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Abstract
Using a form of storytelling through fables and referencing characters like Jeff Shanley
and Kathryn Petersen, author Patrick Lencioni explains that true ideal team players must be
humble, hungry, and smart. Lencioni uses this style of writing to allow the instruction to resonate
with us and be easily applied practically. When businesses have team players with these
characteristics, members feel an increase in trust, conflict resolution, commitment,
accountability, and results. It`s something dedicated team players will constantly work to
maintain, most commonly under the direction of their leaders.
The first trait of a great team player is humility. “Of all the qualities”, Lencioni (2016)
says this is “the most indispensable attribute of being an effective team player.” Humility is a
personal attribute that manifests as a behavioral tendency to admit personal weakness, appreciate
others’ strengths, and learn from others (Chiu et al., 2021). Rather than vying with others for
attention and recognition, humble people focus on what will best serve the team. The next virtue
Lencioni discusses is hunger. Their passion, drive, dedication, and desire to become better are
visible to leaders and other people on the team. Finally, he tells us ideal team players are smart.
Lencioni then explains various work personas by suggesting that when a person lacks specific
qualities, it results in a distinct and easily recognizable work persona. Lencioni says often team
players show weakness in one or two of these three categories. Recognizing where current team
members need to develop is important in building a strong team culture. Finding team members
who are well versed in all the virtues is rare. More than likely, hired team players have a natural
aptitude for two of the skills; yet they lack one of the characteristics. If you identify a few
recognizable personas, he explains that these types of people are easier to grow into ideal team
players.
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Lencioni introduces these personas having two of the three characteristics as humble and
hungry, the accidental mess maker, hungry and smart, the skillful politician, and the lovable
slacker. With each of these different personas, he explains the nuances of each, the needs to
improve, as well as their effects on the team. Each of these personas have a specific deficit that
needs to be fulfilled for them to develop into real team players.
He explains the remaining personas which have only one of the desired characteristics as
the pawn, the bulldozer, and the charmer. Consistent development in the three virtues is the key
to creating ideal team players, so Lencioni (2016) walks us through increasing humility,
maximizing hunger, and strengthening smarts. It is through this development that these personas
can become stronger team members.
Lencioni explains that knowing these different personas can help leaders identify them in
employees and potential hires. “Unless you`re willing to put in the necessary time and effort, it`s
best to not add people who lack one or two of the necessary qualities to a powerful team”
(Lencioni, 2016). Shet and Nair (2023), confirmed by explaining a person-group fit when
referring to hiring decisions. Person-group fit can be described as congruence between a person
and other work group members. Both the group and individual performances are influenced by
the attainment of person-group fit, which ultimately affects organizational effectiveness (Shet
and Nair, 2023).
Keywords: team, team leadership, team development, hiring, team effectiveness, team
understanding, team player
4-MAT BOOK REVIEW, LENCIONI, THE IDEAL TEAM PLAYER 4
Concrete Response
Reading The Ideal Team Player by Patrick Lencioni instantly reminded me of a teacher,
turned author, Ron Clark that I had the opportunity to meet and listen to almost 10 years ago, in
Orlando, Florida. Ron Clark had been a teacher since 1995. He would have you imagine your
team as a bus filled with people who either help or hinder a team’s ability to move it forward:
drivers (who steer the organization), runners (who consistently go above and beyond for the good
of the organization), joggers (who do their jobs without pushing themselves), walkers (who are
just getting pulled along), and riders (who hinder success and drag the team down). It’s the team
leader’s job to recognize how members fall into these categories, encourage them to keep the
“bus” moving by working together, and know when it’s time to kick the riders off (Clark, 2015).
Utilizing the information from Clark I first implemented, in 2016, principles that
Lencioni wrote about in the same year. I used Clark’s principles to assess the team I currently
lead in a big-box retailer. I remember one specific conversation I had with an individual who was
a rider [charmer] on our team bus. I had him read the chapter on riders in Clark’s book, then had
him explain it to me in his own words. He told me that is sounded like a lazy person who didn’t
want to be there. I remember explaining to him that it wasn’t laziness, but more of a lack of
focused energy. I then told him that I looked at him as this type of team member. I explained that
if he was to take the same energy used to avoid tasks and responsibilities and put into assisting
the team reach the goals, he would be a more valued team member. I explained it as skill vs. will.
Lencioni says “Being the life of the party or a source of emotional support is their forte.
Nevertheless, they wind up irritating and frustrating employees with a poor work ethic and need
for attention” (Lencioni, 2016).
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Reflection
Lencioni wrote his easy-to-read book in a fun and interesting way. I suspect that his
creative way of naming each “persona” will have a way of sticking with you longer than a
scholarly written book may. Because the book was written in a simple way, yet contained
important high-brow information about human psychology and team development, any level of
leader would be able to read it, understand it, and implement changes to positively affect the
quality of their respective teams. Many positive things come from the way this information is
presented.
