The Five Dysfunctions of a Team
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioniby Patrick Lencioni
Shares rank 12 of 24 business books by recommenders
People recommend this book for its model of team dysfunction, starting with fear of conflict caused by absence of trust.
People recommend this book for its model of team dysfunction, starting with fear of conflict caused by absence of trust.
4 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 4
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 4 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 4 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 4 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Explains fear of conflict and trust
“This is one of the Five Dysfunctions of a Team (fear of conflict, caused by absence of trust).”
Comment from 4 Jan 2026 in “Lessons from 14 Years at Google” Called a classic and enjoyable
“Patrick Lencioni covers this well in his classic book”
Comment from 26 Feb 2026 in “Technical Excellence Is Not Enough” “I have enjoyed ... The Five Dysfunctions of a team”
Comment from 14 Aug 2026 in “Understanding Is the New Bottleneck” Covers finding your first team
“talks about figuring out who your "first team" is”
Comment from 23 Jun 2026 in “The truth about being a manager”
Other business books people recommend
The four most recommended other business books, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Gervais Principleby Venkatesh Rao | 32 | 6 | 84% | 7 | — | Approved |
| The Lean Startupby Eric Ries | 32 | 6 | 84% | 5 | 10 yrs5 owners | Approved |
| Incorruptibleby Eric RIES | 23 | 11 | 68% | 4 | — | Approved |
| The Goalby Eliyahu M. Goldratt and Jeff Cox and Ensemble cast and Dwight Jon Zimmerman | 21 | 3 | 88% | 8 | — | Approved |
| The Five Dysfunctions of a Teamby Patrick LencioniThis page | 4 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | — |
What people said
All 4 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“I have enjoyed ... The Five Dysfunctions of a team”
“talks about figuring out who your "first team" is”
“Patrick Lencioni covers this well in his classic book”
“This is one of the Five Dysfunctions of a Team (fear of conflict, caused by absence of trust).”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.