Greetings friends, and peace in the name of Jesus.
Today, I want to introduce you to another of Patrick Lencioni’s books, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. This is a “where the rubber meets the road” kind of book. This is where theory meets application. This is another resource to add to your leadership development library.
“Successful teamwork is not about mastering subtle, sophisticated theories, but rather about combining common sense with uncommon levels of discipline and persistence. Ironically, teams succeed because they are exceedingly human. By acknowledging the imperfections of their humanity, members of functional teams overcome the natural tendencies that make teamwork so elusive.” — Patrick Lencioni
In this book Patrick Lencioni reveals the basics of teamwork by using a leadership fable, a story of a technology company that is struggling to grow and find customers. The new CEO on board, Catherine Petersen, recognizes the potential of the organization and its people. However, the executives are not working together as a team and therefore impact the entire organization in a negative way. The team struggles to accept responsibilities and come to any agreements, resulting in negative morale. Throughout the fable the five dysfunctions of their team become evident, i.e. absence of trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance of accountability and inattention to results.
I will not say more about the book, because I am wanting you to read it. But I will say something about one of the things that contributes to our dysfunctionality as leaders. Pretense of perfection, pretense of having a personal character without flaws, pretense of being strong in every point of reference, pretense of having knowledge and wisdom abounding always, is perhaps the most severely counterproductive trait a leader can have. The quality of a strong positive character is not negative, when and where it exists. In fact, the better leader will have the better character. The problem is portraying it as the norm of the leader. This behavior borders on idolatry, in that it restricts the glory due to our God and King, Jesus Christ. Truly high-quality character does not flaunt its perfection, but rather admits its developmental status in this age. While we do not deny the areas wherein the Holy Spirit has developed us in the continual transformation of self into the nature of Christ. Neither do we exalt ourselves before others for the work God has done in us. What we do is to show grace to one another, partnering together as one body united in Christ, knowing we each have areas that need development. When we can become a united team, then the wholeness, or holiness, of Christ shines through.
Living out the reality of being purely human redeemed by the grace of God through faith and being transformed into a new creature that looks like Jesus Christ provides the greatest opportunity to fulfill the calling of God upon every believer’s life. Not only is not necessary to appear as something more, it is counterproductive, arrogant, and destructive for the ministry.
“If you want to be a leader who attracts quality people, the key is to become a person of quality yourself.” — Jim Rohn
Being part of something bigger than one’s self is to partner with God and man to fulfill the vision, purpose, and mission of one’s God-given calling to serve.
To be the leader to accomplish that calling requires overcoming The Five Dysfunctions of a Team as described in Patrick Lencioni’s book.
Focus on Jesus and Follow His Plan,
for indeed,
We Are Better Together.
Blessings and peace in the name of Jesus.
Wishing you all the best in your service for our King Jesus.
