Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Field Guide for Leaders, Managers, and Facilitators (J-B Lencioni Series)

Most leadership books diagnose the problem and leave you to figure out the rest. This one doesn't. Patrick Lencioni built his reputation on The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, a fable that named the invisible forces tearing teams apart — absent trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance of accountability, and inattention to results. This field guide picks up where that book left off, handing leaders the actual tools to do something about it. The stakes are real: most team dysfunction isn't dramatic, it's chronic, and it quietly kills organizations from the inside out.

What distinguishes this book is its refreshing refusal to be theoretical. Lencioni writes in plain, direct prose and structures the guide around exercises, assessments, and facilitated discussions that can be run in real meetings with real people. Each section is tight — this is a 168-page book that earns every page — and the format rewards dipping in and out as specific dysfunctions surface. It's the kind of book that lives on a desk, not a shelf.