Top Team Building books recommended by experts

At MentorCruise, we are all about making the most out of the experience of others. As part of that, we've connected and asked dozens of experts and professionals about their favourite Team Building books – and here are the answers.

Table of Contents

Fundamentals of Team Building

Understanding the concepts of Team Building starts with understanding the fundamentals. On your way to mastery, it's crucial for you to understand how certain concepts were derived, and why things work like they do. Starting with these resources is the best way to do so.

The Ideal Team Player: How to Recognize and Cultivate The Three Essential Virtues

In his classic book, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Patrick Lencioni laid out a groundbreaking approach for tackling the perilous group behaviors that destroy teamwork. Here he turns his focus to the individual, revealing the three indispensable virtues of an ideal team player. In The Ideal Team Player, Lencioni tells the story of Jeff Shanley, a leader desperate to save his uncle’s company …

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups

In The Culture Code, Daniel Coyle goes inside some of the world’s most successful organizations—including the U.S. Navy’s SEAL Team Six, IDEO, and the San Antonio Spurs—and reveals what makes them tick. He demystifies the culture-building process by identifying three key skills that generate cohesion and cooperation, and explains how diverse groups learn to function with a single mind.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes are High

“[Crucial Conversations] draws our attention to those defining moments that literally shape our lives, our relationships, and our world…. This book deserves to take its place as one of the key thought leadership contributions of our time.” ―From the Foreword by Stephen R. Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People “The quality of your life comes out of the quality of your dialogu…

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Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World

When General Stanley McChrystal took command of the Joint Special Operations Task Force in 2004, he quickly realized that conventional military tactics were failing. Al Qaeda in Iraq was a decentralized network that could move quickly, strike ruthlessly, then seemingly vanish into the local population. The allied forces had a huge advantage in numbers, equipment, and training—but none of that …

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The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable

After her first two weeks observing the problems at DecisionTech, Kathryn Petersen, its new CEO, had more than a few moments when she wondered if she should have taken the job. But Kathryn knew there was little chance she would have turned it down. After all, retirement had made her antsy, and nothing excited her more than a challenge. What she could not have known when she accepted the job, h…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Leaders Eat Last

Imagine a world where almost everyone wakes up inspired to go to work, feels trusted and valued during the day, then returns home feeling fulfilled. This is not a crazy, idealized notion. Today, in many successful organizations, great leaders create environments in which people naturally work together to do remarkable things. In his work with organizations around the world, Simon Sinek noticed…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Additional Team Building Reading

These books are not required for you to learn Team Building, but they are highly recommended for you to deepen your knowledge.

Team Building: Proven Strategies for Improving Team Performance

Now in its fifth edition, Team Building is a classic in the field of organization development. In this new edition, the authors strengthen the Four Cs framework that was introduced in the fourth edition and add a wealth of new illustrative examples, a chapter on the challenges of managing cross-functional teams, and a chapter on leading innovative teams in a competitive environment. To complem…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

After her first two weeks observing the problems at DecisionTech, Kathryn Petersen, its new CEO, had more than a few moments when she wondered if she should have taken the job. But Kathryn knew there was little chance she would have turned it down. After all, retirement had made her antsy, and nothing excited her more than a challenge. What she could not have known when she accepted the job, h…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Unbreakable: Building and Leading Resilient Teams

An essential guide for managers and leaders on building resilient teams in turbulent times. As a result of global economic changes, new technologies, and increased competition, business environments are becoming increasingly turbulent and unpredictable, requiring new forms of resilient work teams. Due in part to the increasing complexity of business environments, more and more organizations wo…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

This list is curated by MentorCruise and can include Amazon affiliate links. Have any other suggestions? Add here.

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