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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.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member bsanner
In this engaging, insightful, and deceptively simple read, Lencioni blends a “leadership fable” (the fictitious account of DecisionTech’s executive board) with a number of invaluable leadership principles. Specifically, Lencioni outlines five team dysfunctions that have the potential to
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render a team ineffective: (1) absence of trust, (2) fear of conflict, (3) lack of commitment, (4) avoidance of accountability, and (5) inattention to results. While far from exhaustive, Lencioni provides a thoughtful and penetrating snapshot on the importance and principles of team leadership. A Show Less
LibraryThing member LynnB
The main message of this book is that leaders need to focus on their teams. Effective teams will succeed, while dysfunctional teams will fail, or at least not live up to their potential, even if they have superior products or marketing.
Most of the book is written as a "leadership fable" -- a story
In the last part of the book, the model is explained and suggestions are provided for leaders who want to work on one or more of the dysfunctions.
The model and the ideas presented are simple, which the author admits. The challenge comes in walking the talk on a continuous basis. The book is easy to read and has practical ideas that can be implemented in the real world.
Most of the book is written as a "leadership fable" -- a story
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about a CEO and her team's struggles as she takes them through a team building process designed to buld trust, engage in healthy conflict, commit to common goals, hold each other accountable and remain focused on results. In the last part of the book, the model is explained and suggestions are provided for leaders who want to work on one or more of the dysfunctions.
The model and the ideas presented are simple, which the author admits. The challenge comes in walking the talk on a continuous basis. The book is easy to read and has practical ideas that can be implemented in the real world.
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LibraryThing member duckieyazi
This book talks about team-building in a story-telling way and so it effectively illustrates the key concepts in team building. And it emphasize even more the importance of a good leader in building a team. If the leader does not view building a team as important, the team will never get formed. In
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this fable, the leader believes that with a good team built, results will follow. Hence, she was willing to let go of good but problematic staff that will affect team development and morale. If only all bosses can see the importance of team work and understand that it takes more than just some visionary words typed on a nice piece of paper.. Show Less
LibraryThing member nisly
Good book on organizational team dynamics.
LibraryThing member atomheart
I've been in corporate America for just under 4 years now. In my time, I've never really bought into the majority of management strategies I've seen because well, they blatantly do not work; and if they do, its at an absurd cost of employee retention, dissatisfaction and needless overwork.
Passive
Passive
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aggressiveness, no accountability, scared of conflict... I see it too often, and I'm constantly frustrated by it. And just when I thought I was alone, I read this book and was completely blown away. Everything I've felt, is here, written down in this book. Its quite extraordinary. I feel a bit like Jerry Mcguire did after writing his 'Mission Statement.' I want to buy copies of this book and put it in the mailboxes of management across corporate America. Unfortunately, one thing I've learned in life is you can't force people to change, they have to be willing and accepting to move forward on there own... or be forced by a higher hand. I can't force others who don't see it themselves, and as the low man on the totem pole, its a hard to play the upper hand. But dammit, at least I'll go down swinging, knowing I'm not alone. Show Less
LibraryThing member kivarson
Using the narrative device of a a new leader trying to improve the effectiveness of her management team, Lencioni explains common interpersonal relationship traits that function as obstacles to effective teamwork.
LibraryThing member VVilliam
A fun fable of an ailing company and the CEO who saved it. The practices here worked great for the CEO, but I would have liked to see real examples or case studies. The overall message of trust being important on a team is a good one.
LibraryThing member bohannon
Fun Read. A little heavy handed in its clear purposes as an allegory. That said, the basic structure of ways that teams can have problems, and what to do to get them to function well together is a good one. I particularly appreciate the emphasis on the need for issue based conflict. A personal pet
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peeve of mine is the modern tendency to confuse issue-based conflict with personal-based conflict, and the resulting inability to constructively discuss serious issues in a meaningful manner. Show Less
LibraryThing member rdwhitenack
Part of my summer study on leadership, I thought this book was going to be a dog. Total drudgery. I was way wrong. I read the book in a single sitting (something I have never done before). The fable was short and really interesting. I had (and still do) have some difficulty applying the
Don't be fooled: this book serves the purpose of informing people on leadership that desire such knowledge. Readers picking up this book without that intent will most likely not enjoy it, but for the mission Lencioni set out on he accomplished it quite nicely.
