A Field Guide for Leaders - and Facilitators

Not only does this book cover mistakes and problems within a team, it explains a way to address the problems. This book goes one more than, "The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable".

Don't just tell me about a problem, tell me how to fix it.

Jeff Howard

I ordered this book because I knew my boss bought it and is reading it. Mine cost less and arrived before hers (naa naa naa naa naaa naaa). All the points in it make sense. I received from the store, in great condition and fast delivery with even better pricing. Thanks so much - helping me stay on top of the 'game.'

I ordered this book because I knew my boss bought it and is reading it. Mine cost less and arrived before hers (naa naa naa naa naaa naaa). All the points in it make sense. I received from the store, in great condition and fast delivery with even better pricing. Thanks so much - helping me stay on top of the 'game.'

In 2002 Lencioni, explained the reasons for poor team performance in The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. The five reasons were:

Absence of trust
Fear of conflict
Lack of Commitment
Avoidance of accountability
Inattention to results

The problems described were all too common management issues and the business community craved more, specifically on how to implement the solutions. "Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions of a Team" was Lencioni's response. This book has essential information on how to break through the five barriers and develop high performance teams. The book is never dull: it offers much needed insights into building strong teams, fostering collaboration, and developing a winning team. After reading this book, I would suggest a nice companion read would be Stop Workplace Drama: Train Your Team to Have No Excuses, No Complaints, and No Regrets  by Marlene Chism.

"Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Field Guide for Leaders, Managers and Facilitators" represents an interesting idea...that of offering tools and techniques to implement the Model set forth in another one of Patrick Lencioni's books, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable.

In essence, this book offers a guide to implementing the Model noted above without the need to engage the consulting services of Lencioni and his firm. This is a novel, and generous, idea to facilitate the implementation of this Model at a low relative cost (compared to engaging a consulting firm, for example).

The book presents some tangible and easy-to-follow ideas focused on implementing the "Five Dysfunctions" Model. That being said, the actual implementation requires personalization based on a number of factors, including the dynamics of the team working on the Model.

While such personalization may be expected, given that a "one size fits all" solution is unlikely to meet the needs of all teams, this is a useful book, especially if you find the "Five Dysfunctions" Model of use.

This is a sequel to Lencioni's The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. Although Lencioni does not use the fable approach as in the first book, he outlines much more detail of the model and how to create more functional teams. He opens the book with an overview of the model and then proffers two key questions for work groups to ask themselves: 1) Are we really a team? (That is, are we interdependent and hold each other mutually accountable?) and 2) Are we ready for heavy lifting? The implication here is that this model won't work if the group isn't truly a team nor will it be successful unless the group is willing to put in the time and effort it takes to function effectively. The remainder of the book goes into details regarding tools and exercises for each of the dysfunctions. Although it's a bit drier then the fable approach, it's a great resource for anyone looking for ideas about team building.

I use many of these methods discussed by Lencioni and they all have an impact on my client teams. This book has helped create years of opportunities for the team to use different means to build Trust.

Patrick Lencioni wrote this as a follow-up to his 2002 "fable," The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. It applies the earlier book's concepts, and suggests many exercises, approaches, examples and explanations you can use as you apply those ideas. If you found the first book useful, you'll want this one, though you can still get a lot of utility from it even if you haven't read the original. Lencioni recaps his concepts clearly here, including developing trust among team members and keeping teams focused on their goals. The result is broadly applicable. We believe that readers who want a basic introduction to improving team function will appreciate this book. That said, those looking for more complex or theoretical approaches, or for tools to deal with specific challenges, such as knowledge management among teams, may need a more advanced manual.

Incredibly easy read, and very hard to put down. It uses a style of writing where it puts the reader through a mock scenario to drive home the points the author is trying to discuss. The reason I am giving it a 4-star review is that I found myself losing interest in some sections that seemed too perfect or scripted, and the lesson the author was imparting would lose its applicability to the real world.

I have recommended Patrick Lencioni's works to several clients and have used his models in individual leadership coaching sessions with good results. My interest in the Leader's Guide is that the jump from individual leadership coaching to group learning requires a level of structure and activities that will keep a diverse group engaged. This book answers that need even to the point of presenting a framework for multiple meetings and an agenda and activities for each.

