The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

Yesterday, on my lunch break, I finished up Patrick Lencioni's The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. Much like Death by Meeting, the fable did a great job of making you connect to the characters in the story. I also like the fact that the main character, Kathryn, has a connection to Casey and Will in Death by Meeting.

There are five dysfunctions, Lencioni addresses; (1) Absence of Trust. (2) Fear of Conflict. (3) Lack of Commitment. (4) Avoidance of Accountability. (5) Inattention to Results.

At the end of the book, he provides a survey for your team to take that will help identify a few areas that may be or are problem areas for your team based on the 5 dysfunctions. My teammates humored me and took it. It was interesting and thankfully we appear to be a functional team.

However, here's the irony. On one of the questions, our team said that rarely do our "team members call out one another's deficiencies or unproductive behaviors." That means, we are either all very productive and efficient and there is rarely anything to "call out" or we were all scared to "call out" others on the survey, making the whole survey inaccurate. Hopefully it is the first reason.

This is another good read. Check it out.

The One Minute Manager

This weekend I read Ken Blanchard's The One Minute Manager. It was a quick read and a very simple approach to managing others and yourself. From setting one minute goals, to one minute praisings, to one minute reprimands, I was reminded of the phrase people in our company use often. It is to "catch somebody doing something right."

I enjoyed the book.

Death by Meetings

I just finished Patrick Lencioni's fable, Death by Meeting. It was recommended to me by a pretty successful fellow, so I figured he knew what he was talking about. It was enjoyable and easy to read. Once I got going in the book, I couldn't put it down. I had to find out if Will and Casey were going to make it, and you know what...I can't tell you the ending but here is what I can tell you.

Lencioni suggests that company's loose a ton of productivity and momentum from meetings. This book opened my eyes to better meetings and better agendas. It's funny, I think most people see this title and immediately think..."thank goodness, someone is finally advocating less meetings." I was surprised to find that the story doesn't necessarily promote less meetings (sometime company's need more), it simply promotes more effective meetings.

I can recall some pretty awesome meetings, and I can recall some pretty crappy ones too. This book got me excited about the next meeting.

The Fred Factor

This weekend I read The Fred Factor by Mark Sanborn. I had been wanting to read it ever since I read his You Don't Need a Title to be a Leader.

It was a simple book with a simple message, but boy it will motivate you for sure! If you don't like your job, you need to read this little book. It will help you find enjoyment in the things you do everyday. It will inspire you to be a "Fred".

Who is Fred? I'm not going to tell you. You really need to read it to appreciate who Fred is. It's a great book. You'll have it read in an hour.

Primal Leadership

I just finished Primal Leadership by Daniel Goleman, Richard Boyatzis, & Annie McKee. No, it has no connection to Hanlon's Primal Branding.

The book in a nutshell is simple. As a leader, you should be aware of your self and others when it comes to emotions. The book refers to the importance of having a high EI (emotional intelligence).

I enjoyed the read because it takes a completely different approach to leadership compared to the past few books I've read on the subject. It caused me to do a lot of reflection on myself. Although it is easy to read a book like this and think about others who need to read it, I actually found myself easily thinking about myself more than others.

A few things that stood out to me...

• Smile more.
• Keep your Customer Service people VERY, VERY, happy. They need & deserve it, because there job is so emotionally draining.
  
• Write a page about how you would like for your life to be like 15 years from now and make a list of 27 things you want to do before you die. These exercises will help you identify what is important to you and who your ideal self is (I haven't done this yet, but maybe in a future post - why 27? I have no idea).
  

Rudolph Giuliani on Leadership

I just finished Rudolph W. Giuliani's book Leadership. I think one word describes it all to me...VERBOSE! I don't guess I should have been surprised knowing he was a lawyer. His stories and examples were full of detail. Whether you like Giuliani or not, you can't say that the Mayor of one of the largest cities in the world hasn't learned a thing or two about leadership.

