Book Critique: The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

Patrick Lencioni’s book, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, A Leadership Fable, reveals exactly what the title states; however it is done in a unique fashion. Instead of following the norm of most leadership books, Lencioni presents a fable that tells a compelling story clearly explaining the five key components afflicting dysfunctional teams. He simply puts his theory into a familiar context that allows professionals working within a team to relate to his ideas. The story follows Kathryn Peterson, the newly appointed CEO of Decision Tech, as she attempts to unite an inherited and notably flawed executive team that is clearly contributing to the company’s downward spiral. The team consists of a set of dynamic and familiar characters that play key roles in the development and explanation of Lencioni’s five dysfunctions of a team model. As the story unfolds, each dysfunction is disclosed and reinforced by the plot, allowing the reader to easily connect the model to real-life experiences. 

       

The model is illustrated in a basic pyramid style graph focusing on a set of dysfunctions as follows: absence of trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance of accountability, and inattention to results. The author conveys a strong disposition that the principle of trust be the foundation for all teamwork. Without this essential component teams will not be able to establish close working relationships that are necessary to engage and resolve conflicts. Additionally, lacking trust leads teams in a direction of ambiguity, low standards, and lacking positive results. He does make it a point to clarify that the model’s dysfunctions should not be treated or addressed in isolation and treating them as such will be detrimental to the success of the team. Yet, he does little to explain why this is the case. Instead he focuses on the reader adequately understanding the five dysfunctions as an interrelated model. Furthermore, he explains that this model can be applied to any team in any organization, such as the high-level executive team represented in the book to a smaller yet significant teacher-based team in a school. Although, the principles of the model can be easily learned, Lencioni does warn that building a team can be challenging, as is clearly the case for Kathryn and her team. The final section of the book contains the most pertinent information about the author’s theory of dysfunctional teams. It includes an overview, simple assessment, clear guidelines, and sections specifically correlating the stages. In addition, the author has added an informative section highlighting the role of a leader when implementing the model. Most useful of all is the comprehensive suggestions and helpful tools that the author provides in order for the reader to understand and overcome the five dysfunctions of any team. 

This is a quick and easy read; mostly because Patrick Lencioni’s style of writing reads more like a fiction novel rather than the typical leadership book. The manner in which the book is divided makes it simple to reference key components of the model. Even though in theory the model seems simplistic and practical, I appreciate his honesty when explaining the difficult challenge this might be in actual practice.  People will always have contrasting work habits, different levels of emotional intelligence, and communication skills; however, as leaders it is our responsibility to empower our followers to unite and work as a team. Mr. Lencioni’s book provides us with an opportunity to do so by highlighting the five dysfunctions that besets many teams.

Lencioni, P. (2002). The five dysfunctions of teams: A leadership fable. San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons.

For more information click below and view an interview featuring the author, Patrick Lencioni, speaking about the 5 dysfunctions of a team.