skill around how to build teams, organizations, or intentional culture. We end up putting well-trained people who are really good at their expertise in a room and say, "Go, make an organization." But there aren't enough leaders with deep understanding of interpersonal dynamics, communication, decision-making - all the things that serve as glue to hold an organization together.
Common Signs of Dysfunction
From participants and discussion:
Leadership is out of touch with reality
Lack of direct feedback
Back-channel dialogue overshadowing transparent communications
Holding onto old culture and unwillingness to change
Legacy of mistrust or distrust
Too many unproductive meetings
Michael: I developed my own assessment: How much do people whisper? In open offices, I could evaluate organizational health by how much people whisper or look around to see who's within earshot. Some people have gotten so used to these signs that they don't even recognize them as dysfunction - they think "this is just the way work is." But these things don't have to be this way.
Strategies for Individual Contributors
Michael: First, clearly know yourself - your skills, what you want to work on, your boundaries, your values. That's your foundation. Then act from that knowledge. Sometimes it's as simple as saying something out loud in a meeting that everyone is feeling but nobody is saying. You don't necessarily have to produce a particular outcome - you're just practicing truth-telling.
Viva: It doesn't have to be all or nothing. It can be moment by moment - in this moment I feel equipped to say something, or with this person I have enough trust. Anchoring in organizational values when communicating can be helpful because it's harder for people to argue against something that ties to existing values.
Strategies for Managers
Michael: You have more formal authority - own that. Know yourself and know your role. Shape the environment, lead by example around culture and what dysfunction you notice. Be a collaborative problem solver that builds trust. There's this phrase I really like: intention and attention. What is your intention? And what are you paying attention to?
Working with Data and Outliers
Michael: Conduct comprehensive organizational assessments using surveys, interviews, focus groups, and one-on-ones. Look for themes, but pay attention to outliers - people or departments reporting significantly different experiences. They can pinpoint problems that are about to surface and indicate something is going wrong overall.
Creating Small-Scale Change
Participant Question: How do you generate buy-in when leadership isn't invested in addressing dysfunction?
Michael: Try small-scale proposals or discrete changes. Identify a specific trust issue, propose a low-risk solution, try it, and if it works, tell the story effectively: "We identified this problem, tried this thing, it made this difference. What's next?" You're demonstrating progress even at a smaller scale.
Viva: Look for "fruit within our reach."
Building Community and Power
Michael: Find community at work - usually there's at least one person you can talk openly with about what's happening. People naturally build little coalitions to deal with difficult situations. They support each other, strategize together, and learn together. While not ideal, it can be a coping tool and sometimes helps build more power.
Viva's Tactical Tip: Keep a running list of connected issues you notice. When you have 5-6 examples, present them to leadership: "Here are five times in the last month I've seen this same issue surface."
The Stakes Right Now
Michael: Highly functional groups have a lot of power. We're in a situation where nonprofits and public agencies are under attack. Dysfunctional organizations are going to be more susceptible to that attack and fall apart faster. The more we can actually work well together, the more powerful we're going to be, and the longer these organizations will last. We demonstrate to society that civil society should exist, is worth existing, and worth standing up for.
Next Step
Viva: One starting point: invite somebody else with formal authority to watch resources on this topic together. It gives you a conversation starter and helps get people on the same page. Thirty minutes invested in learning together can create momentum for larger change.