“Leading a Team”
By Brandon Heath
INTRO
“A Man injured on the Job
filed an insurance claim. The insurance company requested more information, so
the man wrote the insurance company the following letter of explanation:
Dear Sirs:
I am writing in response to your
request concerning clarification of the information I supplied in block #11 on
the insurance form, which asked for the cause of the injury. I answered,
‘Trying to do the job alone.’ I trust that the following explanation will be
sufficient.
I am a bricklayer by trade. On the
date of the injury, I was working alone, laying brick around the top of a
three-story building. When I finished the job, I had about five hundred pounds
of brick left over. Rather than carry the bricks down by hand, I decided to put
them into a barrel and lower them by a pulley that was fastened to the top of
the building.
I secured the end of the rope at
ground level, went back up to the top of the building, loaded the bricks into
the barrel, and pushed it over the side. I then went back down to the ground
and untied the rope, holding it securely to insure the slow descent of the
barrel. As you will note in block #6 of the insurance form, I weigh 145 pounds.
At the shock of being jerked off the ground so swiftly by the five hundred
pounds of bricks in the barrel, I lost my presence of mind and forgot to let go
of the rope.
Between the second and third floors
I met the barrel. This accounts for the bruises and lacerations on my upper
body. Fortunately, I retained enough presence of mind to maintain my tight hold
on the rope and proceeded rapidly up the side of the building, not stopping until
my right hand was jammed in the pulley. This accounts
for my broken thumb (see block #4). Despite the pain, I continued to hold
tightly to the rope. Unfortunately, at approximately the same time, the barrel
hit the ground and the bottom fell out of the barrel. Devoid of the weight of
the bricks, the barrel now weighed about fifty pounds. I again refer you to
block #6, where my weight is listed. I began a rapid descent.
In the vicinity of the second floor,
I met the barrel coming up. This explains the injury to my legs and lower body.
Slowed only slightly, I continued my descent, landing on the pile of bricks. Fortunately,
my back was only sprained. I am sorry to report, however, that at this point I
again lost my presence of mind – and let go of the rope.
I trust this answers your concern.
Please note that I am finished trying to do the job alone.” (Rice 120-121)
Teams
make moving bricks easier! Sometimes they provide more hands to carry them down, other times they provide enough weight to control the
decent of the cart. They can even help the individual figure out other uses for
the bricks.
“Two are better than one,
because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they
fall, one will lift up the other; but woe to one who is alone and falls and
does not have another to help. Again, if two lie together, they keep
warm; but how can one keep warm alone? And though one might prevail against
another, two will withstand one. A threefold cord is not quickly broken.”
(Ecclesiastes 4:9-12)
Each of us is part of a team. Family, clubs, work and
church are all made of teams. Some are a team within themselves and others are
just a part of a larger organization. In this session we are looking at leading
teams. The session will provide some tools to assess different aspects of your
team and allow for discussion in each area. During the process think about a
team that you lead, are involved with or will be creating.
Leadership
If we are talking about
leading teams we must first focus on leadership itself. There are two main
perspectives about leadership.1. Not everyone can be a leader. Leadership is only nature based. 2. That
although some are born with leadership skills, those born with few skills can
learn about leadership. Leadership can be learned through nurture.
I
believe that everyone has leadership potential. This is best explained in John
Maxwell’s book “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership”. Maxwell explains
“Leadership ability is the lid that determines a person’s level of
effectiveness. The lower an individual’s ability to lead, the
lower the lid on his potential. The higher the
leadership, the greater the effectiveness.” (Maxwell 21 Laws, 1) So
someone who was born at a level 5, their effectiveness can be no higher than a
4. Yet he adds “Just as I teach in conferences that there is a lid, I also
teach that you can raise it.” (10)
Process & discussion:
Creating a Winning Team
(If you are given the choice)
Some teams we inherited,
meaning that the team was in place before you took the leadership position. But
most of the time we are given the task to recruit a team for a specific
purpose. The following are a few guidelines while you select your team (Loeb
& Kindel, 261-263). These can also be used to
assess already formed teams.
-
Do they
think it is worthwhile?
-
Do they
think it can be accomplished
-
Are they
willing to commit their own energies toward such a goal
-
Focus
less on education (unless you need a specialist) and more on resourcefulness
-
Ask
potential members to describe a difficult problem that they once had to solve
and the solution they came up with.
-
Select
for certain skills needed to carry out the mission.
-
Have a
decent range of points of view and skill levels
-
You can
be too diverse!
-
5- 7
people is a good average
-
If others
are interested, you can make sub teams depending on vision and workload.
John
Maxwell goes into detail on the following qualities of a team player in his
book “The 17 essential qualities of a team player” (VII-VIII)
·
Adaptable:
If you won’t change for the team, the team may change you.
