Learning to love our friends and colleagues as Paul did

 

I have always been fascinated by the greetings to specific people that Paul includes in his epistles.

Far from being an unapproachable theologian and church planter Paul paid attention to the people in his

world.

Even as a type A personality, Paul took the time to encourage, appreciate and acknowledge his friends and colleagues. We find it hard to carve out time for a phone call. He wrote letters and never forgot his colleagues.

A great example of this is found in the personal greetings that Paul ends his letter to the Romans with.

“I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church in Cenchreae. I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of his people and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been the benefactor of many people, including me. Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my co-workers in Christ Jesus. They risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them.

Greet also the church that meets at their house. Greet my dear friend Epenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in the province of Asia. Greet Mary, who worked very hard for you. Greet Andronicus and Junia, my fellow Jews who have been in prison with me. They are outstanding among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was.

Greet Ampliatus, my dear friend in the Lord. Greet Urbanus, our co-worker in Christ, and my dear friend Stachys. Greet Apelles, whose fidelity to Christ has stood the test. Greet those who belong to the household of Aristobulus. Greet Herodion, my fellow Jew. Greet those in the household of Narcissus who are in the Lord. Greet Tryphena and Tryphosa, those women who work hard in the Lord.

Greet my dear friend Persis, another woman who has worked very hard in the Lord.  Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother, who has been a mother to me, too. Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas and the other brothers and sisters with them. Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas and all the Lord’s people who are with them.”

Paul knew people and their stories!

Paul’s life was filled with people as ours should be. He cared about them as we should. He took the time to let them know of his love, appreciation, and prayers. He encouraged them and prayed for them. Each one was precious to him. Paul was a theologian and Apostle and he recognized that the gospel is about people, redeeming them and calling them into work for the gospel alongside him. Everyone matters in God's sight.

Paul was not too busy to pay attention to the people in his life.

He was not so consumed with his own concerns that he ignored those who he loved and those who he worked with.

How are you doing with the people in your life? Do you love them as Paul did? Do you pray for them and encourage them as he did? Too often we get so wrapped up in our own lives that we forget to care for those around us. To know their story, to call them to something greater than themselves, to thank them and let them know that they are noticed.

Are there people who you should reach out to today to thank and encourage? 

Paul specifically:

• Communicated with the people was close to
• Acknowledged their contributions
• Encouraged them
• Loved on them

Ultimately, our lasting impact is very much intertwined by how we love our friends and colleagues.

Ten questions we ought to consider regarding the teams we lead

Chances are, if you lead others you also lead a team or teams. You are probably also on a team above you. I've been on a lot of teams over the years and they were not all created equal. Many of those teams were teams in name only. They were a group of people who were called a team but did not operate as a team. And that is the problem with teams: many are not truly teams and don't operate together in a common mission. This creates cynicism and discouragement for staff who want to be working with others toward common objectives.

I define a team as a group of missionally aligned and healthy individuals working synergistically together under good leadership toward common objectives with accountability for results.

The problem with many teams is that they lack one or more of the critical elements above which creates frustration and disempowerment for team members. One unhealthy individual can cause team chaos; without mission alignment people are doing their own thing; when members don't work together they create silos and turf wars; without good leadership there is no cohesion; when common objectives are not present lack focus and without accountability for results you don't evaluate your effectiveness.

All of these scenarios hurt your staff who want their energy and contribution to count. In fact, when teams are not healthy there is often staff fallout. There is certainly a level of cynicism and discouragement. Good leaders build good teams because it is what their staff expect, what the organization needs and what brings satisfaction to those who are on mission together.

What does this mean for me as a leader or supervisor? It means that we need to make the development of the team or teams we lead one of our highest priorities. We must remember that it is not longer about me but about us. We must provide maximum clarity to the team as to what we are about and we need to intentionally craft and nurture the team so that it is the healthiest team possible.

There are ten important questions we ought to think about when we consider the teams we lead:

1. Are we clear about what we are going after?
2. Do we have the right people on the team?
3. How am I developing the team to grow?
4. Am I keeping the main thing in front of the team at all times?
5. Do I prepare and conduct meaningful team meetings?
6. Am I removing barriers for team members?
7. Does the team have what it needs to be successful?
8. Do I appropriately engage the team in crucial conversations?
9. Are team members free to share their views candidly?
10. Does the team have a plan and are we together accountable for results?