Questions left unanswered for me were specifically focused on the aftermath of the
development sessions. What happens when the first approach does not work? What does the
conversation with an applicant or current team member look like when you are not able to
rehabilitate them? What are some poignant self-assessment questions? What does it look like
when your assessment and the team member’s assessment are far apart? At what point is it a will
versus skill issue and cutting ties is recommended? These questions only lead to more questions,
and I would have liked for the author to address the process cradle to grave.
With the understanding that books are usually more generalized than specific journal
articles are, I would have enjoyed this book if it was geared specifically towards key
performance indicators (KPI)s in relationship to the overall team goals. As the reader, I was left
to read, interpret, and redefine Lencioni’s theories into my specific application. While it can be
done, it is a little more cumbersome. There was little to no actual summation of the book, and the
relationship to Lencioni’s previous book, The five dysfunctions of a team and the “final thought”
were less than two pages. I felt as if there was a lack of resolution.
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Action
I created a quick self-assessment using the questions presented in Lencioni’s book for
manager’s assessment of their team. Modified only to be self-reflective, I used two questions
from each of the following attributes, humble, hungry and smart.
Humble:
Do you genuinely compliment or praise teammates [followers] without hesitation?
Do you offer and receive apologies graciously?
Hungry:
Do you do more than what is required in your own job?
Do you look for opportunities to contribute outside of your area of responsibility?
Smart:
Do you show empathy to members of your team?
Are you aware of how your words and actions impact others on the team?
My personal answers to these questions prompted the two SMART goals that I would like
to put into action. My first specific goal is to conduct an assessment of my management team
utilizing Lencioni’s assessment questions from pages 188-189 of The Ideal Team Player. I will
accomplish a full team assessment by April 8, 2024. To accomplish this, I will create a Microsoft
Word document with the questions to be utilized during the assessment, I will then complete the
assessment using past annual appraisals as well as current working knowledge of the team
interactions. I will create a separate Word document for each of my 14 Branch Managers.
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My second goal will be to access current KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) for each of
my 26 retail locations. I will create reporting for these KPIs no later than April 1, 2024 to
include: sales, expenses, invoice margin, gross margin and EBITDA (estimated income before
income tax, depreciation, and amortization). I will then utilize this report monthly. The purpose
for creating this report specific for the retail locations under my jurisdiction is to create a top five
list. This top five list will receive an email from me with the regional manager, vice president,
and CEO copied, commending them for their efforts to achieve the desired KPIs.
Summary
While the number of applicants who upload their data on job portals has increased, it has
become difficult for organizations to manage the data. HR practitioners [hiring managers] find it
taxing to analyze various forms of data to determine the “right fit” candidate for a job role (Shet
and Nair, 2023). Being able to narrow your selectin pool to applicants that are more prone to play
a specific role on an existent team is paramount to success. Lencioni lays out the basic attributes
that will allow you to custom pick applicants to fill a roll as opposed to hiring good “general”
applicants that may clash with the already existing team dynamic. In the author’s final thought
Lencioni shares his belief that the attributes of humility, hunger, and people smarts have
relevance outside of the workplace (Lencioni, 2016). He speaks briefly of the greatest attribute,
humility. He wisely gives credit to the most compelling example of humility, Jesus Christ. With
that, I would be without foundation if I didn’t incorporate biblical relevance into this book
review. The book of Micah tells us exactly how important humility is by saying “He has shown
you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love
mercy and to walk humbly with your God” (New International Bible, 1973/2024, Micah 6:8) Our
faith and trust in Jesus can be answered with these three heart questions: Am I acting justly? Do I
4-MAT BOOK REVIEW, LENCIONI, THE IDEAL TEAM PLAYER 9
References
Chiu, C.-Y. (Chad), Marrone, J. A., & Tuckey, M. R. (2021). How do humble people mitigate
group incivility? An examination of the social oil hypothesis of collective humility.
Journal of Occupational Health Psychology., 26(5), 361–373.
https://doi.org/10.1037/ocp0000244
Clark, R. (2015). Move your bus: An extraordinary new approach to accelerating success in
work and life. Touchstone Publishing
Lencioni, P. (2016). The ideal team player: How to recognize and cultivate the three essential
virtues, a leadership fable. Jossey-Bass
New International Bible. (2024). The NIV Bible. https://www.bible.com/niv/ (Original work
published 1973)
Shet, S., & Nair, B. (2023). Quality of hire: Expanding the multi-level fit employee selection
using machine learning. International Journal of Organizational Analysis (2005), 31(6),
2103-2117. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOA-06-2021-2843
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