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The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

  • The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni
  • 5 Dysfunctions Pyramid
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni
 
Five Dysfunctions is a captivating book about leadership, management, and what it takes to really make an organization successful. As the first line reads: "Not finance. Not strategy. Not technology. It is teamwork that remains the ultimate competitive advantage, both because it is so powerful and so rare." (Read the rest of the first page ofFive Dysfunctions of a Team...)
 
Through the book's short, fictional story, Lencioni illustrates that it's not great marketing, a solid business plan, or anything else that make organizations thrive. Simply put, it's building a team of people who work well together to accomplish a goal.
 
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team are a pyramidal structure, beginning with the first dysfunction and building from there. They are, from bottom to top:
 
  1. Absence of trust among team members. This dysfunction is most evident in team members' inability to be vulnerable with one another, admitting faults, asking for help, etc.
  2. Fear of conflict. The outward expression of this dysfunction is a false display of harmony within the team and the lack of healthy, constructive disagreement.
  3. Lack of commitment. This can be seen when team members do not get buy-in from the rest of the team, nor do they commit to decisions made.
  4. Avoidance of accountability. With this dysfunction, the team is hurt by the team's lack of calling each other out for irresponsibility or unhealthy behaviors/attitudes.
  5. Inattention to results. This occurs when team members put their personal success or ego ahead of the the team's goals and objectives.

What's great about Five Dysfunctions is its short an easily-accessible format -- a leadership fable, Lencioni calls it -- and because it's story-based, instead of principle-based, it's a much more interesting read.
 
Personally, I found myself relating much more with the characters and connecting them with people in my own life than I probably would have, had I been reading a nonfiction, self-help book. However, to keep it practical, the final few chapters are dedicated to providing simple lessons learned from the fable.
 
If you're a leader who doesn't feel comfortable in an overwhelming position of responsibility, this is a great book to give you the right perspective. While the fable addresses problems encountered in a business context, the principles are applicable to any leader.
 

According to Lencioni, leaders don't necessarily need to be extremely familiar with a particular industry as much as they need to know how to build a team and deal with people.

 
View the Online Webinar for Applying the Five Dysfunctions of a Team.

 
 
 
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