When Teams Work Best: 6,000 Team Members and Leaders Tell What it Takes to Succeed

by Frank Lafasto, Carl E. Larson, Carl Larson

What makes some teams achieve extraordinary outcomes, while other fall disappointingly short of the mark? Frank LaFasto and Carl Larson have systematically explored that question for more than 20 years. In 1989, they published the best-selling book TeamWork; What Must Go Right/What Can Go Wrong , which reported the results of an in-depth study of some of the most successful teams in recent history and identified the eight characteristics of high performance teams. When Teams Work Best advances this groundbreaking research by probing more deeply inside the workings of hundred of teams―some effective and some faltering. For over a decade, the authors collected and analyzed responses from more than 6,000 team members and leaders across a variety of industries, in both public and private sectors, to find out exactly what conditions help or hinder teams in achieving their goals. The voices of these team members―often eloquent, always enlightening―are heard through the quotations that appear throughout the book.

Genres: Leadership, Business, Nonfiction

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2001

Reviews

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm still working my way through this volume. It is assigned reading for a communications class at UCCS. It's not my usual genre, and it seems a little redundant to me. I think that's just how writing is done in the social sciences. They have some useful insights which I hope will be helpful when I start teaching.

[Mariah Mehus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really liked this one. Even though it was printed over twenty years ago the advice still rings true for current leadership.

[Daryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second self-help-ish nonfiction book I've read in a couple of weeks and will likely be the last for a while (they're just not generally my bag). The book contained a lot of very useful suggestions, and they were backed by thousands of data points, so I felt less like I was being pitched a warm fuzzy, trust-fall type seminar than I did when reading Crucial Conversations. The book's a pretty quick read, and I think the value I got out of it will prove to be well worth that short time.

[Ambri Refer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the feedback that was included from the surveys. Most books just include the results without the individual comments. The comments enhanced what the author was trying to communicate. While some things were said over and over and some might feel it is redundant, I felt these were the issues that one needs to pay attention to because the authors felt that they were important and they impact a variety of situations with teams.

[Jennifer · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very slow book, difficult to start as well as complete. I didn't take anything new from the book. The only reason I read the book was because it was assigned by my professor.

[Joy Kaplan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super Important for anyone leading teams to read!