Who is Patrick Lencioni? And 3 Of his Greatest Lessons

Patrick Lencioni

There have been countless leaders throughout history. From authors, and life coaches, to business owners, community members, and sports captains. It undoubtedly takes a certain type of person to lead effectively and inspire others to become the best version of themselves and make positive changes in their personal and professional life. One of which goes by the name of Patrick Lencioni.

While you may have never heard of him before, his lessons have helped professionals all over the world. This is why, today, we are going to dive deep into who Patrick Lencioni is and what some of his greatest lessons are so you can start or end your day feeling inspired. Therefore, if you want to learn more, keep reading!

Who is Patrick Lencioni?

Before getting into some of his greatest lessons, let’s get to know him a little more. Patrick Lencioni is one of the founding members of the Table Group. It is a consulting firm that works with businesses to improve their operations and company culture. However, before founding his own company in 1997, Mr. Lencioni worked with another global management consulting firm, Bain & Company. Since then, Patrick has written 11 books that have sold over 6 million copies worldwide in 30 different languages.

In addition, he serves as a keynote speaker at conferences around the world about various topics, including organizational health, teamwork, and developing ideal team players, amongst other highly requested topics. Furthermore, if you’re looking to listen to Patrick Lencioni’s wisdom on the go, you’ll be happy to know he is also the host of his own podcast. The podcast is called “At the Table with Patrick Lencioni” and is dedicated to topics regarding organizational health, culture, family, practical actions steps, and more. Moreover, Patrick also runs a blog that is available through his website if you are looking for quick content pieces to read when you have a spare moment of time.

What books did He Write?

Furthermore, as we said, Patrick Lencioni has written a total of 11 books throughout his career on various topics that have been sold worldwide. Let’s take a closer look at some of his most popular books below.

1. The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

Arguably one of his most popular and well-respected publications to date, “The Five Dysfunctions of a team” is told with a fictional tale about a CEO who begins at a new company. Throughout the book, readers learn about the five inherent dysfunctions that occur amongst teams that collaborate and how to actively move past them to achieve success.

2. The Advantage

Another fantastic book written by Patrick Lencioni is called “The Advantage.” In this book, Mr. Lencioni indicates that the health of your organization is one of the greatest opportunities for fostering success while giving you a competitive advantage in your market. In addition, he writes that cohesive leadership practices at the highest teams of any organization are fundamental to cultivating alignment and clarity in all areas of a business.

3. Silos, Politics, and Turf Wars

Moreover, the next book by Patrick Lencioni we think is worth reading is “Silos, Politics, and Turf Wars.” In this book, Patrick offers readers valuable advice on how to overcome and eliminate challenges that can cause any business to fail. In addition, he also guides readers through the process of creating goals that inspire employees to collaborate effectively and achieve collective success.

4. The Ideal Team Player

Further, “The Ideal Team Player” is a book that details essential values all team players possess. These virtues include being humble in their work, they act and behave intelligently, and having a hunger within them that helps accelerate the productivity and mood of those around them.

5. Death by Meeting

The final book by Patrick Lencioni we think holds valuable information worth learning is “Death by Meeting.” Similar to his other book, “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team,” Patrick uses the scenario of fictional CEO who attempts to radically change how meetings occur within businesses. Let’s be honest, no employee likes to spend hours of their day in meetings. And luckily, this book details how meeting culture needs to change to create meaningful advantages. In addition, this will boost productivity and company success.

Want to take a personality test used by Fortune 500 companies? Take our free DISC assessment now!

Patrick Lencioni Quotes

Moreover, now that we know who Patrick Lencioni is and the details of some of his most successful literary publications, here are some of our favorite quotes from him to brighten and motivate your day.

  1. “Success is not a matter of mastering subtle, sophisticated theory but rather of embracing common sense with uncommon levels of discipline and persistence.”
  2. “Trust is knowing that when a team member does push you, they’re doing it because they care about the team.”
  3. “People will walk through fire for a leader that’s true and human.”
  4. “Really great people rarely leave a healthy organization.”
  5. “Success comes only for those groups that overcome the all-too-human behavioral tendencies that corrupt teams and breed dysfunctional politics within them.”

3 Of Patrick Lencioni’s Greatest Lessons

Patrick Lencioni is evidently a man of many great lessons. Here are some of the ones we think are worth adapting in your own life. This way, you can live more inspiringly, among others.

