Latest News

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

Author: Patrick Lencioni
Publisher: Jossey-Bass; 1st edition
ISBN: 0787960756
Language: English
Category: Books,Business & Money,Management & Leadership,




In The Five Dysfunctions of a Team Patrick Lencioni once again offers a leadership fable that is as enthralling and instructive as his first two best-selling books, The Five Temptations of a CEO and The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive. This time, he turns his keen intellect and storytelling power to the fascinating, complex world of teams.

Kathryn Petersen, Decision Tech's CEO, faces the ultimate leadership crisis: Uniting a team in such disarray that it threatens to bring down the entire company. Will she succeed? Will she be fired? Will the company fail? Lencioni's utterly gripping tale serves as a timeless reminder that leadership requires as much courage as it does insight.

Throughout the story, Lencioni reveals the five dysfunctions which go to the very heart of why teams even the best ones-often struggle. He outlines a powerful model and actionable steps that can be used to overcome these common hurdles and build a cohesive, effective team. Just as with his other books, Lencioni has written a compelling fable with a powerful yet deceptively simple message for all those who strive to be exceptional team leaders.

In The Five Dysfunctions of a Team Patrick Lencioni once again offers a leadership fable that is as enthralling and instructive as his first two best-selling books, The Five Temptations of a CEO and The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive. This time, he turns his keen intellect and storytelling power to the fascinating, complex world of teams.

Kathryn Petersen, Decision Tech's CEO, faces the ultimate leadership crisis: Uniting a team in such disarray that it threatens to bring down the entire company. Will she succeed? Will she be fired? Will the company fail? Lencioni's utterly gripping tale serves as a timeless reminder that leadership requires as much courage as it does insight.

Throughout the story, Lencioni reveals the five dysfunctions which go to the very heart of why teams even the best ones-often struggle. He outlines a powerful model and actionable steps that can be used to overcome these common hurdles and build a cohesive, effective team. Just as with his other books, Lencioni has written a compelling fable with a powerful yet deceptively simple message for all those who strive to be exceptional team leaders. The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

By dedicating 90% of his book to a so-called leadership fable, Patrick Lencioni very effectively conveys the very essence of the model he proposes in order to deal with dysfunctional teams. Though the story he presents is that of a hypothetical newly appointed CEO of a distressed start-up and (in the beginning of the story) her highly dysfunctional executive team, the model is perfectly applicable to any team throughout most organizations.
The model consists of a pyramid with the five dysfunctions of a team (from the bottom, up):
1) Absence of trust: stemming from an unwillingness in the team members to be vulnerable and genuinely open up with one another about their mistakes and weaknesses.
2) Fear of conflict: inability to engage in unfiltered, passionate (yet constructive, though it may strike you as odd) debate.
3) Lack of commitment: no buy in and commitment can be expected when ideas and opinions have not been aired and genuinely taken into consideration prior to a decision.
4) Avoidance of accountability: without commitment to a clearly defined set of goals, team members will hesitate to call their colleagues on their actions and behaviors that are counterproductive for the team.
5) Inattention to results: Lencioni brings it all home through the realization that avoidance of accountability leads to a state where team members tend to put their individual needs above the team's collective goals.
Throughout the last leg of his book, Lencioni contrasts how dysfunctional teams behave by comparing them to a cohesive team in the case of each of the five dysfunctions. He also provides suggestions on overcoming each of the dysfunctions and insights into the role of the leader in this process, all in a very structured and to-the-point way.
I found this book to be Patrick's best - An easy read with a great structure for keeping your team healthy. Strongly recommended if your team has more then its fair share of politics. If you have this, start at the first dysfunction and work your way up!

Summary - A start up has just hired a new CEO, an older woman with operational experience in bricks-and-mortar companies where she had to deal with a dysfunctional team, including one especially venomous worker.

The framework of the 5 Dysfunctions:

* The first dysfunction is an Absence of Trust. This happens when team members are not open with one another about their mistakes and weaknesses.
* This sets the tone for the second dysfunction - The Fear of Conflict. Teams that lack trust are unable to engage in unfiltered and passionate debate of ideas. Instead they resort to veiled discussions and guarded comments.
* The lack of healthy conflict is a problem because leads to the third dysfunction - Lack of Commitment. Without having aired their opinions in the course of passionate and open debate, team members, rarely, if ever buy in and commit to decisions, though they may feign agreement during meetings.
* Because of this lack of commitment, team members develop the fourth dysfunction - Avoidance of Accountability. Without committing to a clear plan of action, even the most focused and driven people often hesitate to call their peers on actions and behaviors that seem counterproductive to the good of the team.
* Failure to hold one another accountable create an environment that leads to the fifth dysfunction - Inattention to Results, which can thrive where individuals put their needs (ego, career development, or recognition) above that of the team.
This is a very short read. It took me about 3 hours to read the book over-to-cover, and I did not feel as if I skimmed over any major concepts.

The book is written as a novel, in which a new highly effective CEO is placed in charge of an extremely dysfunctional silicon valley startup company. The CEO takes the executive team to a leadership retreat where she teaches them about teamwork and the five major dysfunctions of a team.

