The Five Dysfunctions of a Team is management consultant and author Patrick Lencioni’s fictionalized account of the creation of a successful leadership team. Lencioni bases his account in a narrative with characters that portray the more commonly-found leadership personalities found in executive teams; by doing so, he provides readers with a way to move through debilitating group conflict to create concrete, structured resolutions and leadership goals that can be followed through by employees on all leadership levels.
The story focuses on DecisionTech, a Silicon Valley start-up whose cutting-edge technology easily out-performs the tech products being sold by their competitors. But DecisionTech’s sales, company morale and reputation are all suffering under the leadership of their current CEO. Hoping to save the firm from disaster, the board hires Kathryn Petersen as CEO. Kathryn assumes her leadership role and immediately encounters the worst leadership crisis she’s ever seen — the executive team at the top is fragmented, destructive and in need of an immediate and thorough overhaul. Working through a five-level pyramid that she refers to as the five dysfunctions of a team, Kathryn attempts to unite the team and put DecisionTech at the head of the market. The five dysfunctions identified in the book are: absence of a trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance of accountability and inattention to results.
Lencioni is uniquely qualified to discuss the problems that occur within leadership team. Besides being the author of nine books focused on building better teams and managing leadership and group conflicts, Lencioni is also the president and founder of The Table Group. His consulting firm works to build healthy teamwork, leadership, communication and constructive conflict within companies. The “five dysfunctions table” is Lencioni’s brainchild, and the book is his attempt to convey how it works within a realistic corporate setting.
By far the greatest strength in the book is Lencioni’s depiction of his management technique through the eyes of a narrative. By writing a novel with characters and background, Lencioni is able to make his point easily accessible to readers. He gives his audience a clear understanding of how the five dysfunctions work in a real atmosphere, how they are affected by the different personalities and players present on a team and how they can be practiced and implemented realistically. However, while Lencioni’s fictionalization is successful and useful, his tendency to lecture to his readers is apparent. At several times in the story, he speaks directly through Kathryn in a sermon-style more suited to a professional lecture or boardroom meeting.
Five Dysfunctions of a Team is an engaging insight into how the dynamics of leadership, but it may not be the most appropriate reading recommendation for public information strategies. While the book includes a public relations/marketing component in its depiction of a successful leadership team, it focuses heavily on internal team dynamics, not external communication. Therefore, the book might not be the most useful for courses on public information strategy.
REVIEW BY NAZNEEN AHMED
The story focuses on DecisionTech, a Silicon Valley start-up whose cutting-edge technology easily out-performs the tech products being sold by their competitors. But DecisionTech’s sales, company morale and reputation are all suffering under the leadership of their current CEO. Hoping to save the firm from disaster, the board hires Kathryn Petersen as CEO. Kathryn assumes her leadership role and immediately encounters the worst leadership crisis she’s ever seen — the executive team at the top is fragmented, destructive and in need of an immediate and thorough overhaul. Working through a five-level pyramid that she refers to as the five dysfunctions of a team, Kathryn attempts to unite the team and put DecisionTech at the head of the market. The five dysfunctions identified in the book are: absence of a trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance of accountability and inattention to results.
Lencioni is uniquely qualified to discuss the problems that occur within leadership team. Besides being the author of nine books focused on building better teams and managing leadership and group conflicts, Lencioni is also the president and founder of The Table Group. His consulting firm works to build healthy teamwork, leadership, communication and constructive conflict within companies. The “five dysfunctions table” is Lencioni’s brainchild, and the book is his attempt to convey how it works within a realistic corporate setting.
By far the greatest strength in the book is Lencioni’s depiction of his management technique through the eyes of a narrative. By writing a novel with characters and background, Lencioni is able to make his point easily accessible to readers. He gives his audience a clear understanding of how the five dysfunctions work in a real atmosphere, how they are affected by the different personalities and players present on a team and how they can be practiced and implemented realistically. However, while Lencioni’s fictionalization is successful and useful, his tendency to lecture to his readers is apparent. At several times in the story, he speaks directly through Kathryn in a sermon-style more suited to a professional lecture or boardroom meeting.
Five Dysfunctions of a Team is an engaging insight into how the dynamics of leadership, but it may not be the most appropriate reading recommendation for public information strategies. While the book includes a public relations/marketing component in its depiction of a successful leadership team, it focuses heavily on internal team dynamics, not external communication. Therefore, the book might not be the most useful for courses on public information strategy.
REVIEW BY NAZNEEN AHMED