The healthier an organization is, the more of its intelligence it is able to tap into and use. Most organizations exploit only a fraction of the know… - Patrick Lencioni

Most organizations exploit only a fraction of the knowledge, experience, and intellectual capital that is available to them.

The healthier an organization is, the more of its intelligence it is able to tap into and use.

It is no great surprise, then, that humility is the single greatest and most indispensable attribute of being a team player.

Team Number One The only way for a leader to establish this collective mentality on a team is by ensuring that all members place a higher priority on the team they're a member of than the team they lead in their departments. A good way to go about this is simply to ask them which team is their first priority. I've found that many well-intentioned executives will admit that in spite of their commitment to the team that they're a member of, the team they lead is their first priority. They'll point out that they hired their direct reports, they sit near them and spend more time with them every day, and they enjoy being the leader of that team. Moreover, they feel a sense of loyalty to the people they manage, and feel that those people want and need their protection. This is absolutely natural, common, and understandable. And dangerous.

To tear down silos, leaders must go beyond behaviors and address the contextual issues at the heart of departmental separation and politics. The purpose of this book is to present a simple, powerful tool for addressing those issues and reducing the pain that silos cause. And that pain should not be underestimated. Silos — and the turf wars they enable — devastate organizations. They waste resources, kill productivity, and jeopardize the achievement of goals. But beyond all that, they exact a considerable human toll too. They cause frustration, stress, and disillusionment by forcing employees to fight bloody, unwinnable battles with people who should be their teammates. There is perhaps no greater cause of professional anxiety and exasperation — not to mention turnover — than employees having to fight with people in their own organization. Understandably and inevitably, this bleeds over into their personal lives, affecting family and friends in profound ways.