Patrick Lencioni

Patrick Lencioni is founder and president of The Table Group, Inc., a specialized management-consulting firm focused on organizational health. He has been described by The One-Minute Manager’s Ken Blanchard as “fast defining the next generation of leadership thinkers.”

Pat’s passion for organizations and teams is reflected in his writing, speaking, and consulting. He is the author of six nationally recognized books, including The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, which continues to be highlighted on the New York Times, BusinessWeek, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today best-seller lists. His previous successes include Silos, Politics and Turf Wars, Death by Meeting, The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive, The Five Temptations of a CEO and Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Field Guide.

Pat’s work has been featured in numerous publications such as Fast Company, INC Magazine, USA Today, Entrepreneur, Drucker Foundation’s Leader to Leader and Harvard Business Review.

As a consultant and keynote speaker, he has worked with thousands of senior executives in organizations ranging from Fortune 500s and high-tech start-ups to universities and nonprofits. Clients who have engaged his services include Southwest Airlines, Sam’s Club, Microsoft, New York Life, Cox Communications, Allstate, Visa, FedEx and the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, to name a few.

Prior to founding The Table Group, Pat worked at Bain & Company, Oracle Corporation, and Sybase, where he was vice president of organizational development. He also served on the National Board of Directors for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of America from 2000-2003.

Pat lives in the Bay Area with his wife Laura and four boys.

The Three Signs of a Miserable Job

In his latest talk, Pat addresses perhaps the most timeless and elusive topic related to work: job misery.

Based on his much-anticipated book, The Three Signs of a Miserable Job, Lencioni delivers a message that is as revolutionary as it is shockingly simple. Using a mix of humor and poignancy, he dismantles the root causes of frustration and anguish at work: anonymity, irrelevance and immeasurability. In doing so, he provides managers at all levels, as well as employees, with actionable wisdom and advice about how they can bring fulfillment and meaning to any job in any industry.

Whether you’re an executive looking to establish a sustainable competitive advantage around culture, a manager trying to engage and retain your people, or an employee who has almost given up on finding meaning and fulfillment in your work, this talk will prove immediately invaluable.

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

According to Pat Lencioni, teamwork remains the ultimate competitive advantage, both because it is so powerful and so rare. He makes the point that if you could get all the people in an organization rowing in the same direction, you could dominate any
industry, in any market, against any competition, at any time. Based
on his runaway best-seller, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team (2002), Pat uncovers the natural human tendencies that derail teams and lead to politics and confusion in so many organizations. Audience members will walk away with specific advice and practical tools for overcoming the dysfunctions and making their teams more functional and cohesive.

Confronting the Absurdity of Meetings

Based on his book, Death by Meeting (2004), Pat Lencioni reveals some surprising truths about why we hate meetings, why we shouldn’t, and how to make them productive – even enjoyable. He debunks the myth that meetings are inherently bad and makes the case that they are, in fact, one of the most critical activities at the heart of an organization. Using pointed and humorous examples from his work, Pat paints the picture of prototypically bad meetings, and presents a new, radical approach to meetings, one that transforms them from drudgery to focused, relevant and compelling business activities.

The Five Temptations of a Leader

Pat Lencioni believes that too many leaders overcomplicate their jobs. In reality, a leader’s success hinges on a few simple behaviors – behaviors that require remarkable levels of discipline. Based on the model in his first best-selling book, The Five Temptations of a CEO (1998), Pat captures the natural human tendencies that plague all leaders and often prevent them from fulfilling their potential. He
challenges leaders to engage in self-exploration, to assess their own temptations, and he offers actionable advice on how to overcome these all too common behavioral pitfalls that even the best leaders face.

Pat blew us away! His energy, passion and genuine humor are qualities that truly put him in a class of his own. His session was transformational to our senior leaders. — Jeff Lamb, Southwest Airlines

Pat, that was fabulous! Thanks for a tour-de-force presentation at our annual Leadership Summit. Thousands of leaders are now the beneficiaries of the high caliber of your work. — Willow Creek Association

I have been to hundreds of league meetings and Pat's presentation was pure Hall of Fame! — Memphis Grizzlies