What We're Reading Now

Building a Better Team

25 March 2025

Janie read The Ideal Team Player by Patrick Lencioni and appreciated his recommendations of the three key virtues for the ideal team player.

Tags: janie read, leadership, patrick lencioni, teams

Have you ever felt like finding the right person for a role is much harder than it should be? Recently, I’ve been helping support a client’s hiring process and wanted to refresh my thinking about best practices. I found Patrick Lencioni’s The Ideal Team Player on the Allison Partners bookshelf and thought it would be a great choice to help me reinforce what I listen for when conducting phone screens with prospective candidates.  

If you’ve ever read any of Patrick Lencioni’s books, you know that a large chunk of the book is devoted to a fable about a fictional company dealing with real issues. I love this approach because it helps me better understand the suggestions and concepts when I can associate them with a story.

Lencioni introduced three essential virtues that define an ideal team player: Humble, Hungry, and Smart. These may sound self-explanatory, but there’s a bit more to them than you might think.

• Humble: Humility is the most critical virtue in a team player. A humble person is not arrogant, does not seek attention, and prioritizes team success over personal achievements. They acknowledge others’ contributions and are open to feedback. Lencioni warns against false humility, where someone pretends to be selfless but is actually self-centered.
• Hungry: Being hungry means having a strong work ethic and a desire to go above and beyond. Hungry team players are self-motivated, proactive, and always looking for ways to contribute more. However, Lencioni cautions that being hungry without balance can lead to workaholism or burnout.
• Smart: In this context, “smart” doesn’t refer to intelligence but has to do with emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills. In the fable, the CEO tells his leadership team it’s more about common sense. Smart team players understand people, communicate effectively, and navigate team dynamics well. They are aware of how their words and actions affect others, making them better collaborators.

Lencioni explained that problems can arise when a person lacks one or more of these virtues and shared examples of what someone lacking one or more of these attributes might look like.

• Humble but not Hungry or Smart: “The Pawn…easygoing but lacks initiative or people skills.”
• Hungry but not Humble or Smart: “The Bulldozer…hardworking but self-centered and unaware of how they affect others.”
• Smart but not Humble or Hungry: “The Charmer…politically savvy but lacks work ethic and true teamwork.”

Lencioni suggested that the biggest red flag is a person who is only hungry—they can be ambitious but toxic, prioritizing personal gain over the team. Lencioni offered practical advice on how to use his model for hiring, or for assessing and developing current employees. He stressed that when someone lacks one or more of these virtues, leaders can provide coaching and feedback to help them grow. He also emphasized that it’s important to remove team members who aren’t willing to develop in these areas and that not doing so risks losing other more effective team members who do have these traits and aren’t afraid to work hard.   

Lencioni’s message is clear: building a great team isn’t just about talent or technical skills, it’s about character. Organizations that prioritize humility, hunger, and emotional intelligence create stronger, more collaborative teams. If you’re responsible for hiring or developing talent, The Ideal Team Player offers a simple yet powerful framework to assess and develop great team players.

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