All of T.J. Addington's books including his latest, Deep Influence,  are available from the author for the lowest prices and a $2.00 per book discount on orders of ten or more. 

Every ministry architect needs a general contractor

If there is a secret to the significant change that the EFCA mission has walked through in the past eleven years it is that I did not attempt to do it alone but was joined at the hip with another - and then surrounded by a great senior team. Let me explain.

Like many leaders I am what I call an architect by wiring. God has given me the ability to see what can be and look five to ten years in the future. Like an architect I can envision what the ministry could be and the macro pieces that will be needed to see it happen. God has given the ability to think conceptually - which is what architects do. Many senior leaders have similar wiring. It is simply how God made me.

Architects, however have a different skill set than does a general contractor. Those who are wired as general contractors have the unique ability to take what the architect has drawn and ensure that it is translated into reality. Architects draw pictures while general contractors run process, hire sub contractors and make sure that the right thing is done at the right time so that things are done in order and properly. No architect is successful without a requisite general contractor and general contractors rely on the architect for the picture of what could be.

If you translate this into my world as a senior leader who paints the picture I need a general contractor who can help translate that picture into reality by finding the right people and running the right process to build what is on the picture one step at a time. If the skill of the architect is the picture, the skill of the general contractor is process. 

Ministry leaders like me need a general contractor like my sidekick Gary Hunter whose complimentary skills in running process can bring a ministry structure and strategy to reality. The partnership between myself and Gary were and are critical in building a fabulous senior team and running the change process we have been through. I could not have done it alone and I never ignore the counsel of my partner.

Senior leaders who operate without a partner to help build what they envision find themselves in trouble on a regular basis. The two skills are different but both are necessary to see success. It takes a non-threatened senior leader, however, because the general contractor's influence is found throughout the ministry. They may not be in front but they make it happen.

If you are a senior leader, do you have a general contractor beside you whom you work with, listen to and empower? If not you are missing one of the key secrets of long term success.

All of T.J. Addington's books including his latest, Deep Influence,  are available from the author for the lowest prices and a $2.00 per book discount on orders of ten or more.

Six common misconceptions about Teamwork - From the Harvard Business Review

Six Common Misperceptions about Teamwork

Is your staff more family or more team?

I am working with a church that is in a common spot. Their staff is more like a family than a team and they need to make the transition from family to team.

Staff as family has an upside and downside. The upside of course is that there are loving and caring relationships - which should characterize any healthy staff. But there is a downside when staff see themselves as family. There is often a reluctance to push into issues together that need to be addressed for fear of stepping on the toes of "family members." In other words, collegiality becomes a higher value than robust dialogue or honest feedback.

The issue of results and accountability for results often suffers in this environment. As a family member, I am unlikely to try to hold my brothers and sisters accountable for results which means that staff as family has very loose accountability and often, staff members who are unproductive are not challenged for years even though everyone is aware of the lack of productivity. Even leadership is hard in "staff as family" because in a family system consensus rather than leadership is the key factor with family members uneasy about creating waves or stepping into leadership.

I come from a large family and know the delicacy of family relationships and where one might or might not go or might or might not say. In the same way when staff is family there are clear limits on where staff go with one another, even if it means elephants in the room that everyone knows are there.

Staff as family is often "nice" but not very missional. Families exist as families, not as missional teams. Staff as a healthy team is a whole other matter. It is collegial for sure but it is also deeply missional.

I would describe a healthy team as a group of missionally aligned and healthy individuals working strategically together under good leadership toward common objectives, with accountability for results.

Healthy teams are about alignment of the whole organization around a passionately held common mission. They are synergistic in harnessing the various gifts on the team and focus on the bottom line, which is delivering on the mission - achieving actual results. They are egalitarian in culture where robust dialogue is encouraged and they are led by healthy leaders who love to empower and release team members to do their thing. The ethos is characterized by a commitment to results, good emotional intelligence among members and meaningful meetings.

Think about the contrast between a culture of "family" and a culture of "team." The first reminds me of "Minnesota nice" where only nice things are said and truth often gets lost in the shuffle. The other is deeply missional and synergistic around a mission one is passionate about under good leadership.

The transition from family to team is not always easy. A new set of rules need to be learned. Relationships need to be renegotiated around mission rather than "best friends." Some make the transition well - usually those who are committed to real results and missional effectiveness. Some never make the transition because it imposes a whole new work ethic and level of personal discipline.

