The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni.
Pat holds a BA in Economics and Spanish from Claremont McKenna College. He is President of the Table Group, and previously worked at Bain & Company, Oracle Corporation and was a former Vice President of Organizational Development at Sybase.
Regardless of where you work, even if your are a one person consultant or new startup, you will benefit from Pat’s book. This is about engaging people to achieve outcomes. Should this be your consultancy or new product, your future will in part be influenced by the people you engage.
This is a long time bestseller for a damn good reason. In fact, we see teams as a group of individuals striving to achieve success in perfect sync with one another and their individual daily tasks. However Pat is able to analyze the fundamental causes of why teams fail, their projects do not result in closure and the impact of organizational politics
Pat outlines identifies five interrelated dysfunctions that can undermine team performance which hinder team effectiveness and performance:
Absence of Trust:
Perhaps the most difficult to confront within any team is their unwillingness to trust one another regardless of how long they have worked together.
Fear of Conflict:
Teams without trust will result in limited discussions on their project contributions. The free flow of conversations is required to be successful. You must engage your team at 100 percent.
Lack of Commitment:
Teams failing to engage in open debate will struggle to buy into project decisions and it’s plan of action.
Avoidance of Accountability:
Building upon the absence of commitment, teams are in fact hesitant to call out negative actions (inactions) and behaviors within their team.
Inattention to Results:
Sans accountability, teams will certainly fall back upon prioritizing their individual needs or department goals over the collective team objectives.
Tackle all five to be successful
All five dysfunctions are linked, with each building upon the previous. This obviously leads to any team’s ability to achieve their targeted goal. This is basically a framework for understanding and addressing common issues within teams.
Consider these books which also address Pat’s goal: Building Better Organizations, and the HBR Guide to Dealing with Conflict:
Pat certainly outlines these via a story of a fictional company, the team’s struggles and yet learning how to achieve transformation.
In conclusion, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team has become a noted classic book in business management. Clearly after twenty years, the book remains a vital resource for anyone leading teams. This is simply a must read for all the right reasons.