The Five Dysfunctions of a Team Book Summary - The Five Dysfunctions of a Team Book explained in key points

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team summary

Name: The Five Dysfunctions of a Team
Rating: 4.6 (571 reviews)
Author: Patrick M. Lencioni

Patrick M. Lencioni

A Leadership Fable

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What is The Five Dysfunctions of a Team about?

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team (2002) presents the notion that teams are inherently dysfunctional, so deliberate steps must be taken to facilitate great teamwork. A knowledgeable team leader can do a great deal to make his or her team effective, and the book outlines practical tools for achieving this.

About the Author

Patrick Lencioni is president of The Table Group, a management consultancy. His previous bestselling books include Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Death by Meeting and Silos, Politics and Turf Wars. In 2008, CNN Money listed him as one of "ten new gurus you should know."

Patrick M. Lencioni: The Five Dysfunctions of a Team copyright 2002, John Wiley & Sons Inc. Used by permission of John Wiley & Sons Inc. and shall not be made available to any unauthorized third parties.

Table of Contents

Key idea 1 of 9

What is in it for me: learn how to build and maintain a great team

Anyone who has ever had to work with other people to achieve something important has no doubt realized how crucial, and yet difficult, teamwork is. Indeed, great teamwork does not happen by accident; it requires concerted and deliberate efforts. This is because teams are inherently dysfunctional: they are made up of imperfect individuals who have egos and selfish goals. There is no trust (1), therefore no willingness to engage in conflicts (2), no commitment (3), no accountability (4), and eventually bad results (5).

Luckily, it is possible to achieve great teamwork by using certain tools and principles. Understanding how to implement them is crucial for any team leader. For example, team leaders must build trust within the team so that members are comfortable engaging each other in conflict. Leaders must also set and monitor team goals so everyone stays focused. It is equally important for leaders to act as role models, exemplifying good teamwork themselves.

The book answers many essential questions about teamwork, such as:

Why is it so important to focus on teamwork, even if the team already has many great individuals?
Why is trust crucial, and why does it require team members to share weaknesses and mistakes openly?
How can team members be encouraged to focus on team results rather than individual goals?

The next eight blinks present the key ideas from the book.

Teamwork is the ultimate competitive advantage; make it your top priority.

While it’s hard to define exactly what makes a team great, one clear trait is commonly acknowledged: great teams amount to more than the sum of their individual constituents. This can be seen, for example, in basketball, where a cohesive team of average players will routinely beat a more dysfunctional team of star players.

So why do even the most talented teams tend to perform poorly in the absence of teamwork?

All teamwork is based on trust, and trust is built when team members are open about their weaknesses and mistakes.

As most people know, trust and respect are the foundation of any relationship. But they’re also the basis of great teamwork. Why?

For a team to perform well, members must trust one another. When this is the case, they will communicate in a healthy, open way even when discussing tough or touchy topics. This allows them to find the best solutions quickly. Without trust, important issues may be avoided and left undebated, which results in poor decisions.

The first step towards trust is a team leader who is vulnerable and admits their own mistakes and weaknesses.

Trust is the foundation of teamwork, which is why one of the most important responsibilities of a team leader is to encourage their team to build trust.

Trust is built when team members openly share their shortcomings, weaknesses and mistakes without worrying about being vulnerable. This is because the team members begin to understand each other better when they get a full picture of their peers – knowing their weaknesses makes them less concerned about revealing their own.

If people trust each other, they engage in constructive conflicts and make better decisions.

Most people think of conflict as an inherently negative thing, but constructive conflict is in fact important for any team to make the best possible decisions.

This is because decision making benefits from having varied, often clashing perspectives. Open and free debate on the merits and faults of every idea results in a better outcome. So, in this sense, some conflict is beneficial, but it must be constructive in nature – meaning everyone should be focused on the topic at hand, rather than on their own agenda or intra-team politics.

Everybody has to be committed to a decision, even if there is no consensus or certainty about its correctness.

Most people have, at some point in their lives, been unfortunate enough to sit in a meeting where decisions have been made, only for people to keep second-guessing the decisions so that nothing actually gets done.

One of the key traits of great teams is that they are able to make decisions and then stand by them. This is because they know that any decision is better than no decision at all, especially when it comes to important ones.

Great teams have peer-to-peer accountability, meaning everyone’s performance is transparent.

One of the most uncomfortable moments imaginable in any team occurs when you have to point out to a peer that he or she is performing below expectations or behaving inappropriately. This is awkward because most people feel like they are sticking their nose into someone else’s business, or artificially elevating themselves above their supposed peer.

Unfortunately, if team members do not call each other out in such cases, it will make everyone feel less accountable, which in turn results in missed deadlines, mediocre results and poor team performance. The team leader is then burdened with being the sole source of discipline in the team, as there is no peer-to-peer accountability.

Effective teams focus on collective results rather than individual goals.

Every team has goals that they strive for, results they wish to achieve – whether it is to design a new product line or win a game of basketball. This is true for most individuals as well, but in great teams, team members understand that shared goals must take precedence over individual ones.

As an example, consider Kathryn’s husband, a basketball coach, who had to drop one of his most talented players. Why? The player in question did not care if the team won or lost; all he cared about was how many points he scored. In short, his individual goals were more important for him than team goals, and so he had to go.

Great teams spend a lot of time together, which results in them saving a lot of time.

Much as a rowing boat will go nowhere if every oarsman rows in a different direction, a team will go nowhere if they don’t agree on where they are going.

So what can be done to resolve such ambiguity or indecision?

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Who should read The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

Anyone interested in the prerequisites of great teamwork
Anyone interested in the kind of leadership and management that facilitates great teamwork
Anyone interested in the interpersonal dynamics of the workplace

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The Five Dysfunctions of a Team summary

Listen to the first key idea

What is The Five Dysfunctions of a Team about?

About the Author

What is in it for me: learn how to build and maintain a great team

Teamwork is the ultimate competitive advantage; make it your top priority.

All teamwork is based on trust, and trust is built when team members are open about their weaknesses and mistakes.

The first step towards trust is a team leader who is vulnerable and admits their own mistakes and weaknesses.

If people trust each other, they engage in constructive conflicts and make better decisions.

Everybody has to be committed to a decision, even if there is no consensus or certainty about its correctness.

Great teams have peer-to-peer accountability, meaning everyone’s performance is transparent.

Effective teams focus on collective results rather than individual goals.

Great teams spend a lot of time together, which results in them saving a lot of time.

Key ideas in The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

What is in it for me: learn how to build and maintain a great team

Teamwork is the ultimate competitive advantage; make it your top priority.

All teamwork is based on trust, and trust is built when team members are open about their weaknesses and mistakes.

The first step towards trust is a team leader who is vulnerable and admits their own mistakes and weaknesses.

If people trust each other, they engage in constructive conflicts and make better decisions.

Everybody has to be committed to a decision, even if there is no consensus or certainty about its correctness.

Great teams have peer-to-peer accountability, meaning everyone’s performance is transparent.

Effective teams focus on collective results rather than individual goals.

Great teams spend a lot of time together, which results in them saving a lot of time.

Who should read The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

Categories with The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

Books like The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

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