In fact, your best players will be frustrated with staff as family precisely because it lacks the missional focus, synergy, discipline, focus on results and leadership. They will flourish, however, in staff as team if it is a healthy team with the right players.

If you are on staff, which paradigm describes your staff: family or team?

Ministry anchors that hold you back

Do you ever feel like there is an anchor that keeps your board or staff team from moving forward like it should? Like many of you are trying to row as hard as you can but it's like you have an anchor dragging behind you that makes the going slow and frustrating? You wish that you could cut through the water at a nice clip but each pull on the oars is hard!

Usually when this happens it is because of an individual on the board or team who don't belong there and until you move them on, the rowing will remain tough. And the team or board will grow increasingly frustrated about the slow pace given that they are throwing their energy into the process. Here are several anchors that keep boards and teams from moving forward.

Lack of clarity
Clarity is like the wind in the sail, you know clearly where you are going and therefore all hands on deck are helping move the organization in the right direction. Lack of clarity, on the other hand, is like a sail with no wind and an anchor off the back. Let's face it, if you don't know where you are going you will actually get there: wherever that is.

Lack of empowerment by leaders
Leaders who don't empower become ministry anchors! Everything ultimately comes back to them (because they  don't delegate authority and responsibility) holding things up, causing disempowerment to staff and ultimately making it all about the leader who does not trust his/her staff. Controlling leaders always hold the ministry back.

Lack of alignment
It only takes one individual who is not on board with the direction of the team to throw off the rhythm and momentum. After all you are all trying to go to a certain place but this individual does not agree and is trying to pull in another direction. Their resistance may be active or passive but it is real and it throws the rest of the team off kilter.

Inability to think at the right level
Here you have a nice board member or staff member who may well have the best interests of the ministry at heart but they cannot play at the level of the rest of of the group. In order to help them understand you spend inordinate amounts of time trying to explain. The process discourages the rest of the group and at every critical juncture you have an anchor keeping you from moving at the pace you could be moving.

Black and white thinkers
These are the individuals who don't understand nuance, or grey and for whom all issues are black and white and must be parsed that way. They become frustrating because they don't have the ability to be flexible in their thinking and flexibility is a key to a good team or board. Their stand on "principle" is so rigid that anything that violates their interpretation is a problem to them.

People who need to have their own way
I will call these people for what they are: narcissists. They are not team players. They have an agenda and they simply want their way. They may hide behind spiritual talk but the bottom line is that such talk is simply a smokescreen for their own selfishness and arrogance. These folks are deeply frustrating because they have a hidden agenda that keeps them moving in their direction at all times.

People who are not gifted for leadership
These may be deeply Godly folks who get on a board or team but who simply are not wired to lead. Making decisions that may offend someone in the congregation (and many decisions will) causes knots in their stomachs and getting them to a decision point is arduous.

I have on occasion tried to run the motor of a fishing boat without first pulling up the anchor. You realize very quickly you have a problem with forward momentum. And you pull it up. My advice to boards and teams, deal with the anchor when you have one. Not to do so is to settle for a significant momentum loss and great frustration for the rest of the team.

Healthy teams

Consider this definition of a healthy team: A high impact ministry team is a group of missionally aligned and healthy individuals working strategically together under good leadership toward common objectives, with accountability for results. All of these same criteria apply to healthy church boards as well.

A team is not simply a random group of people thrown together because there are slots to fill - at least healthy teams are not built that way. Think of the team you are on or the team you lead and consider these key elements of healthy teams.

Healthy teams are missionally aligned.

They are made up of people who are all committed to the same mission and understand with great clarity what that mission is (see the last blog on alignment). Mission is the true glue that holds the team together more than any other factor. Non aligned teams are not teams because by definition they cannot be moving together in the same direction (the arrows don't all point in one direction).

They are made up of healthy individuals.

Too often we ignore the issue of Emotional Intelligence (EQ) when building team. Healthy individuals are open to the opinions of others, lack defensiveness, are aware of who they are and how others perceive them, are able to release people rather than control them, can engage in constructive and robust dialogue and have the ability to abide by common decisions.

When you consider the definition of a healthy person above, you realize how critical that is for a team to function well because in the absence of that kind of health teams will be dysfunctional and dysfunctional teams are never high impact.

They work strategically together toward common objectives.

