Patrick Lencioni Quotes

Trust is the foundation of real teamwork.

Hiring without clear and strict criteria for cultural fit greatly hampers the potential for success of any organization.

Great team players lack excessive ego or concerns about status. They are quick to point out the contributions of others and slow to seek attention for their own. They share credit, emphasize team over self, and define success collectively rather than individually. It is no great surprise, then, that humility is the single greatest and most indispensable attribute of being a team player.

Every endeavor of importance in life, whether it is creative, athletic, interpersonal, or academic, brings with it a measure of discomfort,

Leaders who can identify, hire, and cultivate employees who are humble, hungry, and smart will have a serious advantage over those who cannot.

Push with respect, and under the assumption that the other person is probably doing the right thing. But push anyway. And never hold back.

How many of you would rather go to a meeting than a movie? No hands went up. Why not? After a pause, Jeff realized that her question was not a rhetorical one. Because movies are more interesting. Even the bad ones. His peers chuckled. Kathryn smiled. Right. But if you really think about it, meetings should be at least as interesting as movies.

Teams have to eliminate ambiguity and interpretation when it comes to success

At the heart of vulnerability lies the willingness of people to abandon their pride and their fear, to sacrifice their egos for the collective good of the team. While this can be a little threatening and uncomfortable at first, ultimately it becomes liberating for people who are tired of spending time and energy overthinking their actions and managing interpersonal politics at work.

Most people are generally reasonable and can rally around an idea that wasn't their own as long as they know they've had a chance to weigh in.

A lack of healthy conflict is a problem because it ensures the third dysfunction of a team: lack of commitment. Without having aired their opinions in the course of passionate and open debate, team members rarely, if ever, buy in and commit to decisions, though they may feign agreement during meetings.

Because people who aren't good at their jobs don't want to be measured, because then they have to be accountable for something. Great employees love that kind of accountability. They crave it. Poor ones run away from it.

If you ask me, the best thing that's happened in the last year is that we've almost become a jackass-free zone. No matter what happens, and what challenge we might face, give me a roomful of people who aren't jackasses, and I'll be happy to take it on.

Direct, personal feedback really is the simplest and most effective form of motivation.

The five behavioral manifestations of teamwork: trust, conflict, commitment, accountability and results