I have recommended the Five Dysfunctions to a client, and whether they decide they can do the work themselves or use me to facilitate, this Field Guide will provide important structure and activities. Working on team growth and development is a natural next step to nurturing individual growth and development. As leaders answer the question "who am I and who do I want to be?", the next step that the Five Dysfunctions effectively outlines is "who are WE and who do WE want to be?". Lencioni's pyramid from trust to results is a powerful model to drive team development work, and the Field Guide is an effective tool to guide that work.

Tom Nugent

Grosse Pointe MI

Lencioni begins the discussion concerning overcoming the five dysfunctions of a team by asking two questions that should be asked BEFORE any team building effort:

1. Are we really a team?

2. Are we ready for heavy lifting?

His definition of a team, "a relatively small number of people...that shares common goals as well as the rewards and responsibilities for achieving them" seems logical enough, but what I really liked was his overall attitude. He seemed to suggest that if your group isn't a team, well that's OK too, but regardless, be clear about who and what you are. The heavy lifting reference simply means that building a team, similar to any marriage or other worthwhile relationship, takes a considerable investment in time and emotional energy.

Dysfunction #1 is the absence of trust, so building trust is the key to overcoming this first dysfunction. Lencioni's definition of trust in one where vulnerability is paramount thus beginning to trust starts with showing vulnerability, usually by telling some personal history story that includes some important challenge that was overcome during childhood. The reasoning for this is based on something called the fundamental attribution error. Simply stated, this is the tendency to attribute (falsely) the negative behavior of others to their character while attributing our own negative behavior to the environment. In other words, I do bad things because of the situation I've been placed in, while you do bad things because you are a bad person. This personal story exercise helps individuals to understand each other at a more fundamental level by showing how each person became the individual that they are, at least in some small way. Lencioni's second exercise deals with behavior profiling (he recommends the MBTI for various reasons) in order to "give team members an objective, reliable means for understanding and describing one another" (p. 25). This is designed to facilitate individuals' discussion of strengths/weaknesses, and begin to make it "safe" at least in terms of constructive feedback.

Dysfunction #2 is fear of conflict and overcoming this fear, while admittedly uncomfortable at times, is essential in order to maximize a team's effectiveness. Lencioni argues that inevitability of discomfort is no reason to avoid conflict and goes on to describe a sort of conflict continuum where the ideal conflict point lies directly midway between artificial harmony and mean-spirited personal attacks. In order to engage in productive conflict, he advocates conflict profiling (MBTI and/or Thomas-Kilmann Instrument). This is important in order to understand all team members' comfort levels and viewpoints regarding conflict. Conflict norms among teams must be discussed, negotiated, and made clear and available. Lastly, there are times when an effective leader must "mine" for that productive conflict among respective team members especially if individuals are avoiding necessary, progressive conflict.

Dysfunction #3 is lack commitment and is best overcome by gaining buy-in and achieving clarity. Buy-in is not to be confused with consensus, and in fact, true commitment is about getting buy-in when all the team members don't agree. Clarity allows members to benefit from their commitment by removing assumptions and the accompanying frustrations. Lencioni discusses two techniques to best overcome this third dysfunction called commitment clarification and cascading communication. Commitment clarification deals with leaders asking: What exactly have we decided here today? This ensures that everyone leaves a meeting with the same impressions. Cascading communication demands that team members communicate these same impressions to the rest of the staff within 24 hours, again ensuring that everyone is on the same page.

Dysfunciton #4 is the avoidance of accountability. Lencioni argues that accountability is the willingness of team members to remind each other when they are not living up to whatever standards have been agreed upon by the group. This not only involves the leader, but peer-to-peer accountability is integral as well. Interestingly, most leaders are willing to hold team members accountable for results, but not so much for behavioral issues. When this filters down to the team members, and they become reticent to hold others accountable for their behavior, the result seems to be a lack of respect. Lencioni's team effectiveness exercise seems to be an effective method for beginning to hold others accountable by openly discussing each person's (including the leader) most important quality that contributes to or derails the strength of the team.

Dysfunction #5 is the inattention to results. Lencioni suggests that self-preservation and self-interest make this a difficult handicap to overcome. The key lies in keeping the results where members of the team can see them at all times, i.e. a visible scoreboard of some sort. How should these results be measured? It doesn't really matter, as long as the team has one or two items that they can consistently focus on and rally around. Distractions include egos, career advancement, and departmental priorities. Key points for negating this dysfunction are avoiding the distractions, and staying focused on clear, visible results.