Good teams are those where the members are committed to working syneristically together rather than simply doing their own thing and showing up for meetings and pretending it is "team." This means that team members embrace the objectives of the whole team and take the whole team into consideration in decisions that they make. It is about "we" not "me." Teams that are about "me" rather than "we" are not true teams and do not see the same results.

They have good leadership.

Teams are not led by committee. Someone must lead and provide the necessary clarity and direction and accountability but in an open, collegial atmosphere where robust dialogue is practiced and the team has ownership of their objectives. But there must be leaders. In fact, good leaders are those who can do just that.

Passive leaders cannot lead healthy teams and in the absence of leadership someone else will step in or the team will exist as a "gathering" but will not be team.

This requires team leaders to put a lot of time into team meetings for the sake of missional alignment, increasing the health quotient of team members (development), white boarding strategy together, determining common objectives and ensuring that there are real results. Team leaders cannot treat team meetings lightly if they want to lead a healthy team.

They hold members accountable for results.

This is not very popular or common in ministry circles. We focus more on relationships than we do on ministry results and do not exercised the discipline which teams in the marketplace must exercise in order to stay viable. It is sad, however, because the mission of the church and other ministries has eternal implications not just quarterly returns. Thus results matter, quality matters, discipline matters and measurement of how well we are doing matters.

Where there is no accountability for results, there cannot be healthy team. Nor will you attract or keep high quality ministry personnel who want their lives to count.

How healthy is the team you lead or the one you serve on? What could you be doing differently to raise the level of its healthy and effectiveness?

Why I love working with my team

I am in an enviable position with a senior team that is amazing - 13 leaders. I love working with them, enjoy their company, and we are on a common mission to see 100 million people impacted with the gospel and to multiply transformational churches globally. Here is why I love working with them.

1. The team is deeply committed to our mission. The missional glue is strong and when a team lives and breathes an organization's purpose, there is energy, synergy and a common bond that is second to none.

2. The team has really good EQ! Problematic EQ can kill an other wise good team but this team has great EQ. We can engage in the most robust dialogue while staying in relationship and it is in our clash of ideas that we see the best decisions emerge. The high EQ factor makes for healthy relationships.

3. The team allows each leader to lead in their arena but supports one another heavily. There is no competition and no turf wars or silos on this team. We respect one another's expertise, support each other and work toward common goals. At the same time we can ask critical questions and challenge one another which keeps us sharp.

4. There are no elephants on the team - no issues that cannot be put on the table and discussed. And when they are there are no personal attacks or hidden agendas. Elephants are only issues in disguise that once named can be managed. We work together with a great deal of transparency and honesty.

5. The team is never satisfied with what is and is always pressing into what could be and greater missional effectiveness. I love the sense of urgency that the team has and while we celebrate the wins we are never content to stay where we are but are always asking how we can do better.

6. The team loves to pray together and for one another. They know that unless God is in it and unless we live in the power of the Holy Spirit that we're not going to get where we want to go. We enjoy our times of worship and prayer.

7. The team is always ready to think in new ways and try new things. There is no sense of status quo but one of entrepreneurial thinking that is refreshing and keeps me as the team leader on my toes. And they are not afraid to challenge me!

8. The team believes in ministry excellence. If we are going to do something we are going to do it well even if it means finding new and better ways of doing things. 

9. The team has longevity. While there is turnover as God leads individuals there are long term relationships on the team that have made for great trust and deep relationships. 

Every day I thank God for the amazing team He has provided me and ReachGlobal. Healthy teams are a joy to be a part of.

Learning to understand those we work with

There are few skills more important than that of learning how to understand those who we work with. It was Barnabas who watched and understood Paul after his conversion when others were deeply fearful of him. It was also Barnabas who understood John Mark when Paul wrote him off as a a failure: He got it right when Paul got it wrong.

Paul grew in this area and was a good read of Timothy and Titus, two men who he took under his wing to mentor. First and Second Timothy are full of insight into Timothy's wiring, propensities, strengths and weaknesses with specific wisdom and insight brought to bear by Paul. Paul had learned to do what Barnabas did instinctively, exegete people.

Everyone has fears, insecurities, strengths, unique wiring and blind spots that impact who they are, how they relate and how they are perceived. Good leaders learn how to exegete and understand those they lead and work with because it allows them to speak into their lives in a way that would otherwise be impossible.

This is a skill that can be learned. Often young leaders, like Paul, are too busy with their missional agenda to understand those around them. Hopefully, like Paul, they also learn the importance of exegeting people and opportunities along with the text.