1. For any team to be successful, you must trust each other first.

Trusting others begins with allowing ourselves to be vulnerable around others. And by fostering trust within your organization, you can benefit from:

  • Lower staff turnovers
  • Increased productivity
  • More creativity
  • Improved profitability

2. Take accountability for your actions.

To succeed in a team setting, you must be willing to take accountability for your actions. You must also hold others accountable for theirs as well. By doing so, you can identify potential challenges quickly. And, you can reap the rewards as a team without putting the blame on one individual.

3. All successful leaders are humble.

Humility as a leader is one of the most important virtues you can have. This is because it is privileged to lead others. Therefore, by remembering your responsibility to serve for the benefit of others, rather than believe you are better than them, you can create mutual respect and positive company culture that breeds prosperity.

Recommended Resources:
 

Uncover your strengths and weaknesses with our complimentary assessment. Boost your effectiveness at work and with your team.

Free Resource Library: Access our extensive collection of valuable resources for instant support in your personal and professional growth.

Explore Our Course Library:

Enhance your leadership skills with our diverse selection of courses. Take your abilities to the next level and become a more effective leader and team player.

Testimonials

Our Clients Love the Professional Leadership Institute

Your team will, too! Check out some reviews from our students.
The PLI program was invaluable to our network.
The range of topics delivered, the open dialogue, experience, and examples that PLI brought to each session were outstanding and provided a path for our Franchisees and Managers to look at leadership, coaching, and connecting with their teams in a new light. Many have implemented these strategies in their bakeries and have seen immediate results.
Michelle C.
COBS Bread
Highly recommend to help your team move forward
We have locations around BC and Alberta, so getting people on the same page can be very difficult... Until now. Our entire management team and location managers take the same great courses and then meet monthly online with our coach to apply it to our situation. People are engaged, the courses are excellent, we love our coach, and we are all learning together!
Jason Fawcett
President, Kelson Group
The result has been a transformation of our culture. 
We decided to implement PLI's strategies across the country in over 150 locations and over 3500 employees.  The result has been a transformation of our culture.  People's lives have been positively impacted - professionally and personally.  Morale is high and sales and profits are up as a result.
Daryl Verbeek
Daryl Verbeek
We’ve learned how to fix ongoing personnel issues once and for all
The roadmap laid out set our business up to quintuple in sales.  We've learned how to fix ongoing personnel issues once and for all, attract top talent, and spend our time focused on results, not internal staffing problems.  I highly recommend PLI to you - it's worked for us!
John DeJong
Satisfied Client
I had no idea that running a business could be this fun!
In less than 18 months of working with Trevor, he has transformed my business from being average to exceptional, where mediocrity is not acceptable, where being great is standard.  Working with PLI has allowed me to realize my dream of not simply owning a job, but owning a business.
Justin Bontkes
Principal, Caliber Projects
Our culture has taken major steps forward this year
Our culture has taken major steps forward this year with Trevor’s help.  He is funny, relatable, and his tools are very very practical and have helped us focus and upgrade our teams throughout our retail network. Trevor recently spoke to an employee group, and one person remarked, “I could listen to Trevor all day.”   We would highly recommend Trevor.
Stan Pridham
Founder, KMS Tools
The results have been remarkable
At first, we resisted, “This just won’t work with a law firm.” But we persisted and the results have been remarkable: our client base and profits have steadily improved, and staff engagement and morale is the healthiest its ever been.
Doug Lester
Partner, RDM Lawyers
Helped our fast-growing business become what it is today
I've experienced PLI's approach first hand and it's been crucial to sustaining our growth.  I can't imagine a business that wouldn't benefit greatly from his help.
Brian Antenbring
Founder, TEEMA
Provided practical ways to make positive changes
Trevor was incredibly well-received by the entire organization. He was able to articulate people issues that many of our franchisees were experiencing and provided them with practical ways to make positive changes. We have implemented the Star Chart tool across the organization and see it as vital to building happy, effective teams.
Aaron Gillespie
President, COBS Bread
Scroll to Top

Start Learning Today

For Individuals

Unlock your potential and accelerate your career with sought-after management and leadership skills.

 

Transform Your Organization

For Teams

Book a consultation to discuss your challenges and discover how we can help you build a winning team.

 

Sign Up For Weekly Tips!

Get Weekly Coaching Tips Straight To Your Inbox Every Monday.