The Synergist: How to Lead Your Team to Predictable Success

by Les McKeown

Why do so many teams fail to perform - achieving compromise at best and gridlock at worst? And what does it take to end this gridlock? Wall Street Journal bestselling author and speaker Les McKeown shows how to take any team from gridlock to world class success. In this book, McKeown argues that every successful team includes a critical player, the Synergist, who can take the three existing types - The bold dreamers (Visionaries), the pragmatic realists (Operators), and the systems designers (Processors) - and knit them together into a dynamic, well-rounded team. Most importantly, according to McKeown, the Synergist is a role that anyone can learn. While most attempts at teamwork improvement deal only with the symptoms of group dysfunction such as distrust, poor communication, and fear of change, McKeown address the root the innately unstable Visionary-Operator-Processor triangle. Because each of the three styles' motivations, views, and goals are incompatible, without a Synergist every team will eventually implode, stall, or underperform. Only the Synergist can put aside their own agenda and interpret the language of difficult personalities, capture the best from each person, and put the good of the enterprise ahead of their own ego. McKeown- who has used techniques presented here in his consulting with Harvard University, American Express Financial Services, the US Army, Pella Corporation, Microsoft, United Technologies Corporation, and more- shows how any individual can fill this critical role, whether or not they're the formal leader of the group. With thought-provoking self-assessments and an extensive Synergist Toolkit, he teaches how anyone can learn to be an effective Synergist by recognizing the vital signs of ineffective teamwork and making the right interventions at these pivotal moments.

Genres: Leadership, Business, Management, Nonfiction, Business Strategy, Personal Growth

271 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 3, 2012

About the author

Les McKeown is the president and CEO of Predictable Success. Les has launched and managed over forty businesses and is the cofounder of an incubation company that helped hundreds of entrepreneurs launch businesses employing thousands worldwide. Since moving to the United States in 1999, Les has helped founder-owners, CEOs, C-level executives, and their teams identify and eliminate personal and organizational barriers to growth.

Les lives in Marblehead, Massachusetts, with his wife and two dogs, and receives occasional care packages from his three children.

Contact Les at Lesm@predictablesuccess.com and read more at Predictablesuccess.com

Reviews

[CJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

An outstanding business book - and seeing Les in person is worth doing! I love the concepts of the Visionary, Operator and Processor and how those play out in the arc of a business growing. I find that this arc applies to nonprofits as well!

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

A helpful explanation of the strengths and weaknesses of visionaries (big picture thinking), operators (just get it done), and processors (make sure it's organized), and how they interact. The author introduces the idea of a synergist that provides team cohesion and a focus on how decisions impact the corporation.

I am definitely a processor, with a little bit of operator; I have almost no synergist or visionary. And, true to form, I do struggle to connect with visionary types.

I probably won't remember the specific steps on how to be a synergist or make good decisions, so I'll note them here, along with which ones the processor excels at and struggles with:

Synergist skills
1. Personal productivity
a. Time management - strength
b. Priority management
c. Crisis management - weakness
d. Delegation
2. Teamwork
a. Conflict management - weakness
b. Difficult conversations - weakness
c. Communication skills
d. Inclusiveness - strength
e. Accountability - strength

Decision making process
1. Investigation
a. Intellectual rigor - weakness: stick to relevant info
b. Embracing change
c. Financial understanding
2. Interpretation
a. Stamina
b. Discipline - weakness: avoid analysis paralysis
c. Objectivity - strength
3. Implementation
a. Consensuality
b. Communication
c. Accountability - strength

[Jamie Meyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

The concept behind this book is awesome! In the workplace, people typically operate in one of three way: The Visionary, The Operator, or The Processor. The Visionary is leading the charge, always bringing new ideas to the table ready to start the next project. The Operator is a doer, give them a project and they will make sure it’s done and done fast so they can finishing the next project. The Processor is exactly that, a processor. They’re all about systems, structure, and order.

All of these roles are necessary and yet, they can each drive each other completely crazy because they are so different! Enter, the Synergist. The Synergist works to solve problems, meet in the middle, troubleshoot, pick up on tensions and solve them before they blow up.

The idea behind this books is that everyone and learn how to become a Synergist, no matter what your natural style is. By doing so, teams work better together, accomplish more, and are overall more satisfied with what they do.

[Josh Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! What an eye opening concept for working with teams. It has helped me to understand and be more gracious to myself and others as I lead in and participate with teams. I finally have language for some of the “why’s.” This book is a must for any organizational leader.

[PurposeFocusCommitment · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have seen firsthand how teams full of experts in their field failed to accomplish the teams’ goals. The problem wasn’t in the knowledge they had or didn’t have, it was that they couldn’t come to an agreement on what are the priorities and how to get things done. Have you ever found yourself being part of such a team?

If you were or still are wondering how things could have gone better then you might find a couple of answers in this book. When doing the book review I was a bit conflicted on how I should rate it. The message of the book is very interesting, but at the same time, the book is too long (at certain points of the book, the author is stretching out his theory and it gets repetitive). But all in all the message is clear and I found a new point of view on teamwork that I will definitely use in my future endeavors.

