The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable

by Patrick M. Lencioni
Released April 2002
Publisher(s): Jossey-Bass
ISBN: 9780787960759

Read it now on the O’Reilly learning platform with a 10-day free trial.

O’Reilly members get unlimited access to books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.

Start your free trial

Book description

In The Five Dysfunctions of a Team Patrick Lencioni once again offers a leadership fable that is as enthralling and instructive as his first two best-selling books, The Five Temptations of a CEO and The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive. This time, he turns his keen intellect and storytelling power to the fascinating, complex world of teams.

Kathryn Petersen, Decision Tech's CEO, faces the ultimate leadership crisis: Uniting a team in such disarray that it threatens to bring down the entire company. Will she succeed? Will she be fired? Will the company fail? Lencioni's utterly gripping tale serves as a timeless reminder that leadership requires as much courage as it does insight.

Throughout the story, Lencioni reveals the five dysfunctions which go to the very heart of why teams even the best ones-often struggle. He outlines a powerful model and actionable steps that can be used to overcome these common hurdles and build a cohesive, effective team. Just as with his other books, Lencioni has written a compelling fable with a powerful yet deceptively simple message for all those who strive to be exceptional team leaders.

Table of contents

  1. Copyright
  2. INTRODUCTION
  3. The Fable
  4. 1. LUCK
  5. ONE. Under-achievement
    1. 2. BACKSTORY
    2. 3. KATHRYN
    3. 4. RATIONALE
    4. 5. GRUMBLINGS
    5. 6. OBSERVATIONS
    6. 7. THE STAFF
      1. 7.1. JEFF—FORMER CEO, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
      2. 7.2. MIKEY—MARKETING
      3. 7.3. MARTIN—CHIEF TECHNOLOGIST
      4. 7.4. JR—SALES
      5. 7.5. CARLOS—CUSTOMER SUPPORT
      6. 7.6. JAN—CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
      7. 7.7. NICK—CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER
  6. TWO. Lighting the Fire
    1. 8. FIRST TEST
    2. 9. END RUN
    3. 10. DRAWING THE LINE
    4. 11. NAPA
    5. 12. THE SPEECH
    6. 13. PUSHING BACK
    7. 14. ENTERING THE DANGER
    8. 15. GETTING NAKED
    9. 16. GOING DEEPER
    10. 17. POOLSIDE
    11. 18. REBOUND
    12. 19. AWARENESS
    13. 20. EGO
    14. 21. GOALS
    15. 22. DEEP TISSUE
    16. 23. ATTACK
    17. 24. EXHIBITION
    18. 25. FILM NOIR
    19. 26. APPLICATION
  7. THREE. Heavy Lifting
    1. 27. ON-SITE
    2. 28. FIREWORKS
    3. 29. LEAKS
    4. 30. OFF-SITE NUMBER TWO
    5. 31. PLOWING ON
    6. 32. ACCOUNTABILITY
    7. 33. INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTOR
    8. 34. THE TALK
    9. 35. LAST STAND
    10. 36. FLACK
    11. 37. HEAVY LIFTING
    12. 38. RALLY
  8. FOUR. Traction
    1. 39. HARVEST
    2. 40. GUT CHECK
    3. 41. THE MARCH
  9. The Model
  10. 42. AN OVERVIEW OF THE MODEL
  11. 43. TEAM ASSESSMENT
  12. 44. UNDERSTANDING AND OVERCOMING THE FIVE DYSFUNCTIONS
    1. 44.1. DYSFUNCTION 1: ABSENCE OF TRUST
      1. 44.1.1. Suggestions for Overcoming Dysfunction I
      2. 44.1.2. The Role of the Leader
      3. 44.1.3. Connection to Dysfunction 2
    2. 44.2. DYSFUNCTION 2: FEAR OF CONFLICT
      1. 44.2.1. Suggestions for Overcoming Dysfunction 2
      2. 44.2.2. The Role of the Leader
      3. 44.2.3. Connection to Dysfunction 3
    3. 44.3. DYSFUNCTION 3: LACK OF COMMITMENT
      1. 44.3.1. Suggestions for Overcoming Dysfunction 3
      2. 44.3.2. The Role of the Leader
      3. 44.3.3. Connection to Dysfunction 4
    4. 44.4. DYSFUNCTION 4: AVOIDANCE OF ACCOUNTABILITY
      1. 44.4.1. Suggestions for Overcoming Dysfunction 4
      2. 44.4.2. The Role of the Leader
      3. 44.4.3. Connection to Dysfunction 5
    5. 44.5. DYSFUNCTION 5: INATTENTION TO RESULTS
      1. 44.5.1. Suggestions for Overcoming Dysfunction 5
      2. 44.5.2. The Role of the Leader
    6. 44.6. SUMMARY
  13. A NOTE ABOUT TIME: KATHRYN'S METHODS
  14. A SPECIAL TRIBUTE TO TEAMWORK
  15. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  16. ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Product information

  • Title: The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable
  • Author(s): Patrick M. Lencioni
  • Release date: April 2002
  • Publisher(s): Jossey-Bass
  • ISBN: 9780787960759