The Ideal Team Player

Jeff is the protagonist of the book’s fictional “fable” section. After having worked in Silicon Valley for over 20 years, Jeff decides that his life is in need of a change. He moves with his wife to Napa, California, after agreeing to become the new CEO of his uncle Bob’s construction company, Valley Builders, when his uncle steps down due to health concerns. Jeff also worked as a consultant while in Silicon Valley, where he advised companies on the values of teamwork and how best to embed the values that support it into a company’s culture. In fact, he had once worked with his uncle’s company prior to becoming its CEO.

While Jeff has no experience in the construction industry, his leadership skills in general guide him as he charts a course forward. After accepting the position at Valley Builders, Jeff learns that the company has taken on two big projects simultaneously, something that it had never done before. The challenge is monumental, and while Jeff initially feels overwhelmed by the development, he eventually decides to embrace the challenge. Showing his own humility and his own people skills, Jeff quickly begins working alongside Bobby and Clare in a way that demonstrates the effectiveness of teamwork. They have respectful disagreements over how best to proceed in taking on their challenges. Jeff is not infallible, and the narrative often depicts his self-doubt and inner conflict. However, as he relies upon his ability to access all three of the qualities that Lencioni says create the ideal team player, he is able to eventually meet and overcome the challenges that at first seem insurmountable.

Clare’s position with Valley Builders is broad and administrative. Responsible for managing the company’s finances, compliance, and human resources, Clare has perhaps the best handle on all the different facets of the company, most specifically with human resources and employee relations. Her inside knowledge of the company’s interpersonal relationships serves as an invaluable resource for Jeff as he, Clare, and Bobby try to develop a cultural foundation for the company.

Clare’s contribution to the executive team is to keep the conversations on task and balanced. She often offers a counterargument and shows herself to be a true critical thinker. Like Bobby, Clare also has a sense of humor, an important signature of the atmosphere at Valley Builders. Unlike Bobby, Clare operates well under pressure and does not panic when things do not go according to plan. A good example of this is when Jeff notifies Bobby and Clare that Ted has taken himself out of consideration for the position they want to hire for. Clare, although disappointed, keeps her thoughts focused on solutions and does not allow the bad news to derail her from the objective.

Part of the three-person executive team with Jeff and Clare, Bobby is the director of all field operations at Valley Builders. The narrator describes him as “a smiling, barrel-chested, fifty-two-year-old with graying hair” (23). When Bobby was initially hired, he was nicknamed Bobby to minimize confusion with Bob Shanley, the company’s founder and CEO. He took the nickname, realizing full well that it was also the name of one of the kids from the famous Brady Bunch, which demonstrates his good nature. He is a practical joker and is often quick to lighten the mood with a joke. He is also rough around the edges, and his language reflects his blue-collar roots. Ultimately, Bobby is a relationship builder, showing that he possesses the people-smart quality that Lencioni discusses throughout the book. He also is humble and hungry.

Bobby is more prone to overreaction than his fellow executives, and when Ted Marchbanks withdraws from consideration for the position that they desperately need him to take, Bobby is at first upset. He often feels pressure more acutely than Jeff and Clare, which causes him to doubt the strategy they all are trying to follow when filling the additional executive position. However, Bobby can think outside the box, as evidenced by his suggestion that the position be given to Craig, which would make it an internal hire. Jeff and Clare are skeptical, and Bobby’s ability to persuade them both shows an innate ability to be logical and convincing.

Ted is the candidate the company interviews to fill a newly added role within the company, one that will add a fourth member to the executive team. Ted has a solidly professional reputation that he earned with a larger construction company for many years prior to his retirement. Bobby initially mentions his name because he had heard that Ted was becoming restless with retirement. When Ted first meets informally with the executive team, all three have generally positive responses to him, though Jeff senses that something is not quite right. They arrange for another formal series of interviews, one of which Clare conducts. Afterward, Clare asks Ted to speak with the receptionist, Kim, about where to go for the next interview. Ted doesn’t know who Kim is despite having spoken to her already, which ultimately serves a tell-tale sign that Ted might not have the humility the company needs.

When Jeff interviews Ted, his professionalism comes out. However, it soon becomes apparent that the culture the company is trying to build makes him uneasy. While he does an effective job answering Jeff’s pointed questions, it is clear that Jeff is not sold—nor is Ted. Soon after the interview, Ted removes himself as a candidate. Later in the book, when Lencioni analyzes the three-virtue model, he says that “Ted Marchbanks was the skillful politician. He was professional, charismatic, and motivated, which is why Jeff and his team almost hired him. Ultimately, Ted turned out to be much more interested in himself than on the people around him” (172). Jeff’s insistence on making sure Ted was a good fit for the company’s culture turned out to be the right move. In light of Lencioni’s emphasis on humility as the most important trait, Ted serves as a warning sign to those who might be swayed by traits that are less important but are nonetheless highly valued in traditional corporate culture.