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After her first two weeks observing the problems at DecisionTech, Kathryn Petersen, its new CEO, had more than a few moments when she wondered if she should have taken the job. But Kathryn knew there was little chance she would have turned it down. After all, retirement had made her antsy, and nothing excited her more than a challenge. What she could not have known when she accepted the job, however, was just how dysfunctional her team was, and how team members would challenge her in ways that no one ever had before. In this book, the author turns his keen intellect and storytelling power to the fascinating, complex world of teams. Kathryn Petersen, DecisionTech's CEO, faces the ultimate leadership crisis: uniting a team that is in such disarray that it threatens to bring down the entire company. Will she succeed? Will she be fired? Will the company fail? The author's story serves as a timeless reminder that leadership requires as much courage as it does insight. Throughout the story, he reveals the five dysfunctions that 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.… (more)
User reviews
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.
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.
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.
Passive
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....
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.
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).
Lencioni is a master. Love his parable style. Get's to real world relevance. Great insight into what causes dysfunctional behavior within a group trying to be a team. Absence of trust leads to destructive conflict is foundational. Helpful ideas to change team behaviors. Highly recommended.
However, sometimes you just gotta read some interpersonal guides that shed light on the minds of the people who don't understand that the whole thing is toxic.
This book was slightly better written than average for the genre.
I found the dysfunctions interesting
Well worth the read.