Patrick M. Lencioni

For all the attention that it has received over the years from scholars, coaches, teachers, and the media, teamwork is as elusive as it has ever been within most organizations. The fact remains that teams, because they are made up of imperfect human beings, are inherently dysfunctional.

This was not bad, and I really thought it was going to be when I realized three quarters of the book was a fictional story about a CEO implementing the model of team dynamics the book espouses. The above quote show more from the introduction made me feel much better; it's rare for a management book to begin with a frank recognition of the darkness of the human heart. However, the model boils that down to only five main dysfunctions, and I question whether the treatments offered for them are really all that effective (although just walking the talk and becoming effective at discipline are a world of good medicine, there can be no doubt). That said, it's a quick read and the concepts (which take about twenty pages to actually lay out) may be made marginally more memorable by the 'fable,' but you could also go straight to page 187 (in the edition I read) and finish the book from there. I will say that it is refreshing to read a management book that has one simple, straightforward model, giving it a chance of actually being used. Also, it is not a baloney bunch of corporate speak; it is good sense. (If good sense were practiced by any significant population of leadership out there, we could dispense with this whole genre, but it isn't, so maybe a few folks will read this and improve.)

**Edited 6/30/15 to fix typo** show less

I have read nearly every book Lencioni has written (all except _The Advantage_)--in fact, the company I work for tipped me off to him as an author, even providing copies of/asking us to read _The Five Dysfunctions of a Team_ and _The Ideal Team Player_. I'll admit up front that my department has implemented the ITP accordingly and incorporates it into hiring discussions.

So, I was really excited when I found out about this book (and got a copy on NetGalley)!

It absolutely lived up to my show more expectations. I spent a good portion of last year reading Marcus Buckingham's books on strengths-based leadership and work (_First, Break All the Rules_, _Next, Discover Your Strengths_, and _Go Put Your Strengths to Work_), and found this to be a refreshing addition to that series. (And, frankly, it's more up to date: _Go Put Your Strengths to Work_ released in 2007, and while the core messaging is still absolutely relevant, its corresponding online content has shifted over to and folded into the Clifton Strengths, under the Gallup Group umbrella. Fine and dandy, but nice to have fresh material still affiliated with the author--Buckingham has moved on.)

As ever, Lencioni presents his findings and material via a leadership fable. It's a bit more casual in tone than I remember some of the other fables, but nevertheless remains in his classic style. (I'll note the one reason I don't give it a full 5 stars is simply due to language, especially vis-a-vis the church and faith thread [which I loved] weaved throughout.) He includes plenty of material post-fable, along with a direction to his website for even more. I'm really excited about that element; I love to learn, and the idea of a certification in this material intrigues me.

I think individuals and teams can learn a lot from the book and corresponding material, and look forward to doing my own self-analysis.

4.5/5 stars.

I received an eARC of the book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own. show less

We were assigned this book for preparation for our quarterly manager's roundtable and I'm pretty confident that Lencioni is my favorite business book author. His use of fictional scenarios and tying them easily to the principles he's trying to teach is endearing and puts it well above other business books I've been assigned.

The "fable" parts humanize theory, I'm engaged in how the story progresses and when the second part of the book references specific characters, the ideas really click in show more mind. I will be using "hungry, humble, smart" for my own team evaluation and am very keen to read other Lencioni books in this genre. show less

I thought the fictional company was a genius move, a way of incorporating business theory and applying it to a situation that we can easily understand, and be invested in. I've known nearly every type of personality that Lencioni constructs and I couldn't believe how interested in the story I was. It forced me to look back at all the successful teams I've been apart of, and all the terrible teams I've been a part of and it's remarkable how true the book's lessons are and how they apply to show more all types of organizations in real life. Terrific! show less