I purchased this book for the library at CVHS in regular format, it's manga version, as well as the follow up book Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions....
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philosophies to a school setting, but I think a light second-reading would easily solve that problem.Don't be fooled: this book serves the purpose of informing people on leadership that desire such knowledge. Readers picking up this book without that intent will most likely not enjoy it, but for the mission Lencioni set out on he accomplished it quite nicely.
I purchased this book for the library at CVHS in regular format, it's manga version, as well as the follow up book Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions....
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LibraryThing member amramey
Patrick Lencioni. The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2002. 224 pp. $24.95.
Typically a fable refers to anthropomorphized animals (e.g., Mickey Mouse and Bugs Bunny), not the classically generic idea of a mere fictional story.
Patrick Lencioni writes a short story that
The narrative style is not your typical leadership genre of choice. The genre and small page size make for a quick read.
Typically a fable refers to anthropomorphized animals (e.g., Mickey Mouse and Bugs Bunny), not the classically generic idea of a mere fictional story.
Patrick Lencioni writes a short story that
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illustrates what five dysfunctions look like at DecisionTech, a fictional company near the San Francisco Bay. A fifty-seven-year-old woman named Kathryn is hired as the new CEO of a 150-employee software company. She is now the lead executive of a highly dsyfunctional staff. The story allows the reader to be the proverbial fly on the wall in their numerous meetings. Dialogue dominates the unfolding plot. The book ends with 35 pages overviewing the model.The narrative style is not your typical leadership genre of choice. The genre and small page size make for a quick read.
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LibraryThing member stringsn88keys
This information shouldn't be this novel, but, unfortunately, it is.
LibraryThing member MartinBodek
This book imparts valuable lessons on teamwork in the manner of a fable. I find this method of parlaying business lessons to be quite effective. The fable itself holds your interest, and the distillation at the end is just short enough to continue holding it through the end. I do, think, however,
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that the fable itself could stand on its own, and the lessons in the coda could be inferred. I'd be more entertained and just as informed. Show Less
LibraryThing member ItEntertainsMe
Good book for teaching concepts in an interesting manner. My only complaint is the convenient manner in which everything worked out in the end. It should have included a chapter or section on resolving conflict between team members who are at uncompromising ends of a decision besides leading to one
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quitting or getting fired. That aside, it is still an informative read - and quick - without making you want to take a nap in the middle. I would definitely recommend it to anyone working on a team, whether they're the leader or just a member. Show Less
LibraryThing member suzemo
3.5 stars.
This is a remarkably well written book (with regards to structure, not necessarily language). Many management/business books are written so dry, with anecdotal examples or pages of statistics and studies... this book starts with a fictional account of someone creating a team and working
After the instructive "fable,", the book then lists out each dysfunction, what happens or what a team looks like when a team is functional or dysfunctional with regards to that specific trait, what a team member can do to help, and how the team leader can help.
It's nice that the book discusses, in detail, each of the five problem areas and how people in different functions can work on it.
Some of the book is common sense, but then again, common sense isn't as common as it should be, and people could all use a primer on things they may not be seeing.
Unfortunately, I think the book is not suited to every type of team. The team best suited to this type of system/suggestions in the book would have to be middle-management and above (therefore better for an upper management that is managing people with a little more drive and maybe more intellectual). I say this because it feels like it needs the team members to be more intellectually inclined than a middle-manager's (possibly) entry level minions, and it also assumes that the manager has a pretty substantial amount of power (with regards to promotion/demotion/firing) that you don't necessarily see a lot of.
With all of that in mind, I can see why it is that the HR trainer I have taken classes with recommends this book, and this book is not a total waste of time (which is a better standing than I can give most management books I've read).
This is a remarkably well written book (with regards to structure, not necessarily language). Many management/business books are written so dry, with anecdotal examples or pages of statistics and studies... this book starts with a fictional account of someone creating a team and working
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on the 5 eponymous dysfunctions. The story is painfully simplistic, but there is no way to include every facet of a problem (or more than a handful of problems). After the instructive "fable,", the book then lists out each dysfunction, what happens or what a team looks like when a team is functional or dysfunctional with regards to that specific trait, what a team member can do to help, and how the team leader can help.
