Ceptara

Just finished "The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable" by Patrick M. Lencioni [Book Link]. It's written in the same style as "The Goal" (Goldratt, Cox) [Book Link], i.e. a method taught in the form of a story.

Everyone will recognize the characters, either in themselves or in people they know. The gist of the story is focused on the behaviors that inhibit great teamwork and collaboration. They are; absense of trust, fear of conflict, lack of committment, avoidance of accountability, and inattention to results. The topics are consistent with Covey's Seven Habits [Book Link]; Think Win/Win (Build Trust), Seek first to understand, then to be understood (Healthy Debate), Begin with the end in mind (Create committment and accountability) and First things first (Results focus).

I enjoyed this book immensely. Lencioni describes the team issues in an engaging manner and offers advice and a number of methods and tools to overcome the dysfunctions. I recommend this book to anyone who is accountable for leading a team or would like to make their team more effective.