Lencioni also goes into depth regarding many common questions, and obstacles to avoid. Additionally, he includes a host of exercises, schedules, definitions, and references that can be tailored to facilitate the team building process in any organization. I found that this book offers specific, practical guidance toward team building that any novice should be able to understand. Additionally, the tools, assessments and examples provided a clear picture of a roadmap to overcoming the five dysfunctions of a team. In short, an easy read, full of practical ideas and examples that bring the points home.

Teamwork really is the one sustainable advantage that a group or company can have. Patrick Lencioni has put together a prescriptive method of bringing a group of people together to form a team. He walks through a step by step approach of breaking down the levels of teamwork in a narrative format in The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable which really builds the case for why you would want to follow this method. In this book, he all but builds your team for you. It'll be imperative that you can foster the right levels of communication and potentially have someone with you to help as you rebuild your team; however, this method does give critical insight into how groups of people become a team.

I read this while waiting for the full version was available from the library. I do not recommend reading it first but it will give insight into how to apply Myer Briggs and other team building exercises.

New and seasoned professionals leading teams will find lots of rich practical advice. Using the five dysfunctions of teams from his previous book, Lencioni provides readers with excellent tools to stay focused and keep their teams performing. The techniques offered in this book, along with its guiding questions will help anyone reflect on the dynamics of their teams and uncover a whole host of new ways to invigorate them. As a professional facilitator I see this book as an indispensable resource.

Great book. Lot of practical on hands information. Very appropriate in todays workplace.This is a companion to The five dysfunctions of a team. The book gives a practical easy to read and understand look into the problems as well as the solutions to developing an effective team.

Having read Lenconi's first book, a parable titled "The Five Dysfunctions of a Team", I was curious about this follow up title. I believe this book is better than the original title because it provides practical solutions. Lenconi recommends disclosure of a childhood vulnerability that you overcame as a starting point for building trust. Overcoming self interest by keeping common goals visible to the team is also recommended. I highly recommend this book along with Optimal Thinking: How To Be Your Best Self (to teach teams how to consistently maximize situations) and Winning (to teach leaders how to put principles into practice).

A couple of years ago Mr. Lencioni published a book on the Five Dysfunctions of a Team. In it he listed the problems that if allowed to continue would destroy a teams effectiveness, and quite possibly destroy the team itself. As a result of questions and comments from readers he has produced this guide to specifically address how to overcome these dysfunctions.

The particular points beind addressed include:

Building Trust

Mastering Conflict

Achieving Commitment

Embracing Accountability

Focusing on Results.

Each of these points is discussed with a view towards increasing the functionality of the team. This is followed by questions and comments from participants in classes and seminars and finally by some exercises in helping to build the team.

El material de este libro es sumanente valioso para aquellos interesados en implementar seminarios o talleres de Team Building. Ademas de la revisión de los conceptos basicos del libro de las Cinco Disfunciones mas frecuentes de un equipo de trabajo nos ofrece ejercicios practicos para mejorar las disfunciones detectadas en el test de autodiagnostico.

This field guide is extremely useful for working with teams - from dysfunctional teams to those that are running smoothly. The exercises are practical and get to the heart of team dysfunctions.

I am a pastor who also works in the corporate world. I will use the ideas and exercises in this book with teams in the office and in the church.

Lencioni's essential roadmap for establishing processes directed toward overcoming team dysfunction. Conversational tone makes this work highly accessible and useable. Specific recommendations lend themselves to action planning.

This field guide is execellent. It is practical and helpful. Improving teamwork is difficult, to say the least, especially for highly dysfunctional teams. Patrick Lencioni's book is essential to working through these challenges.

As a reading coach and future administrator, I found this book extremely helpful. The activities that are included for each of the 5 dysfunctions are very useful and vary from touchy-feely to down-to-business. I've already used some of them on a particularly dysfunctional team and the team is starting to evolve. This is a great tool!

Mandatory book for a class that failed to deliver academic quality work. While a nice enough read for airport commuters between flights, this book is rather simplistic and lacks that real impact. In short, this book talks about five dysfunctions, which are pretty well commonly understood by most managers/leaders. If it is a mandatory read or free, go for it, but there are plenty of other books out there that can provide better insight into team management like The Leadership Challenge by Kouzes and Posner.