The five major dysfunctions as stated by the book are:

1) Absence of Trust
2) Fear of Conflict
3) Lack of Commitment
4) Avoidance of Accountability
5) Inattention to results

At first the team is very skeptical of the CEO, and generally feels that the entire retreats are a waste of time. Gradually the CEO wins over each member of the team, and over the course of the 'novel' (warning: spoiler), fires a team member and re-organizes the executive team to better match the needs of the organization.

Ok, now for my criticisms of the book...

My first criticism - this reads like a cheezy TBS movie, where a new woman CEO wins over her team with compassion and competence. I have nothing against the general message of the author's novel, but in real life, people simply don't open up as personally as they do in this novel. The entire 'case study' feels canned and artificial.

For example, when Kathryn, the new CEO takes over the company, the former CEO, Jeff, goes to a VP of Biz Development role. By the end of the book, he's so committed to the teamwork mentality that he voluntarily demotes himself, so that he is no longer an executive level staff member, and he reports to the COO as director of Biz Development....

  • The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

    The Five Dysfunctions of a Team
    "Every manager and executive will recognize themselves somewhere in this book. Lencioni distills the problems that keep even the most talented teams from realizing their full potential.


  • Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions of a Team

    Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions of a Team
    Written concisely and to the point, this guide gives leaders, line managers, and consultants alike the tools they need to get their teams up and running quickly and effectively.


  • The Ideal Team Player

    The Ideal Team Player
    "Pat Lencioni tells this story with simplicity, common sense, and amazing wisdom.


  • The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

    The Five Dysfunctions of a Team
    Beginning with a 38-item team assessment, the workbook guides participants through the five steps of developing a cohesive and productive team: Building Trust Mastering Con???ict Achieving Commitment Embracing Accountability Focusing on ...


  • The Five Dysfunctions of a Team Manga Edition

    The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Manga Edition
    Based on Patrick Lencioni's extraordinarily successful leadership fable The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, this Participant Workbook outlines Lencioni's powerful model and the actionable steps that can be used to overcome five common problems ...


  • Death by Meeting

    Death by Meeting
    Thumbs up for this insightful tale." Sandy Alderson, executive vice president of operations, Major League Baseball DEATH by Meeting Casey McDaniel had never been so nervous in his life.


  • The Advantage Enhanced Edition

    The Advantage, Enhanced Edition
    " This is the promise of The Advantage, Patrick Lencioni's bold manifesto about the most unexploited opportunity in modern business.


  • The Three Signs of a Miserable Job

    The Three Signs of a Miserable Job
    He previously worked for Oracle, Sybase, and the management consulting firm Bain & Company. Praise for The Three Signs of a Miserable Job "This is a page-turner that unravels the mystery of job satisfaction for any manager.


  • The Partnership Charter

    The Partnership Charter
    In The Partnership Charter, psychologist and business mediation expert David Gage offers a comprehensive guide to the art of establishing and maintaining a business partnership.


  • 5 Gears

    5 Gears
    If you want to increase your influence and connect more effectively, read this book." PATTYE MOORE, Board Chair, Red Robin Gourmet Burgers; author, Confessions from the Corner Office "5 Gears is a practical system to take your emotional ...


  • The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive

    The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive
    "This is a wonderful book a compelling story with a significant message for executives.


  • Emotional Intelligence 2 0

    Emotional Intelligence 2.0
    This book provides a captivating look at the things that matter most in life. Succeeding in Hollywood is as tough as any business, and emotional intelligence skills are essential. I highly recommend this book.


  • Book Review of The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni

    Book Review of "The Five Dysfunctions of a Team" by Patrick Lencioni
    This review will examine the way one might apply the suggested techniques to a real-life situation. Lencioni describes a realistic group of people who are not working together as a successful team.


  • Collaboration Begins with You

    Collaboration Begins with You
    This book teaches people at all levels from new associates to top executives that it's up to each of us to help promote and preserve a winning culture of collaboration.


  • The Truth About Employee Engagement

    The Truth About Employee Engagement
    He previously worked for Oracle, Sybase, and the management consulting firm Bain & Company. PRAISE FOR THE TRUTH ABOUT EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT "This is a page-turner that unravels the mystery of job satisfaction for any manager.


  • Christianity for the Rest of Us

    Christianity for the Rest of Us
    Church and religion expert Diana Butler Bass wondered if this was true, and this book is the result of her extensive, three-year study of centrist and progressive churches across the country.


  • Who Are You What Do You Want

    Who Are You? What Do You Want?
    This book offers a direct link to understanding one?s own motivations and goals, and guides readers through a self-exploratory process that begins with four simple questions: ? Who are you and what do you want?


  • Garden of Eden

    Garden of Eden
    A sensational bestseller when it appeared in 1986, The Garden of Eden is the last uncompleted novel of Ernest Hemingway, which he worked on intermittently from 1946 until his death in 1961.


  • Helping People Win at Work

    Helping People Win at Work
    In this book, you’ll learn how to: · Stop building failure into your mentoring of employees · Set goals using the SMART approach: specific, motivational, attainable, relevant and trackable · Help people move through all four stages of ...


  • Managing for Employee Engagement Participant Workbook

    Managing for Employee Engagement Participant Workbook
    This Participants Workbook provides the necessary materials to create a high-impact half- or full-day workshop for managers.


0 Response to "The Five Dysfunctions of a Team"

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.