Patrick Lencioni

About Patrick Lencioni

Patrick Lencioni was born in 1965,^[4] in Bakersfield, California, to parents Richard and Mauren Lencioni. Richard worked as a sales representative for a wholesale liquor distributor. Lencioni grew up with one brother and one sister, Vincent and Rita Marie.^[5]   

As a child, Lencioni attended school at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish until he was 14. He then attended Garces Memorial High School, where he played point guard on the basketball team and ran the one-mile race on the track team. Lencioni was also student body president and valedictorian, graduating in 1983.^[5] 

After high school, Lencioni moved to Southern California to attend Claremont McKenna College,^[6] where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in economics and Spanish. While at Claremont Mckenna, Lencioni met his wife, Laura. They now have four children together.^[5] 

Lencioni was brought up in a Catholic home, though he says his faith didn’t become important to him until adulthood. When his wife converted to Christianity, he became interested in strengthening his faith. He says, “My wife’s conversion was a chance to relearn the faith again.” Lencioni’s faith often plays a role in his work life. Because of this, he emphasizes to his audience the importance of incorporating values into your own work life.^[4]  

Career

While in college at Claremont McKenna, Lencioni was recruited to work at the management consulting firm Bain & Company after graduating. He later worked at Oracle Corporation and then Sybase, where he was vice president of organizational development.^[5]   

In 1997, Lencioni left Sybase to start his own consulting firm. He founded The Table Group, a consulting firm focused on helping organizations improve their performance through better leadership and teamwork. The firm works with clients across industries, including technology, finance, healthcare, and education, offering customized solutions and services that address their unique challenges and goals.^[7] The Table Group’s clients include several Fortune 500 companies, including Southwest Airlines, Nordstrom, Equinix, and HP. 

As a popular keynote speaker, Lencioni earns up to $50,000–$60,000 for speaking engagements.^[9] His work has been featured in several popular publications, including Fast Company, Inc. Magazine, USA Today, Entrepreneur, and Harvard Business Review. Lencioni also served on the national board of directors at the Make-A-Wish Foundation from 2000 to 2003.^[10] 

In July 2019, Lencioni started the podcast At The Table with Patrick Lencioni, where he discusses a wide range of topics related to work culture, team-building, and the corporate world.^[11] 

Patrick Lencioni Books

Lencioni has authored 13 books to date. His most popular book, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, is a New York Times bestseller.^[12] As an author, Lencioni often shares leadership and business insights in the form of fables. Here’s a list of his books:

• The Five Temptations of a CEO: A Leadership Fable (1998)
• The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive: A Leadership Fable (2000)
• The Five Dysfunctions of a Team (2002)
• Death by Meeting: A Leadership Fable . . . About Solving the Most Painful Problem in Business (2004)
• Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Field Guide for Leaders, Managers, and Facilitators (2005)
• Silos, Politics and Turf Wars: A Leadership Fable About Destroying the Barriers That Turn Colleagues Into Competitors (2006)
• The Truth About Employee Engagement: A Fable About Addressing the Three Root Causes of Job Misery (2007) (originally titled The Three Signs of a Miserable Job: A Fable for Managers and Their Employees) 
• The 3 Big Questions for a Frantic Family: A Leadership Fable . . . About Restoring Sanity to the Most Important Organization in Your Life (2008)
• Getting Naked: A Business Fable About Shedding the Three Fears That Sabotage Client Loyalty (2010)
• The Advantage: Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else in Business (2012)
• The Ideal Team Player: How to Recognize and Cultivate the Three Essential Virtues (2016)
• The Motive: Why So Many Leaders Abdicate Their Most Important Responsibilities (2020)
• The 6 Types of Working Genius (2022)

Patrick Lencioni Quotes

• “Trust is knowing that when a team member does push you, they’re doing it because they care about the team.”^[13] 
• “Remember, teamwork begins by building trust. And the only way to do that is to overcome our need for invulnerability.”^[13] 
• “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.”^[13]
• “When there is trust, conflict becomes nothing but the pursuit of truth, an attempt to find the best possible answer.” ^[14]
• “There is no such thing as too much communication.”^[14]
• “Teamwork is not a virtue. It is a choice—and a strategic one.”^[14]

Patrick Lencioni Today

Lencioni lives in Lafayette, California, with his wife and children. He continues to appear at speaking events,^[15] publish the weekly podcast At The Table, and appear as a guest on other podcasts. He’s recently appeared on Human Capital and the H3 Leadership Podcast.^[16][17]