When you are in a situation such that demands teamwork there is no place to think that you know everything, or that your point of view and your goals or tasks are most valid. A very important lesson that I have learned from the book is that even if you are a team player many times you forget that other members of your team have their own point of views about the tasks at hand. And also that they interpret the teams’ goal in their own manner based on their style of processing information and working style. When that happens some members of the team might think they did their job when actually the team is only halfway done. But when you have a Synergist in your team his job is to spot these types of behavior and get all the members in the team back on track. Another great lesson from the book is the fact that you should add or remove members in your team based on which stage of the endeavor the team is. Having all types of members (Visionary, Operator, Processor) at the same time without the Synergist will most probably result in the team not being able to effectively function, ending in missed opportunities and high costs for your organization.

If you are interested in books on team dynamics or team management then you should pick up this book.

You can find more book reviews with notes from the book at: https://purposefocuscommitment.com/ca...

[David McClendon, Sr · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Synergist is a rather interesting book. It is a great book for anyone who has to work in a group or team setting. McKeown discusses the different styles of people who interact within a group or team setting.

McKeown introduces the concepts of Visionaries, Operators and Processors which can all be found within most large groups or teams. Most people possess attributes from more than one of these styles. One style that I did not see introduced was the slacker. The slacker is the person who shows up, sometimes, and contributes nothing. That personality was not within the scope of this book.

Any manager tasked with leading or being a part of a team or group would benefit from reading this book. It has an easy-to-read style and is very reader-friendly. It starts out with some scenarios to introduce the problem that can be solved by using the book. Then, it moves into a discussion of the different types of group members and how they interact. Later, it discusses positive ways to improve these group encounters. The book ends by bringing the reader back to the original scenarios and discussing how the information discussed in the book improved things.

This book is a great tool and would be a good addition to the library of anyone who deals with teams or groups.
Book Review Policy
My policy on book reviews is to give you my honest opinion of the book. From time to time publishers will give me a copy of their book for free for the purpose of me reading the book and writing a review. The publishers understand when they give me the book that I am under no obligation to write a positive review.

If you will look at all my reviews, you will see that there have been occasions when I have written a negative review after having been given a book.

I often provide links to books on Amazon.com where you can purchase books and help support the continued operation of this blog. However, I strongly encourage you to check out your local library. Many libraries now offer electronic borrowing for free.

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I obtained this book from Cave Hendricks Communication. This did not influence my opinion or review in anyway.

[Sherrie Rohde · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love studying how peoples' minds work and have read so many books on personality types and quite a few tests and quizzes. All of those helped me in understanding others and the way they work but The Synergist is a new level of perspective. Les' writing style holds my attention while illustrating through his personal experience, and the experience of those he's worked with, the different mindsets and how they apply in the business realm. Not only does he explain the strengths and weaknesses of each team personality, but also explains how everyone can adopt a synergist mindset to help the team achieve predictable success. I'm super appreciative to have had the chance to read this book and am already working towards applying it personally.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. It was very easy to read and understand. His 1st few chapters I thought were really good on defining his 2 natural group styles that most people fall into. Though the book is written for the business person, its information and tips on how to become a synergist and to eliminate group stagnation actually would work in any group dynamic whether business, personal or family. The book gives you access to his website and additional information.

I recommend it to anyone wanting an easy read on group functionality and how to keep it on task.

[Teri Temme · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you work in a team (who doesn't?) reading this book will show you with clarity some of the stumbling blocks we all deal with and more importantly what to do to avoid them and work through them. I learned a lot reading this book and also taking the assessments on the website. You always get what you put into it and Mr. McKeown offers a plethora of information to help you work together more effectively! Watch the video's too - very helpful in understanding your natural type and how to call forth the Synergist we all can be when we need to be.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Les has a very accessible writing style and aptly describes the leadership styles one can encounter on teams. Read this book if you need to interact with teams at work, at play, while volunteering, etc. You will learn a lot about yourself as well.

[Jason Galloway · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book after I heard Les McKeown speak in Boise for an EO event. He knows the cycle well, and it has help me identify some of the different roles of players on our team. It specifically demonstrates the importance of the processor - something I am terrible at.

[Tridiv Daas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book, must read for all entreprenuers. It clearly explains the reason for grid locks in organisation. how differnt kinds of people conduct themselves differently and how the synergy can be maintained.

[Vmendoza]

Right on the money when it comes to working in teams and how they synergistic provides the environment so everyone can work together by removing the tension.

[Randall · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found it surprisingly helpful for understanding dysfunction in the office.

[Darryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesting ideas on natural approaches by different personality types

little over the top with promotion of the author "system"

all in all worth a read to understand how team interact

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book on team dynamics ever!! Have recommended it to countless friends and colleagues.

[Sorento62 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of good insights, although this paradigm will not fit every situation.