When Teams Work Best: 6,000 Team Members and Leaders Tell What it Takes to Succeed

What makes some teams achieve extraordinary outcomes, while other fall disappointingly short of the mark?

Frank LaFasto and Carl Larson have systematically explored that question for more than 20 years. In 1989, they published the best-selling book TeamWork; What Must Go Right/What Can Go Wrong, which reported the results of an in-depth study of some of the most successful teams in recent history and identified the eight characteristics of high performance teams.

When Teams Work Best advances this groundbreaking research by probing more deeply inside the workings of hundred of teams--some effective and some faltering. For over a decade, the authors collected and analyzed responses from more than 6,000 team members and leaders across a variety of industries, in both public and private sectors, to find out exactly what conditions help or hinder teams in achieving their goals. The voices of these team members--often eloquent, always enlightening--are heard through the quotations that appear throughout the book.

Author: Frank Lafasto, Carl Larson
Publisher: Sage Publications, Inc
Published: 08/21/2001
Pages: 256
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.31lbs
Size: 9.74h x 6.54w x 0.98d
ISBN: 9780761923664

Review Citation(s):
Choice 02/01/2002 pg. 1088
Reference and Research Bk News 02/01/2002 pg. 84

About the Author
Larson, Carl: -

Carl Larson, Ph.D., is professor emeritus of Human Communication and past dean of Social Sciences at the University of Denver. His most recent work includes When Teams Work Best (Sage 2001), Successful Communication and Negotiation, and Collaborative Leadership: How Citizens and Civic Leaders Can Make a Difference. Larson consults in both the public and private sector. He received the Driscoll Master Educator Award given by the students at the University of Denver to the university's outstanding professor.

Lafasto, Frank M. J.: - Frank LaFasto, Ph.D., recently retired as Senior Vice President of Organization Effectiveness after 30 years with Cardinal Health, Inc., a multinational health care company. An internationally recognized author and lecturer on management issues, Frank has more than 35 years' experience helping organizations build and sustain successful teams. Frank has written two best-sellers on the subject: Teamwork and How Teams Work Best, co-authored by Carl Larson. He currently consults with private and public sector organizations to help them build effective teams, lead critical change initiatives, and develop executive talent. Frank resides in Lake Forest, Illinois.