I did a post a while back where I said, Anything I do alone in ministry is a failure. If you hang around me long, you know I am fasinated by the power of a team.
There is something amazing about connecting with people in such a way that we accomplish something together we never could have accomplished alone.
One of my goals as a leader is to stay ahead of my team. If I can pave the way for where they are headed - for what is next - then I feel like I have succeeded in serving them. The tuff part is, the more talented the team, the more work it is to stay ahead of them. Here’s what I’ve found that helps:
- I must have alone time to refuel/recharge/refocus before I can lead effectively. This alone time is less about leadership of the team (quote above…) and more about self leadership in preparation for leading the team.
- I have to cast the vision to individuals before I cast it to the group - this allows me to see their reaction, learn their concerns and shape the way I cast to the group. (It also means there is always someone for which staff meeting is a rerun of a conversation we had the other day.)
- I will often get the vision for what is next and work with one or two people on the team to pave the way for the rest of the team. Getting ahead is not easy, but if I work with the most gifted people in the room, it is significantly more simple.
More often than not, I’ve found my time with God alone, having the opportunity to hear people’s responses the first time I cast vision and working with a small group of people, changes and shapes the vision as it comes to life. This is the power of a team.
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