Five Dysfunctions of a Team (eBook)

PATRICK M. LENCIONI is the pioneer of the organizational health movement and the author of 13 best-selling books, including The Advantage, The Ideal Team Player, and The Six Types of Working Genius. For the past 25 years, Pat and his firm, The Table Group, have provided leaders with products and services to make their organizations more effective, their teams more cohesive, and their employees more fulfilled. Fascinated with the nature of jobs since his youth, he believes that one of the best ways to impact culture and society is through greater engagement and dignity at work. To learn more about Patrick and The Table Group, please visit www.tablegroup.com.

Introduction vii

The Fable 1

Luck 3

Part One: Underachievement 5

Part Two: Lighting the Fire 27

Part Three: Heavy Lifting 115

Part Four: Traction 171

The Model 185

An Overview of the Model 187

Team Assessment 191

Understanding and Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions 195

A Note About Time: Kathryn's Methods 221

A Special Tribute to Teamwork 223

Acknowledgments 225

About the Author 228

In keeping with the parable style, Lencioni (The FiveTemptations of a CEO) begins by telling the fable of woman who,as CEO of a struggling Silicon Valley firm, took control of adysfunctional executive committee and helped its members succeed asa team. Story time over, Lencioni offers explicit instructions forovercoming the human behavioral tendencies that he says corruptteams (absence of trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment,avoidance of accountability and inattention to results). Succinctyet sympathetic, this guide will be a boon for those strugglingwith the inherent difficulties of leading a group.

Building a cohesive team is not complicated, declares Lencioni,president of his own management consulting firm and author ofThe Five Temptations of a CEO. Departing from the dry,theoretical writing of many management books, he presents his casein the context of a fictional organization, and in doing sosucceeds at communicating his ideas. The story is about a femaleCEO who is hired to bring together a dysfunctional executive staffto work as a team in a company that just two years earlier hadlooked promising. The scenarios that follow are recognizable andcan be applied anywhere teamwork is involved, whether it is amultinational company, a small department within a largerorganization, or a sports team. The five dysfunctions discussed areabsence of trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidanceof accountability, and inattention to results. At the end of thestory, the main points are summarized, and clearly writtensuggestions and exercises are offered to help, bring about change.Concise and easy to follow, this book is recommended for academicand public libraries with management collections and for anyone whois a member of a team that needs improvement. --Bellinda Wise,Nassau Community Call. Lib. Garden City, NY (LibraryJournal, April 15, 2002)

"...there is a lot of good sense in this book...certainly offerssome useful pointers..." (Supply Management, 28 March2002)

"...is worth exploring..." (Progress, Summer 2002)

"...an entertaining quick read filled with information easy todigest..." (The star online, 12 August 2003)"As compelling, readable and practical as his other books. I'm surethis will be another business classic."
--Richard Carr, President & CEO, TEC International

"Every manager and executive will recognize themselves somewherein this book. Lencioni distills the problems that keep even themost talented teams from realizing their full potential. Even moreimportant, he shows -- in prose that is crisp, clear, and funto read -- how to solve them."
--Geoffrey A. Moore, Chairman, The Chasm Group, Author,Crossing the Chasm; Inside the Tornado; Living on the FaultLine

"I read most best-selling business books. What sets Lencioniapart is his ability to provide insightful and practical solutionsto complex management challenges."
--Phillip Hildebrand, Executive VP and ChiefDistribution Officer, New York Life Insurance Company

"A gripping analysis of what makes teams work effectively. Thisfine work is a must read for any leader that has come to grips withthe fact that no one makes progress -- much less succeeds-- alone."
--James Amos, president and CEO, Mail Boxes, Etc.

"Compelling and incisive, this will become the definitive guideon how to build and manage successful teams."
--Jean Kovacs, president and CEO, ComergentTechnologies