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The Ideal Team Player: How to Recognize and Cultivate the Three Essential Virtues • A Leadership Fable
"You guys really dropped the ball on the teamwork project.”
They didn’t say anything, so Jeff continued, focusing on Bobby. “You said it wasn’t just posters and t-shirts, but what else was it?” Before they could answer, he went on. “Because you don’t seem to know what you mean when you talk about team players.”
“We didn’t say—” Clare wanted to explain, but Jeff wouldn’t let her.
“Oh wait. I forgot.” Jeff was being sarcastic, but not rude. “You do have one clear definition. A person can’t be a jackass.”
They laughed, but in a guilty sort of way.
In his classic best-selling book, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Patrick Lencioni laid out a groundbreaking, new approach for attacking the dangerous group behaviors that destroy teamwork. Here, he turns his focus to the individual member of a team, revealing the three indispensable virtues that make some people better team players than others.
Lencioni’s latest fable is the story of a leader desperate to save his company by cracking the code on the virtues that define a true team player. Jeff Shanley takes over his family’s locally revered construction firm and realizes that the only way to deliver on the two biggest projects in the company’s history is to rapidly build a culture of hiring and development around those virtues. To do that, he’ll have to confront and risk losing talented employees who don’t know how to work on a team, and convince his fiery VP of operations not to lower the company’s hiring standards in the face of short-term business pressure.
Beyond the fable, Lencioni presents a powerful framework and easy-to-use tools for identifying, hiring, and developing ideal team players in any kind of organization. Whether you’re a leader striving to create a culture of teamwork, a human resources professional looking to hire real team players, or an employee wanting to make yourself an invaluable team member, The Ideal Team Player will prove to be as practical as it is compelling.
They didn’t say anything, so Jeff continued, focusing on Bobby. “You said it wasn’t just posters and t-shirts, but what else was it?” Before they could answer, he went on. “Because you don’t seem to know what you mean when you talk about team players.”
“We didn’t say—” Clare wanted to explain, but Jeff wouldn’t let her.
“Oh wait. I forgot.” Jeff was being sarcastic, but not rude. “You do have one clear definition. A person can’t be a jackass.”
They laughed, but in a guilty sort of way.
In his classic best-selling book, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Patrick Lencioni laid out a groundbreaking, new approach for attacking the dangerous group behaviors that destroy teamwork. Here, he turns his focus to the individual member of a team, revealing the three indispensable virtues that make some people better team players than others.
Lencioni’s latest fable is the story of a leader desperate to save his company by cracking the code on the virtues that define a true team player. Jeff Shanley takes over his family’s locally revered construction firm and realizes that the only way to deliver on the two biggest projects in the company’s history is to rapidly build a culture of hiring and development around those virtues. To do that, he’ll have to confront and risk losing talented employees who don’t know how to work on a team, and convince his fiery VP of operations not to lower the company’s hiring standards in the face of short-term business pressure.
Beyond the fable, Lencioni presents a powerful framework and easy-to-use tools for identifying, hiring, and developing ideal team players in any kind of organization. Whether you’re a leader striving to create a culture of teamwork, a human resources professional looking to hire real team players, or an employee wanting to make yourself an invaluable team member, The Ideal Team Player will prove to be as practical as it is compelling.
Audible Audio
Published January 28, 2025
About the author
Patrick Lencioni
107 books2,500 followersPatrick Lencioni is a New York Times best-selling author, speaker, consultant and founder and president of The Table Group, a firm dedicated to helping organizations become healthy. Lencioni’s ideas around leadership, teamwork and employee engagement have impacted organizations around the globe. His books have sold nearly three million copies worldwide.
When Lencioni is not writing, he consults to CEOs and their executive teams, helping them to become more cohesive within the context of their business strategy. The widespread appeal of Lencioni’s leadership models have yielded a diverse base of clients, including a mix of Fortune 500 companies, professional sports organizations, the military, non-profits, universities and churches. In addition, Lencioni speaks to thousands of leaders each year at world class organizations and national conferences. He was recently cited in the Wall Street Journal as one of the most sought-after business speakers in the nation.
Prior to founding his firm, he worked as a corporate executive for Sybase, Oracle and Bain & Company. He also served on the National Board of Directors for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of America.
When Lencioni is not writing, he consults to CEOs and their executive teams, helping them to become more cohesive within the context of their business strategy. The widespread appeal of Lencioni’s leadership models have yielded a diverse base of clients, including a mix of Fortune 500 companies, professional sports organizations, the military, non-profits, universities and churches. In addition, Lencioni speaks to thousands of leaders each year at world class organizations and national conferences. He was recently cited in the Wall Street Journal as one of the most sought-after business speakers in the nation.
Prior to founding his firm, he worked as a corporate executive for Sybase, Oracle and Bain & Company. He also served on the National Board of Directors for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of America.
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