Leadership and Teamwork: A Book Review of Lencioni's Work

This book review focuses on Patrick Lencioni's 'The Five Dysfunctions of a Team,' exploring the core idea of team dysfunctionality through the narrative of Kathryn, a CEO attempting to address issues within Decision Tech Company. The review identifies the absence of trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance of accountability, and inattention to results as key factors contributing to underperformance. It emphasizes the importance of visionary leadership, organizational culture, and interprofessional teamwork in fostering a positive environment and improving team effectiveness. The review also reflects on the personal applicability of these concepts, highlighting the significance of sociability, adaptability, and prioritizing communal values for building stronger relationships and ensuring mutual trust in both professional and personal contexts. The student emphasizes the importance of being true to oneself and prioritizing collective responsibilities over individual will to improve relations with others.

Running head: BOOK REVIEW ON THE FIVE DYSFUNCTION OF A TEAM
Book review on The Five Dysfunction of a Team
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BOOK REVIEW ON THE FIVE DYSFUNCTION OF A TEAM
The Five Dysfunction of a Team written by Patrick Lencioni is a riveting read that
narrates how team functioning is vital for company to maintain and reach the set standards. In
this book, the author narrates the main idea of team-dysfunctionality by making Kathryn the
protagonist, who is employed as a struggling CEO in the Decision Tech Company. The story
is represented as a fable where she tries to discover the cause of dysfunctional executive
team. In this book, explicit instructions are given in a succinct way so that the inherent
difficulties of the team can be dealt with systematic and regularized sequences. In this way,
the fetters regarding the insecurity of the employees can be eliminated and hence the scope of
improvisation can be expanded. With the help of this book, I can interpret the importance of
teamwork and the way it can influence the performance level of a company (Ghaferi et al.,
2016). It can be apprehended that leadership qualities can serve the integral part of a
Company performance.
The most important part of this book deals with identification of the problem and its
four-step remedy to solve the problem. The author shows that the cause for dysfunctionality
can result due to lack of motivation within the employees. Katheryn diagnosed the main
reason of underperformance of the company is absence of trust, fear of conflict, lack of
commitment, avoidance of accountability, and inattention to results. In this way, she
successfully builds the notion around which the cultivation of leadership ethic and value
become very significant for the better performance in the Company. This is because the
effectiveness of a team is interwoven with three fundamental aspects, that is, the
organizational culture, interprofessional teamwork and job satisfaction (Körner et al., 2015).
However, it must also be noted that the performance level of each employee is not only
limited to the organizational structure but it is transcends to the societal level. As the
workplace consist of various and diversified identity group the interprofessional approach
within the organization reflects the growth of civic culture that focuses on the relational value

BOOK REVIEW ON THE FIVE DYSFUNCTION OF A TEAM
rather than the substantive values (Grossmann et al., 2018). Thus, it is very important to
builds a positive environment within the work sphere because the values inculcated in the
work sphere has larger impact in the lives of the people. The compelling point in this book
encourages the audience to have visionary leadership qualities so that they can strengthen
themselves and become more self-reliant and self-aware. On the personal level, I feel that it is
essential to cultivate abilities that can help an individual to jell-up with other people. It is
very important to be sociable not just for hedonist pleasure sake but also for a better mental
and physical health (Lyubovnikova et al., 2018). However, working in a team is quite
different from being sociable because the activities are strictly regulated. Thus, it is important
to understand the protocols and parameter of work while at the same time; it is also important
keep the spirit of the team high. In this book, the author tries to show various way out that
might not be easy to absorb but it is definitely easy to implement.
According to me, teamwork is very essential because it enhances the speed of handling
the task and it provides the chance to know different people. I think these abilities are not
geographically restricted to the work environment only because an individual is the member
of society and both in conscious and unconscious manner are always participating in an
active interaction with people. Thus, the identity of the people gets constructed in an
externally, which is why the ideas that the authors demonstrates can be effectively applied to
each and every steps of life. For instance, the family one is in, or the peer group one belongs
to or even the imaginary set of people that one is not accustomed with. It is very important to
be open to each other in spite of the deficiency because that is how one can be true to oneself.
Again, if one is not committed towards one self the actions as well as the behaviour emits
artificiality. The main reason for this mechanical approach emerges by giving priority to
individual will rather than collective responsibilities. Thus, I feel if I can prioritize the group
or communal values my relation with every other individual can improve and ensure mutual

BOOK REVIEW ON THE FIVE DYSFUNCTION OF A TEAM
trust and confidence against each other. Inculcating this kind of approach not only helps to
negotiate and build human tires in present but also it seems to be extremely beneficial in
future. The only way I can apply these in my life is by being true to oneself because it is not
the destination but the journey, which is more important.

BOOK REVIEW ON THE FIVE DYSFUNCTION OF A TEAM
References
Ghaferi, A. A., & Dimick, J. B. (2016). Importance of teamwork, communication and culture
on failure‐to‐rescue in the elderly. British Journal of Surgery, 103(2), e47-e51.
Grossmann, I., & Brienza, J. (2018). The strengths of wisdom provide unique contributions to
improved leadership, sustainability, inequality, gross national happiness, and civic
discourse in the face of contemporary world problems. Journal of Intelligence, 6(2),
22.
Körner, M., Wirtz, M. A., Bengel, J., & Göritz, A. S. (2015). Relationship of organizational
culture, teamwork and job satisfaction in interprofessional teams. BMC health
services research, 15(1), 243.
Lyubovnikova, J., West, T. H., Dawson, J. F., & West, M. A. (2018). Examining the indirect
effects of perceived organizational support for teamwork training on acute health care
team productivity and innovation: The role of shared objectives. Group &
Organization Management, 43(3), 382-413.