The Ideal Team Player

How to Recognize and Cultivate the Three Essential Virtues • A Leadership Fable

By: Patrick Lencioni

Narrated by: Adam Barr

"You guys really dropped the ball on the teamwork project.”
They didn’t say anything, so Jeff continued, focusing on Bobby. “You said it wasn’t just posters and t-shirts, but what else was it?” Before they could answer, he went on. “Because you don’t seem to know what you mean when you talk about team players.”
“We didn’t say—” Clare wanted to explain, but Jeff wouldn’t let her.
“Oh wait. I forgot.” Jeff was being sarcastic, but not rude. “You do have one clear definition. A person can’t be a jackass.”
They laughed, but in a guilty sort of way.

In his classic best-selling book, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Patrick Lencioni laid out a groundbreaking, new approach for attacking the dangerous group behaviors that destroy teamwork. Here, he turns his focus to the individual member of a team, revealing the three indispensable virtues that make some people better team players than others.

Lencioni’s latest fable is the story of a leader desperate to save his company by cracking the code on the virtues that define a true team player. Jeff Shanley takes over his family’s locally revered construction firm and realizes that the only way to deliver on the two biggest projects in the company’s history is to rapidly build a culture of hiring and development around those virtues. To do that, he’ll have to confront and risk losing talented employees who don’t know how to work on a team, and convince his fiery VP of operations not to lower the company’s hiring standards in the face of short-term business pressure.

Beyond the fable, Lencioni presents a powerful framework and easy-to-use tools for identifying, hiring, and developing ideal team players in any kind of organization. Whether you’re a leader striving to create a culture of teamwork, a human resources professional looking to hire real team players, or an employee wanting to make yourself an invaluable team member, The Ideal Team Player will prove to be as practical as it is compelling.

©2016 Patrick Lencioni (P)2024 Recorded Books

It’s a must

It’s a must to read If you want to be an ideal team player or want build a strong team

Great info for leaders

Excellent book on building great teams.
We will be using this in our organization. Thank you

Good overview of an outstanding hiring process

I like this practical and implementable means for looking at how we can assess and hire people. I implemented this system a number of years ago after I read this book the first time and it worked fantastically! Highly recommend

Every team needs this read!

Amazing book! The only regret I have is finding it 17 years into my leadership journey!!

Great story and lesson

The author and narrator did a great job bringing this story to life. Great lesson and takeaway.