Several simple suggestions for those who want to grow in their ability to exegete colleagues and staff. First, spend time in dialogue with them. It is in dialogue and probing that one best understands where another individual is coming from, what drives them and their framework of thinking and understanding. This is what Barnabas did with Paul in the early days. When others were afraid of him and therefore shunned him, Barnabas took him aside and talked with him - encouraged him and discipled him.

Second, watch, listen and observe words and actions. It is amazing what one can learn by simply being a good observer of words and actions. This is important in understanding those who report to you, those who are your colleagues or those above you. They more you understand how people think, how they react and how they make decisions the better you can influence their thinking and work productively with them.

Third, take time to mull and think about why a staff member reacts or acts the way they do. Just as insight into texts come to those who preach and teach as they mull the text so insight into people comes if we will take the time to mull them. People are complex and the better we understand their complexity the better we will understand who they are and what informs their actions.

Those who become exegetes of those around them find themselves with much better relationships than those who don't. In fact, those who don't build this skill often end up with shallow relationships because they never took the time to understand their colleagues. In the end it can short circuit one's leadership effectiveness.

Creating a dynamic team

As a leader, one of my highest priorities is to create a happy, dynamic, results oriented team that is energized, creative, collegial and deeply committed to a common mission. Here are some of the key elements that I believe are non-negotiable if one wants that kind of team and working environment.

Hire the best

God has gifted me with a wonderful team of professionals because we have worked on finding the very best people - in fact people that are a whole lot better at what they do than I am. This requires a leader who is not threatened by strong personalities and huge degrees of competency.

Tailor the Jobs

Great team members want to play to their strengths. Spend the time you need to ensure that the job reflects the strengths of your team members. The rule is that 60 to 80% of our time should be spent in areas of strength, not weakness. If the targets are not met, the level of dissatisfaction goes up. As time goes on, continue to be flexible in tailoring jobs to keep your people engaged and fulfilled.

Monitor happiness factors
I ask my team members regularly, what is your happiness factor, and they ask their reports. We want to know on a scale of 1-10 where people are at. If the number is seven or below I will probe. Sometimes it is a life issue but often it is a work issue that I can seek to resolve.

Create a collegial atmosphere
Everyone on the team is a critical member of the team from the lowest paid to the senior executives. Everyone's opinion and voice is heard and counted. Our jobs may differ but the honor, respect and voice we give to everyone is absolutely critical.

Empower people
Once a job has been defined, empower people to make appropriate decisions and to accomplish their job their way in line with the values and ethos of the organization. There is nothing more liberating than to allow people to use their gifts and creativity to accomplish their job.

Keep mission central
We are here for a common misson and we want to ensure that everyone is pulling in the same direction. The more clear the mission is, the more committed people will be to that mission. In addition, clarity of mission and strategy give people the information they need to make good decisions in their area of work.

Practice a monthly coaching/mentoring meeting

Take time each month to sit down and find out how your team members are doing, where they are facing challenges and what you can do as their supervisor to facilitate their success. Your investment in a monthly meeting sends a message to team members that you value them, want to help them and are committed to their success.

Be available
Senior leaders who are available to everyone on their team engender high loyalty. Often leaders see this as a distraction. In reality it is one of the most important things a leader does because your team members are the most important key to the organization's success. Show interest in people's lives, work and families.

Ask lots of questions
The more you know about what people are doing, the challenges they face and their wiring, the better you will be able to support them and help them maximize their gifting. Good leaders ask questions designed to probe and gain information they would not otherwise have. Few things show people great regard than to care about them and inquire about their work and lives.

Encourage robust dialogue
Rule. No issue is off the table except personal attacks or comments with hidden agendas behind them. Foster an atmosphere where honest dialogue is encouraged, new ways of doing things can be explored and creative collaboration is the standard.

Be generous with your praise

You cannot thank people enough or publicly recognize their contribution. After all, it is their work that makes the team successful. Go out of your way to make sure staff knows how much you appreciate them.

All of T.J. Addington's books including his latest, Deep Influence,  are available from the author for the lowest prices and a $2.00 per book discount on orders of ten or more.

Ministry teams that work, or don't

Ministry teams are great - when they work. Sometimes, however, they don't but they never seem to die once established. We are often far more careless in the ministry world on the building and leadership and mission of teams than we would be in the secular world. Just because someone has a great idea or wants to start or lead a team is not enough to let them do so. As you consider ministry teams in your context here are some issues to think through.

