The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

By Patrick Lencioni (2002)

When people don’t unload their opinions and feel like they’ve been listened to, they won’t really get on board.

My Notes

Great teams do not hold back with one another. They are unafraid to air their dirty laundry. They admit their mistakes, their weaknesses, and their concerns without fear of reprisal.

Every effective team I’ve ever observed had a substantial level of debate.

Teamwork begins by building trust. And the only way to do that is to overcome our need for invulnerability.

The key, of course, is to define our goals, our results, in a way that is simple enough to grasp easily, and specific enough to be actionable. Profit is not actionable enough. It needs to be more closely related to what we do on a daily basis.

Politics is when people choose their words and actions based on how they want others to react rather than based on what they really think.

Consensus is horrible… It becomes an attempt to please everyone.

… The point here is that most reasonable people don’t have to get their way in a discussion. They just need to be heard, and to know that their input was considered and responded to.

Trust is not the same as assuming everyone is on the same page as you, and that they don’t need to be pushed. Trust is knowing that when a team member does push you, they’re doing it because they care about the team.

I don’t think anyone ever gets completely used to conflict. If it’s not a little uncomfortable, then it’s not real. The key is to keep doing it anyway.