Patrick Lencioni Quotes

Politics is when people choose their words and actions based on how they want others to react rather than based on what they really think.

~ Patrick Lencioni

Remember teamwork begins by building trust. And the only way to do that is to overcome our need for invulnerability.

~ Patrick Lencioni

Great teams do not hold back with one another. They are unafraid to air their dirty laundry. They admit their mistakes, their weaknesses, and their concerns without fear of reprisal.

~ Patrick Lencioni

Like a good marriage, trust on a team is never complete; it must be maintained over time

~ Patrick Lencioni

Trust is knowing that when a team member does push you, they're doing it because they care about the team.

~ Patrick Lencioni

No quality or characteristic is more important than trust

~ Patrick Lencioni

Ego is the ultimate killer on a team

~ Patrick Lencioni

People who don’t like conflict have an amazing ability to avoid it, even when they know it’s theoretically necessary

~ Patrick Lencioni

The lack of conflict is precisely the cause of one of the biggest problems that meetings have: they are boring

~ Patrick Lencioni

I don’t think anyone ever gets completely used to conflict. If it’s not a little uncomfortable, then it’s not real. The key is to keep doing it anyway

~ Patrick Lencioni

conflict is productive

~ Patrick Lencioni

Commitment is a function of two things: clarity and buy-in

~ Patrick Lencioni

Team synergy has an extraordinary impact on business results.

~ Patrick Lencioni

The kind of people that all teams need are people who are humble, hungry, and smart: humble being little ego, focusing more on their teammates than on themselves. Hungry, meaning they have a strong work ethic, are determined to get things done, and contribute any way they can. Smart, meaning not intellectually smart but inner personally smart.

~ Patrick Lencioni

There is almost nothing more painful for a leader than seeing good people leave a growing organization, whether it's a priest watching a Sunday school teacher walk out the door or a CEO saying goodbye to a co-founder.

~ Patrick Lencioni

I have yet to meet members of a leadership team who I thought lacked the intelligence or the domain expertise required to be successful. I've met many, however, who failed to foster organizational health. Their companies were riddled with politics, various forms of dysfunction, and general confusion about their direction and mission.

~ Patrick Lencioni

The truth is that intelligence, knowledge, and domain expertise are vastly overrated as the driving forces behind competitive advantage and sustainable success.

~ Patrick Lencioni

Anybody, and any company, can have a big run of success once, but if you're going to repeat that over time, you need to be aware that you need to keep learning.

~ Patrick Lencioni

When leaders throughout an organization take an active, genuine interest in the people they manage, when they invest real time to understand employees at a fundamental level, they create a climate for greater morale, loyalty, and, yes, growth.

~ Patrick Lencioni

If you could get all the people in the organization rowing in the same direction, you could dominate any industry, in any market, against any competition, at any time.

~ Patrick Lencioni

What's amazing is that so many leaders who value teamwork will tolerate people who aren't humble. They reluctantly hire self-centred people and then justify it because those people have desired skills.

~ Patrick Lencioni

Whether we're talking about leadership, teamwork, or client service, there is no more powerful attribute than the ability to be genuinely honest about one's weaknesses, mistakes, and needs for help.

~ Patrick Lencioni

On great teams - the kind where people trust each other, engage in open conflict, and then commit to decisions - team members have the courage and confidence to confront one another when they see something that isn't serving the team.

~ Patrick Lencioni

Although most executives pay lip service to the idea of hiring for cultural fit, few have the courage or discipline to make it the primary criteria for bringing someone into the company.

~ Patrick Lencioni

I coach soccer, and my wife and I are very involved in our kids' lives. Our family is busy with doctor appointments, soccer practice, school, work, travel, vacation... life.

~ Patrick Lencioni

Trying to design the perfect plan is the perfect recipe for disappointment.

~ Patrick Lencioni

When truth takes a backseat to ego and politics, trust is lost.

~ Patrick Lencioni

When team members trust each other and know that everyone is capable of admitting when they're wrong, then conflict becomes nothing more than the pursuit of truth or the best possible answer.

~ Patrick Lencioni

Without trust, the most essential element of innovation - conflict - becomes impossible.

~ Patrick Lencioni

Employees who can't trust their leader to be vulnerable are not going to be vulnerable and build trust with one another.

~ Patrick Lencioni

You have to build trust among team members so that people feel free to admit what they don't know, make mistakes, ask for help if they need it, apologize when necessary, and not hold back their opinions.

~ Patrick Lencioni

The sad fact is that it would be fair to say that United is a generic, bureaucratic, tired company. A sort of DMV in the sky. No real culture. No real strategy. No real expectations for employees or customers. All of which is a shame.

~ Patrick Lencioni

Contrary to popular wisdom, the mark of a great meeting is not how short it is or whether it ends on time. The key is whether it ends with clarity and commitment from participants.

~ Patrick Lencioni

Success is not a matter of mastering subtle, sophisticated theory but rather of embracing common sense with uncommon levels of discipline and persistence.

~ Patrick Lencioni