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233 of 258 found the following review helpful:
 Chief Innovation Officer, SmartLeadership.comApr 12, 2002
By Nelson Searcy
"Pastor & www.ChurchLeaderInsights.com"
This book is helpful to anyone who serves on a team and specifically helpful for team leaders. You will see yourself and your team in this book. More than that, you will find specific steps you can take to make your team better. Through a real life fable, Pat leads you through the steps you need to take to move a team from dysfunction to health. You will find a clear model as well as examples that are as relevant as your last meeting. As I read this book I discovered: 1. A vocabulary I can use with my team to discuss dysfunction.
2. A self-analysis that will get the discussion started.
3. A clear model for implementation. As a team leader, this book challenged me to: 1) Lead selflessly
2) Take risks
3) Encourage conflict
4) Embrace the power of meetings
4) Direct my team around a common theme This book is simple, practical and filled with wisdom. Highly recommended.
112 of 122 found the following review helpful:
Finally! Another VERY helful and applicable management book!Oct 22, 2003
By Manny Hernandez
"@askmanny"
By dedicating 90% of his book to a so-called leadership fable, Patrick Lencioni very effectively conveys the very essence of the model he proposes in order to deal with dysfunctional teams. Though the story he presents is that of a hypothetical newly appointed CEO of a distressed start-up and (in the beginning of the story) her highly dysfunctional executive team, the model is perfectly applicable to any team throughout most organizations. The model consists of a pyramid with the five dysfunctions of a team (from the bottom, up):
1) Absence of trust: stemming from an unwillingness in the team members to be vulnerable and genuinely open up with one another about their mistakes and weaknesses.
2) Fear of conflict: inability to engage in unfiltered, passionate (yet constructive, though it may strike you as odd) debate.
3) Lack of commitment: no buy in and commitment can be expected when ideas and opinions have not been aired and genuinely taken into consideration prior to a decision.
4) Avoidance of accountability: without commitment to a clearly defined set of goals, team members will hesitate to call their colleagues on their actions and behaviors that are counterproductive for the team.
5) Inattention to results: Lencioni brings it all home through the realization that avoidance of accountability leads to a state where team members tend to put their individual needs above the team's collective goals. Throughout the last leg of his book, Lencioni contrasts how dysfunctional teams behave by comparing them to a cohesive team in the case of each of the five dysfunctions. He also provides suggestions on overcoming each of the dysfunctions and insights into the role of the leader in this process, all in a very structured and to-the-point way. Complementing this, he provides a Team Assessment tool to help determine where your team is at in terms of each of the five elements of the model. As much as the book can be digested without too much trouble in 2-3 straight hours, it is inevitable (unless you are fooling yourself or you operate in a very healthy team) to have your managerial wheels in your mind turning at full speed by the time you are done with it. As a manager and an avid reader, I welcomed this book with open arms because I found it to be very useful and readily applicable. Now comes my challenge in putting it to use.
127 of 144 found the following review helpful:
Very practical and insightful!Dec 26, 2002
By Walter Reade
This is a genuinely significant book for anyone who works in a team environment, whether at work, in sports, in the community, at home, etc. Of all the business books I have read on team building, "Five Dysfunctions" stands at the top of the pack. The strength of this book lies in the fact that it gets at the ROOTS of team failure. Anyone who has been forced to go through corporate "team building" sessions and sing with their fellow co-workers knows that it is an approach that doesn't work! The principles presented in "Five Dysfunctions" are solid and will get results. The organization of "Five Dysfunctions" is as follows. The bulk of the book comprises of an extended fictitious example of a dysfunctional group, and slowly works through the underlying principles. These principles are then succinctly presented in the last few pages of the book, along with further analysis and suggestions on implementation. This organization allows the principles to slowly sink in through the book, but then gives the reader a very focused section the use for later reference and review. A great strength of the book is that it avoids the all-too-frequent tendency of creating tension and then resolving it more quickly than would happen in real life. Reading the story gives you a sense of the effort needed to work through the dysfunctions of a team. The tools are presented to the reader, but without the illusion of a quick fix. Rather, "Five Dysfunctions" gives a simple message that inspires, energizes, and creates a vision of hope for how thing could be in a team. One "a-ha" experience I had while reading this book is that some of the teams I have been on - teams where we all got along just fine - shared at least some of the five dysfunctions which made them less than effective. While these teams were quite accomplished at the superficial types of team building activities that are so popular, we avoided the core issues that Lencioni discusses in his book. This book is one that I will review often, and recommend to anyone.
56 of 69 found the following review helpful:
 Rather simplistic view of complex phenomena...Aug 07, 2006
By Rai Chowdhary
"Rai"
While there is nothing wrong with the material presented, one cannot believe this is all there is to it.
Making Teams work involves a considerable investment of time and energy, and also depends on the circumstances. Under pressure of an immediate threat - even adversaries can band together into a tight cohesive team. When such threats are gone - they fall back to natural behaviors, and dysfunction can set it.
The 5 dysfunctions - Absence of Trust, Fear of Conflict, Lack of Commitment, Avoidance of Accountability, and Inattention to Results - these are only the basics.
There are other important factors that make teams function or dysfunction, 3 of which are:
Common and time bound goals
Mutual respect
Skill sets to get the job done
...
Enjoy the book - it is an easy read, but keep in mind there is more to making teams work effectively!
10 of 10 found the following review helpful:
Insightful. Relevant. Discerning. Valuable.Jun 26, 2006
By Jeffrey E Ellis
We see ourselves, at arm's length, in "The Five Dysfunctions of a Team". Safely in someone else's story, we get a glimpse of our own team; sometimes all too close for comfort.
Once again, Lencioni uses the modern fable to make his points. In a very effective way, he diagnoses symptoms of teams in trouble:
1. Absence of Trust
2. Fear of Conflict
3. Lack of Commitment
4. Avoidance of Accountability
5. Inattention to Results
These are flaws of malfunctioning teams and are brought to life in a "leadership fable" which tells the tale using Kathryn Petersen, new CEO of DecisionTech.
One of the things I found interesting is that if Lencioni is correct, the inverse of his hypothesis should also be true. Well-functioning, healthy teams should be built upon the opposite traits: Trust, Candor, Commitment, Accountability, and Results. Perhaps building those traits will be the subject of one of his next insightful books.
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