Do you have a good leader?
Whether we like it or not a team rises or falls on whether the one who leads it can actually lead. The definition of a leader is that when they look behind them someone is following! Good leaders can build team, inspire vision, implement strategy and ensure that the team is actually effective. Even with the best idea, until one has a good leader, don't start a ministry team.

Does the ministry team have a plan?
Good intentions are just that. What matters is that the intentions can be translated into a workable plan that meets real needs. Asking for an annual ministry plan from a team is just smart leadership. It forces them to think carefully about what they are going to do so that they accomplish their objectives. No plan, no team!

Is the ministry in sync with the overall ministry?
Churches, especially, are notorious for adding a hodgepodge of ministries without any real alignment. The ministry of the team ought to complement and be in sync with the overall ministry of the church or organization. All arrows need to be pointed in the same direction for a ministry to be most effective. Asking the question, how does your particular ministry complement the ministry of the organization is an important one.

What spells success for the ministry team?
If a team cannot define success they don't have a plan! Even in ministry we need to know what success looks like. I have seen many teams spin their wheels for long periods of time not really accomplishing anything. If there is a definition of success, they have a target to shoot for and you have a way to evaluate their effectiveness. That should be done at least annually.

What is your exit strategy?
Sunset clauses are great things. It is one thing to start a ministry team, quite another to close one down! It is helpful to have a written policy for how teams and ministries are evaluated and how you can disband them when their usefulness is no longer there, when energy lags, or when good leadership is not available. Having the liberty to shut down a ministry team is as important for leaders as the liberty to start them.

How do you celebrate success?
When teams work hard and accomplish something significant, how do you hold them up, thank them, celebrate their accomplishments and encourage them? We are often great at guilting people into serving and not so great at thanking them for their service. Faithful and effective team members need to be encouraged and thanked.

What is your plan for recruiting new team members?
There is a natural cycle of ministry, rest and ministry again. People often cannot serve forever. Yet it is often hard for them to take a break or move on to something new because there is a shortage of help. One of the functions of a team leader is to ensure that there are new people waiting in the wings or being recruited so that others can take a rest.

What do you do when a team leader hijacks the team?
This happens. You get a strong leader who has his or her own agenda and suddenly the team is doing its own thing but is not in sync or accountable to the leadership of the organization. Spelling out leader responsibilities ahead of time (there should be a document) gives you the opportunity to pull people back into alignment if they try to go on their own. Or to remove them if necessary from leadership.

Healthy ministry teams drive God's agenda in numerous way. Getting it right so they work make a huge difference.

The value of having the right people on your team

I am constantly reminded in my own organization, or those that I interact with how important it is to get the right people in the right seat in order for the organization to flourish. When we get the wrong people in place we pay a heavy price for as long as they are there and it becomes a drag on the ministry momentum.

When you have the right people:

• The job is not viewed as a job but a mission to be accomplished


• Very little supervision is needed because they take the initiative


• Bureaucracies are minimized because there is a high degree of empowerment and responsibility


• Trust is high because you have healthy people who put the mission above all else


• Cooperation is high and silos are minimized because the mission is the key glue that holds the team together


• Excellence is the norm


• New ways of doing things are regularly explored


• Turf wars are virtually non-existent

Take a moment and think about the key players you have. Do they meet the characteristics of the "right people?" With the wrong people, the opposite characteristics will often show up. There is no substitute in a healthy organization for getting the right (and healthy) people on your team. Don't neglect leadership principle 101.

The journey from individual producer to leading through team

Many pastors and Christian organizational leaders did not sign up for ministry to lead others. They heard the call of God, wanted to make a difference for His Kingdom and entered ministry. It was a shock for some to wake up one day and realize "I am a leader and I've got to lead a staff, and I don't really like doing it."

I remember when I was an independent producer. I was a staff of one with an assistant. It was convenient: one person to oversee, my schedule was my own, I could focus on things I wanted to focus on and, while my work affected others, I was not personally responsible for them.

Today, the picture is different. I have a staff of over 550 with 10 senior leaders who directly or indirectly report to me. What I do, how I spend my time, and what my priorities are all directly affect others - and my ability to lead them well. 

