| | |  | Books | Home » » » The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable (J-B Lencioni Series) | | | | | | | Description: | | In The Five Dysfunctions of a Team Patrick Lencioni once again offers a leadership fable that is as enthralling and instructive as his first two best-selling books, The Five Temptations of a CEO and The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive. This time, he turns his keen intellect and storytelling power to the fascinating, complex world of teams. Kathryn Petersen, Decision Tech's CEO, faces the ultimate leadership crisis: Uniting a team in such disarray that it threatens to bring down the entire company. Will she succeed? Will she be fired? Will the company fail? Lencioni's utterly gripping tale serves as a timeless reminder that leadership requires as much courage as it does insight. Throughout the story, Lencioni reveals the five dysfunctions which 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. Just as with his other books, Lencioni has written a compelling fable with a powerful yet deceptively simple message for all those who strive to be exceptional team leaders. | | | Features: | |
• ISBN13: 9780787960759
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
| | | Product Details: | | | Author:
| Patrick Lencioni | | Hardcover:
| 229 pages | | Publisher:
| Jossey-Bass | | Publication Date:
| April 11, 2002 | | Language:
| English | | ISBN:
| 0787960756 | | Package Length:
| 8.35 inches | | Package Width:
| 5.67 inches | | Package Height:
| 0.94 inches | | Package Weight:
| 0.79 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 288 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
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 It was like watching a "b" movieMar 18, 2010
First takeaway from this book was the simplistic and "silly" fable story telling process. If it was a movie, it would star a bunch of B actors and a low budget. The principles of leadership were fine, but the process of which the author tries to get his point across is just a bit too shallow.
Second takeaway, my guess is that this "fable" fad with "who moved my cheese" and the "fish" books seems to have run it's course, thankfully.
Obviously, I'm not a big fan
 Extremely useful and insightful for any leaderFeb 14, 2010
By taking a fable form of a newly-appointed CEO stepping into a Silicon Valley software company with great products but losing in the marketplace, the author depicts step-by-step how she takes the the executive team from a dysfunctional collection of individuals to a collaborative, winning team.
Here is how I would summarize the five dysfunctions of a team and how to overcome them:
1) Absence of trust
Achieve "Vulnerability-based Trust" as the core foundation of a team. Teams must know and respect the unique charactericsts of each team member, and be able to admit mistakes and weaknesses and ask for help without fear that they will not be used aginst them.
2) Fear of Conflict
Avoid artificial harmony. The team must be comfortable and challenging each other in open, constructive debate about ideas and issues without personal grudges or fear of back-channel attacks. Not to be confused with destructive criticism and politics.
3) Lack of Commitment
"Disagree and Commit". Avoid ambiguity among the team on the company-decided goals, direction, and priorities; leave no room for individual interpretation. Clarify and cascade the decided plan of action and their deadlines to the entire organization.
4) Avoidance of Accountability
Publicize who needs to deliver what. Challenge and hold each other accountable for high standards of performance and behavior; "Push with Respect"
5) Inattention to results
Publicly declare targeted results, not "We'll do our best". Each team member must seek the collective results of the entire team over individual goals (recognition, career development, ego)
 great bookJan 21, 2010
What a great book. I'm a consultant specializing in leadership development at the management level. This is a must read for anyone who works on a team in corporate America. You will see an uncanny resemblance of the characters in the fable, to the people in your own company. Informative, engaging and a quick read. For the corporate trainers who might read this review, there is a very good program that Lencioni developed to help you present this material in your company. Jean Kelley
Good read!Jan 21, 2010
The book is a quick read and easy to follow. The lessons learned are important ones to consider from a management perspective. The author makes his points and supports them with a somewhat realistic story in support of those points.
1 of 2 found the following review helpful:
 Badly written, nothing new, lots of buzzwords.Jan 08, 2010
After reading this book as an assignment for work I very badly wanted my three hours back. The author could use a community-college level writing course, both for creative writing and for grammar in general.
The description says "begins with a story" where it should say "is a story". I did enjoy the idea of using a fable this way, but I quickly lost hope due to writing so bad it had me audibly groaning. (If you've ever read the blog "how to write badly well" you can imagine easily what I mean...)
If you're looking to be parroted back the same psychobabble you can pick up from any of hundreds of leadership books, the author is happy to sell you his version and label it as the one true way. While there are interesting quotes and ideas here and there this book contains nothing unique or special to set it apart from any other and certainly isn't an end-all-be-all leadership guide by any stretch. Good for a couple hours amused groaning with moments of inspiration.
In short, a few good diamonds, a lot of rough. Absolutely not worth your money or especially time.
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