It's nice that the book discusses, in detail, each of the five problem areas and how people in different functions can work on it.
Some of the book is common sense, but then again, common sense isn't as common as it should be, and people could all use a primer on things they may not be seeing.
Unfortunately, I think the book is not suited to every type of team. The team best suited to this type of system/suggestions in the book would have to be middle-management and above (therefore better for an upper management that is managing people with a little more drive and maybe more intellectual). I say this because it feels like it needs the team members to be more intellectually inclined than a middle-manager's (possibly) entry level minions, and it also assumes that the manager has a pretty substantial amount of power (with regards to promotion/demotion/firing) that you don't necessarily see a lot of.
With all of that in mind, I can see why it is that the HR trainer I have taken classes with recommends this book, and this book is not a total waste of time (which is a better standing than I can give most management books I've read).
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LibraryThing member urthona73
I was required to read this for work. It was a quick read, and some of it I think will be helpful. I have to question framing it as a "fable": by presenting it as basically fiction, the author has a lot of leeway in setting up situations the way he wants them to play out. I don't know that any
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organization has a director as saintly as the one in this book. It wasn't my cup of tea, but it certainly could have been worse. Show Less
LibraryThing member jantzens
This is my favourite book on leadership.
LibraryThing member 06nwingert
I read this for a book club at work, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Lencioni describes how teams fail and what they must do to succeed. Rather than a cut-and-dry non-fiction version, Lencioni writes in the 3rd person narrative, fictionalizing the people and organization in order to drive his points
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home. The fictionalization made the book easy to read and follow. Show Less
LibraryThing member bbbart
This Leadership Fable is really very good. I read it on a single plane travel, but it created a lasting impact on me nevertheless. It really very simply and gently provides you with insights in teamwork applicable in your work and personal life.
The structure of a fable (95% of the book) and the
I truly believe that not finance, not strategy, not technology, but teamwork is the ultimate competitive advantage, both because it is so powerful and so rare.
The structure of a fable (95% of the book) and the
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theory and exercises behind the model (5% of the book) seemed a bit strange to me at first, but it does work really well.I truly believe that not finance, not strategy, not technology, but teamwork is the ultimate competitive advantage, both because it is so powerful and so rare.
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LibraryThing member porch_reader
We've all worked on dysfunctional teams, where trust is low, conflict is mismanaged, no one is held accountable, and nothing gets done. Lencioni provides suggestions about how to avoid these dysfunctions of a team through a fable - a story of a top management team that goes from dysfunctional to
This book is a favorite of many of the MBA students that I teach. I read it so that I would be ready to discuss it when they bring it up. But I have to admit I was skeptical. I am a proponent of evidence-based management, and I like to see the statistical evidence that supports team effectiveness principles. In this fable, there is not a correlation coefficient or effect size to be found. However, the principles that Lencioni advocates for effective teams - trust, healthy conflict, commitment to a shared direction, holding each other accountable, and focusing on team results - are consistent with the research evidence on drivers of team effectiveness. So, if sharing this evidence in the form of a fable helps readers to understand and remember it, I'm all for that.
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high performing in just 229 pages. This book is a favorite of many of the MBA students that I teach. I read it so that I would be ready to discuss it when they bring it up. But I have to admit I was skeptical. I am a proponent of evidence-based management, and I like to see the statistical evidence that supports team effectiveness principles. In this fable, there is not a correlation coefficient or effect size to be found. However, the principles that Lencioni advocates for effective teams - trust, healthy conflict, commitment to a shared direction, holding each other accountable, and focusing on team results - are consistent with the research evidence on drivers of team effectiveness. So, if sharing this evidence in the form of a fable helps readers to understand and remember it, I'm all for that.
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LibraryThing member Kathy_Dyer
I am never sure when I read a leadership book that is more story than to-dos. Lencioni did a good job of weaving the scenario to describe the 5 dysfunctions: absence of trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance of accountability and inattention to results. Visualizing personally and
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professionally and relating to the characters in the story was helpful. Show Less
LibraryThing member Kathy_Dyer
I am never sure when I read a leadership book that is more story than to-dos. Lencioni did a good job of weaving the scenario to describe the 5 dysfunctions: absence of trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance of accountability and inattention to results. Visualizing personally and
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professionally and relating to the characters in the story was helpful. Show Less
LibraryThing member scottjpearson
This work straddles the fence between a short novel and a book on business. It covers a helpful topic of five common dysfunctions of a team. Through reading it, I helped identify pits that teams I have participated in have fallen prey to.
