The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable

by Patrick Lencioni

Kathryn raised her eyebrows. “Well, there's more to the story. No one else in the department could stand Fred. And to be honest, he annoyed the heck out of me too. He didn't help anyone with their work, and he made sure everyone knew how much better he was at his job, which was undeniable, even to the people who hated the guy. Anyway, my staff came to me a number of times complaining about Fred. I listened carefully and even spoke to Fred half-heartedly about adjusting his behavior. But I mostly ignored them because I could tell that they resented his skills. More importantly, I was not about to come down on my top performer.” The staff seemed to empathize with her. Kathryn went on. “Eventually, the output of the department began to slide, and so I gave more work to Fred, who complained a little but managed to get it all done. In my mind, he was carrying the department. Pretty soon, morale in the department began to deteriorate more rapidly than ever, and our performance slid further. Again, a number of analysts came to me to complain about Fred, and it was becoming clear that he was indeed contributing to the problems of the group more than I had thought. After a tough night of thinking and losing sleep, I made my first big decision.” Jeff guessed, “You fired him.” Kathryn smiled in a shameful kind of way. “No. I promoted him.” Jaws around the table dropped.