Renowned business author Patrick Lencioni was recently in the county speaking about corporate culture. Lencioni has written a number of books, the most popular of which is probably The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, but one of his newer books, The Ideal Team Player, speaks to the soft skills that are necessary, and often overlooked, in the hiring process. Frequently a manager will make a hire based on the work experience and talent of an individual, and while those are important, Lencioni argues that three virtues are necessary for an employee to succeed in the workplace and make the team better. Those virtues are humility, hunger, and emotional intelligence. Humble – Lencioni argues that any team member that is self-centered and ego-driven will rarely have the success of the team as his or her main motivation and cares little about status. A humble employee will have no difficulty in praising teammates, will readily share credit and can admit mistakes. A lack of humility hurts trust, the absence of which is the first dysfunction of a team. One of the more compelling parts of the book is when the characters tussle with a decision to hire an expert in their field with whom they have questions about his humility. …show more content…
Hungry employees will always be striving to improve their skills, knowledge and ability and how this improvement can help the team and the company. They will look to contribute outside their area of responsibility when necessary and will be willing to take on more difficult