Leadership Library
Team Health

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

Patrick Lencioni · 2002

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About

A leadership fable on the five dysfunctions that quietly sink teams — and how to fix them.

SK's perspective

The fastest diagnostic I know for why a talented team still underperforms.

Key learnings

  • Absence of trust is the root dysfunction.
  • Fear of conflict kills good decisions.
  • Lack of commitment breeds ambiguity.
  • Avoiding accountability erodes standards.
  • Inattention to results is the final failure.

Make it a ritual

Team health is maintained, not achieved — build trust and conflict into the calendar.

Professional life

  • Start meetings with real debate; treat silence as a warning sign.
  • Close every meeting with clear commitments and who owns them.

Personal life

  • Practise vulnerability-based trust: admit one mistake a week openly.
  • Hold someone you love gently accountable to a shared goal.

Buy the book (Amazon) · curated talks on YouTube. — © Patrick Lencioni. Summary is our own.

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