The transition from independent producer to the leader of a staff of various sizes was not without its bumps and its lessons because the two kinds of responsibilities are very different.

Life for an independent producer is fairly simple. Life for a leader who leads staff or a team is much more complex. A leader of others must make critical transitions in how they think and act. They must transition:

From thinking about "How I drive ministry myself" to "how I facilitate ministry through other good people." It is no longer about me as much as it is about us.

From "how I would do things" to "empowering other good people to do things as they would do them" - in line with their gifting and skills.

From "I can do life as I like to arrange it" to "I need to take into account all those on my team and how I can best serve them and help them become the best they can be."

From player to coach. The larger my staff (volunteer or paid), the more I must transition from player to coach. It is not possible for me to ignore my team. If I do, they go south attitudinally or we develop silos without alignment.

From "hands on: in the details to helping define the "big rocks" and allow others to figure out the details.

From "I can determine the plan and strategy" to "we need to determine and own a common strategy."

From "I have a meeting to go to" to "I have a meeting that I need to carefully prepare for and lead."

From "my opinion is the one that counts" to "I need to be collaborative in my thinking, and decision making." And, "I need to encourage robust dialogue around issues and take a non-defensive posture when others disagree with me."

These are not easy transitions and there is significant leadership pain and even attrition when leaders go from being solo producers to team leaders and don't understand the need to do life differently. It is not uncommon for pastors who suddenly find themselves saddled with reports and a team who have not made the transitions above to face considerable unhappiness or conflict with staff. Often they are not aware of why the conflict is occurring.


If you lead others, have you made the transition?

Hidden agendas and passive aggressive behavior

Have you ever worked with someone who is passive aggressive? Probably all of us have. What lies behind this behavior are hidden agendas - a desire to get somewhere on some issue that is kept hidden rather than stated up front. What is unhealthy about the behavior is not the agenda itself - all of us have them, but the fact that an individual is not willing to be honest about their agenda with others.


Hidden agendas and passive aggressive behavior are actually a form of dishonesty that destroys trust. It is dishonest in that the actual agenda of an individual is unstated and hidden. Therefore it is not possible for others to address it. Either they must guess at the agenda or they figure it out from behaviors but it is still difficult to put on the table because it is unstated. 


In our organization we have a principle called Robust Dialogue where any issue can be put on the table with the exception of personal attacks or hidden agendas. The reason there cannot be hidden agendas is that you cannot have honest dialogue when they are present. What you actually have is a surface dialogue with other issues underlying the conversation that remain unstated.


Hidden agendas are often a way of trying to outmaneuver or undermine another individual without stating it. When this happens on church boards or teams it creates an underlying conflict in the group which may or may not be recognized but it is surely felt. 


I was once called by a pastor who had a former leader in his church pushing him to take a sabbatical. He and the board were thinking that maybe it was a good idea. After asking a few questions it became clear that this individual had a history of undermining the senior pastor. 


In dialogue it became clear that he most likely had a hidden agenda in his suggestion - getting the senior pastor out of town so that he could undermine his leadership. He clearly had an agenda that he was not stating and that was therefore dishonest. Rather than stating his issues up front he was maneuvering from behind. 


This is why healthy organizations make it clear that in their culture they will not tolerate hidden agendas and call people on it when they exhibit passive aggressive behavior or there is indication that there is an agenda behind the stated agenda. We are too lax in allowing behaviors that are toxic and unhealthy. Rather we ought to set a standard and then hold people to them. It may be something you need to talk with your organization, board or team about.

The test of a leader's humility and openness

Both in my consulting role and my organizational leadership role I work with team leaders and their direct reports. One of the things I am always looking for is how honest, candid, direct and transparent team members can be with their leader. It is a barometer of several things: the health of the senior leader; the health of the team and the health of the organization as a whole.

How is this a barometer of the leader? Let's be candid. The only reason that certain issues cannot be discussed with freedom with a leader, whether in a group setting or one on one is that the leader's insecurities prevent it. To the extent that I as a leader am unwilling to hear candid feedback from others on any topic, the gaps in my own emotional intelligence are showing. Obviously I have something to lose by discussing the issue or have something to prove by being right on the issue. 

Leaders set the culture of openness or lack of it for their team. In our organization we have a stated goal that there are no elephants that cannot be named (elephants are issues that people are afraid to bring up). Once named it is not an elephant anymore but simply an issue to be discussed and resolved. We also operate by a motto of "nothing to prove and nothing to lose." If I have nothing to prove or lose I am free to hear whatever my team wants to discuss without needing to be defensive or right.