There were a few good things I took away from reading this book, but in comparison to other books on leadership, it was a lot different. He discusses a lot events that took place during his time in office as Mayor of New York to support different leadership traits.

Two things that stood out to me as I read...

1. "Do what's possible, try what's not". There are many occasions people don't do the things possible because they don't think it will amount to much. Then on the other hand, people don't try what is impossible because they are afraid of failing. This statement stood out to me because it changes your way of thinking about tasks everyday.
   
   
2. Giuliani also kept a sign on his desk that said "I'm responsible". That could mean a lot of things to people, but the more I thought about it, I am (and could be) responsible for more than what I am currently. If I take the mentality of being responsible for everything, I am taking an initiative to influence more.
   

21 Laws of Leadership

So far so good. I'm 10 weeks into the year and I just finished my 10th book. That may not be a big deal for a lot of you, but it is for me. My original goal for the year was one a month.

At any rate, I just finished up John C. Maxwell's The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. This book was a very easy read but it was even more inspiring. It was laid out very simple and I gained a lot out of it.

As I was reading through the Law of the Big MO, it reminded me of the importance of momentum. I remembered when I played little league basketball in 4th and 5th grade, there was a rule that teams were not allowed to full court press until the final 2 minutes of each half. That rule was there to keep some teams from getting frustrated at the beginning of the half. It was suppose to keep games close.

Well, for my friend Scott and I, the last 2 minutes were simply a reward for hard work. Rather than waiting to develop momentum in the final 2 minutes, we played by the rules and instigated a half-court press. As a pair, we didn't let anyone across half court while dribbling the ball. They had to pass it over our heads well before they got to half court, if they had any chance at keeping us from stealing the ball. In fact, it worked to our favor, because once a player crossed the line with the ball, he immediately lost the ability to move backwards due to a back court violation. By the time the 2 minutes came around, our momentum had already started. Victory was the only thing we had on our mind. In fact when the 2 minutes came around, we often times continued to play half-court. We knew they would have to face us in 10 seconds or less anyways. As we grew older, coaches and kids figured out how to get around us and we had to look for other methods. We used what we knew at the time and it worked.

Create momentum with what you have.

The Next Generation Leader

This morning I finished Andy Stanley's The Next Generation Leader. Stanley has a lot of insight on leadership as pastor of the North Point Community Church in Atlanta.

There are five major sections in his book that describe the qualities of a leader.
1) Competence
2) Courage
3) Clarity
4) Coaching
5) Character

One of the big take aways I got was to realize that fears are areas for opportunity. A large part of my personality is to look at the details and make an informed decision. Often times, it takes too long for me to make that decision because I am afraid to move forward without all the facts.

This is a good little read and as you can imagine, there are lots of biblical references on leadership.

Leadership is an Art

I just finished up Leadership is an Art, by Max DePree. Even thought the book was written back in the 80's there were several good things that stood out to me. A fellow I work with always says "if you get one thing or one idea out of a book, it was worth buying." I'd have add that it is certainly worth checking out at the library.

DePree writes this book with double spacing and wide margins for you to take notes. The book is great for making you think. In fact, DePree intends for the reader to take their time even thought you could read the book very quickly.

One of the ideas that stood out most to me in the book, was an illustration he gave about why Sandy Koufax was such a great pitcher - he always had a good catcher. His point was that if you don't have a team that can handle catching each other's fastballs, your team won't be as successful. Or rather, if you are not able to throw your best pitch at the work you do, figure out how to get in a position where you can bring the heat. Then help others on your team do the same.

You Don't Need a Title to be a Leader

If you ever felt like you weren't getting the credit you deserve, this book might help you see yourself a little better. I know a lot of people who feel like they have to have a title to be important but

Mark Sanborn in You Don't Need a Title to Be a Leader does a great job of helping you understand the importance of everything that you do at work.

This is book is a quick read and makes you feel better about yourself and the things you do behind the scenes when no one else is looking.