The Five Dysfunctions of a Team – A Leadership Fable
Author: Patrick Lencioni
Price: £16.50
Publisher: Jossey-Bass
Pages: 230
ISBN: 0787960756
Teams are inherently dysfunctional – that’s the basis of the message in this fable.
Lencioni uses story-telling to outline the dilemmas faced by a chief executive with the daunting task of uniting a group of senior managers whose ability to function as a team will be the make or break of the company. This is quite helpful in that the reader is likely to be able to identify with the characters and apply the situations and consequences to their own field of experience.
The model Lencioni puts forward towards the end of the book makes it clear that the five dysfunctions are not separate issues but a chain of behaviours that feed on each other. His suggestions for overcoming the dysfunctions are succinct and he is clear that building a cohesive team comes down to practising a small set of principles over a long period of time. He also emphasises the importance of the role of leader, and readers will find themselves comparing the styles and behaviours of good and bad leaders they have known with Lencioni’s model.
This is a good read. It outlines in story form all the behaviours that most of us have seen within organisations at one time or another and it gives good examples of how to address and overcome these behaviours – to turn people around or, where necessary, let them go. A very useful leadership resource.
Useful? 4 out of 5 stars
Well-written? 4 out of 5 stars
Practical? 4 out of 5 stars
Inspirational? 5 out of 5 stars
Value for money? 4 out of 5 stars
Overall 4 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Linda Hollingworth, senior workforce commissioning consultant, Essex County Council