How is the the barometer of the health of a team? Very simply, when a team cannot engage in robust dialogue where any issue can be put on the table with the exception of personal attacks and hidden agendas, it cannot maximize its effectiveness. This is because it is often the topics that are off limits are the very topics that must be resolved if the ministry is going to be all that it can be. Every issue that cannot be discussed is an issue that will hold the ministry back in some area. 

I suggest that teams operate by a team covenant which spells out how they operate with one another, the ability to be candid and define the culture by which they will operate. Healthy teams deliver healthy ministry.

It should be obvious by now how this is a barometer of an organization as a whole: Healthy organizations are open, candid and humble organizations who are always looking to improve their return on mission and invite their staff to help figure that out. Closed organizations are fearful organizations. Open organizations are free and therefore invite the best from their staff in ideas, dialogue, feedback, innovation and synergy.

How well are you doing in the area of humility and openness. Can you talk about it as a team?

The value of outside input into our ministries

This week I spent four days with key staff and an outside consultant probing areas of necessary growth and development for our organization. As one who does a fair amount of consulting I know the value of an outside voice that asks good questions, challenges the status quo and can help a ministry team think outside their usual parameters. They also bring the dimension of knowledge of what others are doing.


Too often in ministry we isolate ourselves out of fear (what if others discover what I don't know) or out of hubris (we don't need outside help). In either case we and our ministry loses. Humility and a commitment to learn is the attitude of healthy leaders and  they welcome the voices of others who can challenge prevailing thinking, ask the hard why questions, clarify issues that are not truly clear and help develop new ways of thinking, new tools for success and in doing so bring new insights to the table.


A consultant can be a fellow pastor or ministry leader that you respect and who has obvious expertise. It can be someone who you pay for their services. In my case, it is someone who normally consults for large businesses  in lean manufacturing and lean management who is helping us with what we call a Ministry Excellence initiative. We pay the going rate for his services and have over the past two years of relationship benefited immensely.


Humble leaders and organizations are committed to continuous learning, regular evaluation, ministry results, clarity of purpose, healthy teams and culture - all for the sake of seeing a maximum return on mission for Jesus and the mission He has called us to. 


To those who have never had an outside voice speak into your ministry I would say, overcome your fear or pride and try it. You will be surprised by the insights you gain and the ideas that are generated. All of us get stuck in our own ruts, habits, and assumptions. An outside voice can help you find new paths.

What makes for a healthy team?

The word "team" elicits various responses depending on whether we have served on truly healthy and synergistic teams. At its most basic level, there are four elements to a strong and healthy team. Minus any one of these four and the team will not be healthy, nor a joy to serve on.

Healthy Leaders
Good leadership is a function of healthy individuals who are committed to develop, empower and release their team members. Health includes good Emotional Intelligence (EQ), a commitment to develop their people and to release them in meaningful ministry - empowerment within clear boundaries. Healthy leaders stay connected with their team, remove barriers for them, ensure that there is synergistic work taking place, develop their staff and ensure that the team is focused on the right things.

Right People
Teams are made up of the right people (right people, right seat) where the chemistry of gifts, talents, and personalities come together to accomplish the mission of the team. This results in cooperation, synergy, effectiveness, productivity and unity. The true payoff comes from staff who are energized and fulfilled in their  work. It takes just one wrong person on a team to create chaos or lack of unity and effectiveness. 

Missional Clarity
Healthy and strong teams have unity around a clear vision, purpose and strategy. They are all on the same page, know where they are going and how they intend to get there. There is a clear direction to their work and while team members may be doing many different things, they are all focused on the same missional goal. The missional agenda is the north star of all that they do. This is the opposite of everyone doing what is right in their own eyes.

Healthy Environment
Healthy team environment creates an atmosphere that maximizes creative endeavor. This is a culture where fresh ideas can be put on the table, there is the ability to disagree and engage in the conflict of ideas, best practices can be explored and there is an enjoyable, collegial atmosphere of trust and cooperation. 

If you lead a team or serve on a team, which of these characterizes your team and where do you need to become stronger and healthier? Create health in all four areas and you have team glue that is strong and enduring. To go deeper in developing healthy teams, Leading From The Sandbox: How to Develop, Empower and Release High-Impact Ministry Teams can help.