The story itself is relatively easygoing, if a bit short and
The company’s leadership gets shaken up, but (as it seems always in the novels of this genre) success is finally borne out by applying the right management principles. And everyone becomes more productive and happier in the end.
While this sort of novel is not particularly known for its depth, the format of fiction engages the reader in helpful discourse about the applicable principles of management. It’s a lot more fun, inspiring, and thought-provoking than just reading a dry theoretical treatment. (For those who like such treatments, look to the end of the book, which contains a section on theory.) A fan of this genre, I find that these types of works encourage me to see the interpersonal issues better than mere theory.
Lencioni’s book teaches common theories of leadership in a short and engaging way. It only took me about three-and-one-half hours to listen to the entire book. It’s a lot more edifying than listening to the top forty pop songs… again. Maybe I’ll be able to lead myself and my co-workers better in the long run.
The story itself is relatively easygoing, if a bit short and
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superficial. A new CEO faces the scenario where her new form has more cash and more talented leaders, but is underperforming. Her answer, as indicated by the books title, is to address teamwork.The company’s leadership gets shaken up, but (as it seems always in the novels of this genre) success is finally borne out by applying the right management principles. And everyone becomes more productive and happier in the end.
While this sort of novel is not particularly known for its depth, the format of fiction engages the reader in helpful discourse about the applicable principles of management. It’s a lot more fun, inspiring, and thought-provoking than just reading a dry theoretical treatment. (For those who like such treatments, look to the end of the book, which contains a section on theory.) A fan of this genre, I find that these types of works encourage me to see the interpersonal issues better than mere theory.
Lencioni’s book teaches common theories of leadership in a short and engaging way. It only took me about three-and-one-half hours to listen to the entire book. It’s a lot more edifying than listening to the top forty pop songs… again. Maybe I’ll be able to lead myself and my co-workers better in the long run.
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LibraryThing member Skybalon
One of those modern business books that teaches through a story. Most of those book's stories are so contrived to make it easy to lose the lesson in the mess of the story. This book actually has a more reasonable story that makes helps make the lessons clearer.
I found the dysfunctions interesting
Well worth the read.
I found the dysfunctions interesting
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and helpful and the quiz at the end could be valuable. If you try it, don't mention the name of the book or your team might rebel at being thought of as dysfunctional in any way.Well worth the read.
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LibraryThing member ItEntertainsMe
Good book for teaching concepts in an interesting manner. My only complaint is the convenient manner in which everything worked out in the end. It should have included a chapter or section on resolving conflict between team members who are at uncompromising ends of a decision besides leading to one
Show More
quitting or getting fired. That aside, it is still an informative read - and quick - without making you want to take a nap in the middle. I would definitely recommend it to anyone working on a team, whether they're the leader or just a member. Show Less
LibraryThing member Razinha
This is my second assigned reading for a year-long management seminar. Less intellectually offensive than the first (a Ken Blanchard classic), it still suffers from trying to be the smartest book in the room. The subject is yet another one that is intuitively obvious to me, but that's because I've
In case it's not clear, I'm not a fan of these "fable" formats, but this was easy to read. The too-pat setups were there, but done well enough as to mostly overlook how obvious they are. Lenconi is selling a product, so can't see the problems with his "this is the way it is" presentation, but as with most of these self-help business books, there are nuggets to mine and toss in the mental toolbox. I liked it better than most I've read (obvious in retrospect because my critical notations were fewer than similar books.)
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been building teams for 30 years. In case it's not clear, I'm not a fan of these "fable" formats, but this was easy to read. The too-pat setups were there, but done well enough as to mostly overlook how obvious they are. Lenconi is selling a product, so can't see the problems with his "this is the way it is" presentation, but as with most of these self-help business books, there are nuggets to mine and toss in the mental toolbox. I liked it better than most I've read (obvious in retrospect because my critical notations were fewer than similar books.)
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ISBN
0787960756 / 9780787960759
UPC
723812391165