The Five Dysfunctions of a Team is the title of a book by Patrick Lencioni that we will be reviewing this month. While it is a fictional account of a fictional business, Lencioni has taken real life experiences with businesses he consults with to give both for profit and non-profits advice on how to build an effective leadership team. In the book, Kathryn is the new leader of a tech company that is struggling to maintain market share. As an effective leader, she begins her service with the following four steps;
Step 1. She spends several weeks silently observing the company’s team members in action. (This is the best way to discern people’s strengths and weaknesses without having to rely on the image they create through their words.)
Step 2. She set up a series of 2 day retreats away from the work place. (All evidence shows that more creativity and fewer interruptions to planning are possible away from the daily routine.)
Step 3. She had her own agenda already set for the retreats and did not allows others to distract her with their agenda (Little is accomplished if too many persons control the agenda.)
Step 4. She demanded time and leeway from her board to set in motion the changes she felt needed to be made. (In our fast paced world, people expect instant change and that expectation must be corrected at the outset.)
As directors, you are probably already planning your fall launch. Please consider these four principles as you work to build an effective leadership team.
Next week, we’ll talk about the 4 traits of an effective leader.