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Book Reviewed in This Issue:
The Will to Govern Well: Knowledge, Trust, and Nimbleness
Glenn H. Tecker, Jean S. Frankel, & Paul D. Meyer
First Edition, 2002
American Society of Association Executives
Washington, DC
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable
Patrick M. Lencioni
First Edition, 2002
Jossey-Bass, A John Wiley & Sons, Inc. company
San Francisco, CA
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The Will to Govern Well: Knowledge, Trust, and Nimbleness
Glenn H. Tecker, Jean S. Frankel, & Paul D. Meyer
First Edition, 2002
American Society of Association Executives
Washington, DC
www.asaecenter.org
ISBN-10: 0-88034-224-2
ISBN-13: 978-0880342247
236 pages, softcover, $57.95
Today
constant change is a challenge for individuals and organizations and
the ability to adapt is critical for success. This book is designed to
help leaders and staff of voluntary organizations (associations,
charities, etc.) improve governance in order to both adapt to change
and also meet constituent needs. The authors of The Will to Govern Well
describe three key characteristics of those associations that react to
change positively and quickly: exploring knowledge, trust, and
nimbleness. Additionally, the authors recommend strategies for both
staff and volunteer leaders who design, influence, and participate
within voluntary organizations.
This
book takes an indepth look at what it means to be a forward-thinking
organization and what it takes to become one. In the section on
knowledge, the authors speak about effective outcomes rather then
efficiency of operation. “Effectiveness answers the question, ‘Am I
doing the right thing?’ Efficiency answers the question, ‘Am I doing
things right?’” (p. 65). A culture of trust is needed as a core
competence of governance.
Strategic planning and thinking begins with a nine-step process for
change. This process encompasses the views of the organization’s
grassroots members, which give insight to its leaders to strengthen the
vision and initiate the action plan. Multiple case studies are
presented to give different insights to associations’ experiences.
I
recommend reading the Executive Summary first and then read the book
with highlighter in hand. I attended the ANNA Critical Issues
Conference in Philadelphia in September 2007 as a volunteer leader. The
focus of the conference was ANNA’s recently revised strategic plan and
to explore the future direction of the organization. The contents of
the book enhanced my ability apply the concepts to our association and
to understand the strategic plan. I was also able to relate the
concepts to my current job to help use change strategies to articulate
vision and core values.
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable
Patrick M. Lencioni
First Edition, 2002
Jossey-Bass, A John Wiley & Sons, Inc. company
San Francisco, CA
www.josseybass.com
ISBN: 0-7879-6075-6
229 pages, hardcover, $22.95
In The Five Dysfunctions of a
Team, Patrick Lencioni offers a leadership fable that has storytelling
power by providing insight to the complex world of teams. Lencioni
opens his fable by telling of a woman, Kathryn Petersen, CEO of a
struggling Silicon Valley firm, who takes control of a dysfunctional
executive committee and helps its members succeed as a team. She faces
the ultimate challenge in leadership by having to unite a team that is
in such disarray that it threatens to bring down the entire company.
Lencioni
offers explicit instructions for overcoming the human behavioral
tendencies that corrupt teams. The five dysfunctions discussed are
absence of trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance of
accountability, and inattention to results. In revealing this pyramid
of dysfunctions, actionable steps are given to overcome and build a
cohesive, effective team.
Building
a cohesive team is not complicated, declares Lencioni, president of his
own management-consulting firm. The fictional organization in the book
is presented in a style of easy reading and wanting to find out who
succeeds and who fails. While many management books are “dry” and
theory driven, Lencioni presents this story in an interesting and
engaging way that succeeds in communicating his ideas.
The
chronicle can be applied anywhere teamwork is involved, whether it is a
large international corporation, small private company, a small
department within a larger organization, or a work group. The key
points are summarized at the end of the story, along with clearly
written exercises to help create change. I highly recommend this book
for nurses in management as well as his later book, Overcoming the Five
Dysfunctions of a Team (2005), for any members of a team.
Mary R. Perrecone, MS, RN, CNN, CCRN
Pediatric & Acute Adult Dialysis Nurse Manager
Critical Care Unit
Albany Medical Center & Hospital
Albany, NY
Administrative SIG Leader
Member, ANNA’s Adirondack Chapter
| Book and Media Reviews are
published in each issue of the Nephrology Nursing Journal. If you are
interested in reviewing materials for this column, contact Deborah
Brooks, department editor, through the ANNA National Office; East Holly
Avenue/Box 56; Pitman, NJ 08071-0056; (856) 256-2320. You may also log
onto this column at nephrologynursingjournal.net (click on Department
link) and email your comments to the Department Editor (see Discussion
Area).The opinions and assertions contained herein are the private
views of the contributors and do not necessarily reflect the views of
the American Nephrology Nurses’ Association. |
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