It's always easier to learn from a story

books:

	• The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable Patrick M. Lencioni Jossey-Bass, 2002 - 240 pages average customer review:based on 218 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

small group dysfunctions

After reading this book I feel that I am able to better understand the importance of teamwork and how important it is to overcome the dysfunctions that lie beneath. I sat down to read this book with very low expectations because it was another book that I had to read for class. After I started reading it I was quickly relating the story and the model to my own experience at my spring internship. Although I was just an observer at work (not involved with the "executive group"), I began to pick up on the dysfunctions that Lencioni describes in this book. People not trusting each other's decisions and talking behind each other's backs. Instead of taking accountability fingers were pointed alot with no approach to the problem. I truely could see how that team was dysfunctional.
Lencioni's model can be used for all aspects of teamwork, whether it is business, educational, sports, or family related. The dysfuctions and their outcomes presented will be useful.
By relating his model to the fable of Descision Tech and the hurdles that new CEO, Kathryn Peterson, had to jump to make her new team work we can relate the model to a real life sceario which helps us really put it into perspective.
I would have to say that I think it would have been a little more effective to present the model first. Then it would be a nice outline for the dysfunctions of Descision Tech. After I read the whole book I went back and re-read the story. I would suggest reading the model first or going back to read the story again to get the full picture. Overall this book is a very effective tool for the workplace as well as the class room. Anyone taking on a leadership role or any member of a team needs to read this book.

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It's always easier to learn from a story

I thought that this book was great, a really seperate experience from other leadership type books that I often find bland and on a whole unhelpful due to the impersonal and uninspired representation of the material being presented. It is hard to really learn and implement ideas that you cannot relate to your own situation, which is where many similar books fall through and this one succeeds admirably. When I first picked this book up I had my doubts about a couple things. The first was that the story was going to help me at all, and it really does. The second was that it was going to be a quick story and then an agonizing 150+ page scrutiny of every detail of the setup story that had no real application. Thankfully neither of these happend and I am confident in saying this book has changed the way I think about teamwork.

The story is actually an interesting look into a new team of a fictional executive team at a budding software team. I found it to keep my attention and effectively teach the teamwork model that Lencioni was trying to communicate and also made absorbing and applying this information a much more tangible process. The emphasis of small group communication and trust was particularly helpful. After reading this book I've recommended it to the rest of my "team" and hope to see great results after we get the ball rolling. I recommend it for anyone who has to oversee a staff of 3 to 9 people that are seeking great results!

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Good Stuff

This book presents a great model of teamwork that makes sense and yet is something you would probably easily overlook. The real strength of the book is the "story" or "fable" Lencioni presents in the first part of the book. Even for somebody not in big business, it was compelling enough that I couldn't put it down. You care about what happens to the members of this fictional team and you want to see if they work things out. It's also fun to pick out people you work with in the story. I would highly recommend it for teams to go through together. As the team I am on now is working through it, let me say it takes time to really implement what is in this book. Building trust is not just an easy principle that can be implemented overnight. That's my only real criticism of the book, in the story things move along at a pretty good pace (even though there are weeks between the chapters, you don't notice it because they are skipped over) making you think you can change your team that quickly.
Definitely worth reading if you work with a team no matter what your business.

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Building teams, the science of

We all love great storytelling, but even then, this book stands out from the rest. Patrick Lencioni managed to deliver a compelling, and information packed masterpiece that will keep you up all night. It is full of practical, and easy to follow advice which you can put to use immediately.

Five Dysfunctions covers the topics of trust, value of conflict, and results oriented teams. Chances are, you'll find yourself and your team in one of the pitfalls discussed in this book, and in all likelihood, once you identify the culprit, you'll be able to cure it. 'Confidence' by Rosabeth Moss Kanter is a great companion for this book - if you're working as part of a team (and who isn't), I recommend that you read both, and get your coworkers some copies as well!

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Valuable information in readable form

THE FIVE DYSFUNCTIONS OF A TEAM: A LEADERSHIP FABLE by Patrick Lencioni is a useful guidebook for anyone who deals with small groups at work or in any kind of organizational setting. Lencioni's clear structure of the dysfunctions, placed in context through an extended case study, are illustrated well enough to feel accurate and real, and examined closely enough to give the reader insight into their effects and the means through which dysfunctional damage might be mitigated.

The case study, which comprises most of the book, deals with the new CEO of a company and how she seeks to build teamwork through off-site retreats and ongoing strategies in day-to-day company life. It is not idealistic, and the personalities Lencioni uses to illustrate this dysfunctional team feel authentic. The second part of the book examines the principles put forth in the case study and gives advice on how to combat team dysfunction.

Lencioni lists the five dysfunctions of a team as these (in a pyramid, with the first one providing the foundation): 1. Absence of trust, which is supported by team members' desire to be invulnerable; 2. Fear of conflict, which creates artificial harmony; 3. Lack of commitment, which creates ambiguity; 4. Avoidance of accountability, which sets the stage for low standards; and 5. Inattention to results, which supports a culture in which individual status and ego can be more easily pursued (to the detriment of the organization). Lencioni's assertions on these issues make sense, and are also consistent with what I've read by Stephen Covey and Chris Argyris.

I found this book to be insightful and already helpful to me in meetings and working on group projects (and you can read it in about a day!). One might not have the organizational position to effect all the changes Lencioni advocates, but, at the very least, it provides a lens through which to view one's own behavior with an eye toward improvement. I recommend it to anyone who works with others!

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reviews: 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, page 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20

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