Patrick Lencioni’s Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions of a Team

Reviewed by: Mandi Verlander, MSF Contributor

In today’s society leadership skills and training make you extremely marketable. Even if you are in an entry level position, it is still likely that at some point you will be part of a team. Having the skills to work efficiently in a team is something you should list on your resume.

In his book, Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Patrick Lencioni gives you a great understanding of how to work as a team and what to avoid. He provides information about the function and goal of a team as well as steps you can take to improve your team’s effectiveness. But in order to do so Lencioni states that you need to avoid these five dysfunctions:

• Team Distrust: an absence of trust can lead team members to feel vulnerable
• Fear of Conflict: avoiding and fearing conflict can very seriously affect communication
• Lack of Commitment: if team members don’t understand each other’s buy-in, group decisions become difficult
• No Accountability: When team members don’t “own” their work, it leads to ambiguity
• Overlooking Results: paying attention only to personal successes puts status and ego before overall team success

Lencioni gives you a clear understanding of what a team is, as well as how to anticipate problems and how to build a team. Employee knowledge of the ins and outs of a team is an extremely valuable skill to any employer. Since this book is written as a fable, it is a very easy read. A must-read for anyone who is seriously dedicated to becoming a team leader in the job market.

Mandi Verlander
Amanda Verlander is an Army Wife and mom who has a passion of supporting other military service members and their families. She has a B.S. in Communications and will complete a M.A. in Human Services/Executive Leadership in Decemeber of this year from Liberty University. She is most proud of her family but she is also very proud of the military outreach initiatives she began at Liberty, such as her non-profit student group organization, Students Behind our Soldiers as well as the annual Military Emphasis Week. Currently, she loves volunteering her time to military support organizations such as the Military Spouse Foundation, National Military Family Association and her Family Readiness Group.