BOOK of THE MONTH: The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

I’m always delighted when I read Patrick Lencioni. I enjoy both his simple take on things and his user-friendly writing style. So picking up his classic book, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, was a no-brainer.

In the business fable style that Lencioni is famous for, he tells the story of the leadership team of a technology company. In it, he shows how teams can improve results by using his simple model to deliberately working on their team’s effectiveness.

Lencioni covers the five critical dysfunctions of a team, each building on the other. They include:
1) absence of trust, which leads to 
2) fear of conflict, and therefore 
3) lack of commitment, which results in
4) avoidance of accountability, and
5) inattention to (team) results.

After the story, further details on the model follow with tips for working on each dysfunction.
Out of all the team effectiveness frameworks I’ve studied and used, this one is the simplest. Yet, it’s still totally relevant and applicable.

The five dysfunctions framework is also one of the tools in the Scaling Up system I’m now using. And Patrick Lencioni is a Gravitas Impact Premium Coaches faculty member, who has presented at some of our leadership summits.

Book: 229 pgs, 3h45m audio. Soundview Summary: 8 pgs, 19m audio. Get-Abstract summary: 5 pgs, 10m audio.