Patrick Lencioni

Empty values statements create cynical and dispirited employees, alienate customers, and undermine managerial credibility.

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.

People who have a sense of peace that their priorities are in the right place also have a sense of humility and a realistic view on life.

Hungry people almost never have to be pushed by a manager to work harder, because they are self-motivated and diligent. They are constantly thinking about the next step and the next opportunity. And they loathe the idea that they might be perceived as slackers.

Failing to hold someone accountable is ultimately an act of selfishness.

Open, frank communication is the lynchpin to teamwork. A fractured team is like a fractured bone; fixing it is always painful and sometimes you have to re-break it to heal it fully - and the re-break always hurts more because it is intentional.

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.

Failing to engage in conflict is a terrible decision, one that puts our temporary comfort and the avoidance of discomfort ahead of the ultimate goal of our organization.

What clients are really interested in is honesty, plus a baseline of competence.

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

Great teams argue. Not in a mean-spirited or personal way, but they disagree when important decisions are made.

I've seen it again and again in my consulting: Most teams are too large to be innovative, despite their leaders' best intentions.

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.

Team members have to hold each other accountable. If there's a meeting, all members have to commit to be present and to help one another; they can't just check out when they feel they're not getting any benefits.

Members of great teams confront each other when they see something that isn't serving the team.

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

You can go to work and actually make someone else's job less miserable. Use your job to help others.

When team members openly and passionately share their opinions about a decision, they don't wonder whether anyone is holding back. Then, when the leader has to step in and make a decision because there is no easy consensus, team members will accept that decision because they know that their ideas were heard and considered.

Every employee needs to know that there's somebody out there that they serve. And when we don't let people know that for one reason or another, we're depriving them of a fulfilling job.

For organizations seriously committed to making teamwork a cultural reality, I'm convinced that 'the right people' are the ones who have three virtues in common - humility, hunger, and people smarts.