Quotes by Patrick Lencioni

Politics is when people choose their words and actions based on how they want others to react rather than based on what they really think.

Remember teamwork begins by building trust. And the only way to do that is to overcome our need for invulnerability.

Great teams do not hold back with one another. They are unafraid to air their dirty laundry. They admit their mistakes, their weaknesses, and their concerns without fear of reprisal.

Like a good marriage, trust on a team is never complete; it must be maintained over time

Trust is knowing that when a team member does push you, theyre doing it because they care about the team.

No quality or characteristic is more important than trust

Ego is the ultimate killer on a team

People who don’t like conflict have an amazing ability to avoid it, even when they know it’s theoretically necessary

The lack of conflict is precisely the cause of one of the biggest problems that meetings have: they are boring

I don’t think anyone ever gets completely used to conflict. If it’s not a little uncomfortable, then it’s not real. The key is to keep doing it anyway

conflict is productive

Commitment is a function of two things: clarity and buy-in

Team synergy has an extraordinary impact on business results.

Teamwork requires some sacrifice up front people who work as a team have to put the collective needs of the group ahead of their individual interests.

The kind of people that all teams need are people who are humble, hungry, and smart: humble being little ego, focusing more on their teammates than on themselves. Hungry, meaning they have a strong work ethic, are determined to get things done, and contribute any way they can. Smart, meaning not intellectually smart but inner personally smart.

There is almost nothing more painful for a leader than seeing good people leave a growing organization, whether its a priest watching a Sunday school teacher walk out the door or a CEO saying goodbye to a co-founder.

I have yet to meet members of a leadership team who I thought lacked the intelligence or the domain expertise required to be successful. Ive met many, however, who failed to foster organizational health. Their companies were riddled with politics, various forms of dysfunction, and general confusion about their direction and mission.

The truth is that intelligence, knowledge, and domain expertise are vastly overrated as the driving forces behind competitive advantage and sustainable success.

Anybody, and any company, can have a big run of success once, but if youre going to repeat that over time, you need to be aware that you need to keep learning.

When leaders throughout an organization take an active, genuine interest in the people they manage, when they invest real time to understand employees at a fundamental level, they create a climate for greater morale, loyalty, and, yes, growth.