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I work with teams in the midst of challenging projects. So often these teams need guidance, not just with their team members, but also engaging their executives in supportive ways that will help the team succeed. More and more I find myself referring to the work of Patrick Lencioni for that guidance. Patrick has developed a theory set contained in a trilogy of books. He uses a parable as the setting for introducing the principles. Each story finds an executive with trouble. While working through the situation Lencioni exposes leadership principles. Readers find the approach engaging and memorable. I'll offer comments on each book, but don't cheat yourself…read the books. Better yet, use them with your team to plot your own strategy for bringing forth the leadership you need to make your lean projects successful.

The Five Temptations of a CEO
for producing exceptional results through others

• choosing status over results
• choosing popularity over accountability
• choosing certainty over clarity
• choosing harmony over healthy conflict
• choosing invulnerability over trust

The one thing anyone who has led knows is that the future is uncertain and unknowable. Yet, the same people are often tempted as Lencioni's CEO was tempted. All projects are risky. All customers want confidence that their project will be successful. All leaders are human. Lencioni shows us we can expect our behaviors to be unintentionally unsupportive. When we observe our behaviors with these distinctions we are prepared for taking different actions.

The Four Obsessions of an Effective Executive
for attaining organizational health

• build and maintain a cohesive leadership team
• create organizational clarity
• over-communicate organizational clarity
• reinforce organizational clarity through human systems

Think of these obsessions, or as Lencioni refers to them as disciplines, as a structure for establishing habits of leadership in your organization. By habits I mean the daily routines that you don't think about, but just do. For instance, the third discipline 'over-communicate organizational clarity,' could be manifest by routinely starting every meeting with a re-statement of why — for the sake of what — the group is proceeding with a lean approach to project delivery. Speaking about this once is not enough. Lencioni claims we must raise the issue throughout the life of the inititiative.

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team
building a hot group

• absence of trust
• fear of conflict
• lack of commitment
• avoidance of accountability
• inattention to results

Many of us have come to expect the usual stages of team performance — forming, storming, norming, and performing — as the usual progression of team dynamics. Yet many of us may never have reached the elusive fourth stage. Lencioni (while not using the four stages) offers a different way of viewing team dynamics and performance. These five distinctions offer any team member a 'handle' for shifting the team behavior. I see so many teams leaving the acts of leadership up to the designated leader. Using these distinctions each of us can shape and reshape team behavior becoming more functional.

One last comment on the trilogy. Lencioni offers practical advice with his short lists on leadership. Let me add some more practical advice that I got from Ken Blanchard in Leadership and the One Minute Manager. Be S.M.A.R.T. about how you proceed. Focus your actions in one area rather than 14. Set a goal that is specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and trackable. Get your result then set a new S.M.A.R.T. goal. Notes on Developing a S.M.A.R.T. Approach.