·
Collaborative:
Working together precedes winning together
·
Committed:
There are no Halfhearted Champions
·
Communicative:
A Team is many voices with a single heart
·
Competent:
If you Can’t, your team won’t
·
Dependable:
Teams go to Go-To players
·
Disciplined:
Where There’s a Will, There’s a Win
·
Enlarging:
Adding Value to Teammates is Invaluable
·
Enthusiastic:
Your Heart is the source of energy for the team
·
Intentional:
Make Every Action Count
·
·
Prepared:
Preparation can mean the difference between winning and losing
·
Relational:
If you get along, others will go along
·
Self-Improving:
To Improve the team, improve yourself
·
Selfless:
There is No I in team
·
Solution
Oriented: Make a Resolution to Find the Solution
·
Tenacious:
Never, Never, Never Quit
“Obey them not only to win their favor when
their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your
heart.”Ephesians 6:6
Process & discussion:
The Leader Must Own The
Vision Of The Team
The vision is the heart of
the team. It is the reason the team was formed. The vision helps motivate team
members when they begin to stumble. It is a measuring tool of accomplishment. It
holds teammates accountable. Vision gives a team direction and confidence.
The leader’s job is to own
the vision and surround themselves with people who own the vision as well. A
statement is easily written down but is seldom accomplished. Here are a few
suggestions about vision development.
-
People on
your team must be able to understand and explain to others the vision
-
No matter
who’s idea it was, everyone on the team should have a say on vision
-
One
question to ask team members: If there were no restrictions on resources, where
could I go and what could I do?
-
Take into
account input from team members
-
Gathering
information about subject (research)
-
Planning-All
team members have input
-
Define
potential road blocks that could prevent, redirect or slow down the vision
-
Have some
idea of a timeline
-
Everything
the team does should point enthusiastically towards the vision (Loeb 239-252)
Process & discussion:
·
What
is your team’s vision? Can you state it in 13 words or less?
·
What
objectives do you have to accomplish your goal?
·
What
ways is your team Dynamic? Where are areas that tend to be stale?
Issues for a team Leader
If
you want to become an effective leader, you must show your willingness to serve
your teammates needs. Jesus makes this clear in the book of Mark: “Instead,
whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,
and whoever wants to be first must be slave to all (Mark
Failure
is an issue that every leader wants to avoid. It tends to put added stress on
the team and can stall out the momentum. But failure also helps the team
evaluate what has been accomplished and why the certain aspect of the journey
failed. It can lead to new discovery and allows teammates to think in
directions they might not have originally thought. It is the Leader’s job to be
the teammate’s cheerleader during such a failure. Guide the evaluation process
and ask tons of questions. Brainstorm how the vision can still be accomplished.
Then encourage everyone to try again using these new ideas.
No
matter what type of team you may have, good communication is imperative for its
success. The leader must clearly convey the vision of the team at all times. He
also promotes trust and an open atmosphere for teammates to share with each
other. “Without the cohesiveness that comes from complete trust and clear
communication, the buckshot will be headed in the same direction toward the
target, but in the spaces in between, the adversary can work and cause division
and disharmony. (Phillips 226)”
The
leader sets the tone for meetings and the work place. The leader’s joy for the
vision should shine through the work being done to accomplish it. Teammates
also enjoy someone who is somewhat sociable and easy to get along with. The
leader also needs to be flexible with the process of the team. These three
things will be a witness to other teammates, allowing them to glow with excitement
and encourage others to use their gifts towards the goal.
The
hope is that all team members have a meaningful job on the team. Yet as the
vision begins to take shape, other things may arise. The leader cannot take
care of every situation by themselves and should know
when to delegate to others. “Allow your team to grow. Give team members tasks
that are within their giftings and abilities, but
beyond their previous experience. Stretch them, but be available to assist.
Encourage, exhort, challenge or correct as needed.” (Phillips 227)
This
issue is always a hard but necessary job for the leader. The following steps
from Tom Phillips (230) that mirror Matthew 18:15-17 can be used to try and
redirect the efforts of these members:
-
The
person must be confronted in love by the person who sees the flaw
-
If no
change occurs, that person must be lovingly exhorted by a couple of members of
the team.
-
If still
no change occurs, the team must implement an established procedure for either
adherence or removal of the person.
-
At a
review date the person is evaluated. If the person does not meet the specified
standards they should be given a chance to resign before removal.
Process & discussion:
Conclusion
The following are mistakes
that leaders can make. Review the statements and the answers to your questions
through out the session. As a leader of a team, what are ways that you can keep
from making these mistakes?
Ten mistakes
that every leader makes:
References
Loeb, M. & Kindel, S. (1999). Leadership for Dummies.
Publishing.
Maxwell, J. (2002). The 17 Essential Qualities of a
Team Player.
Nelson Publishers.
Maxwell, J. (2001). The 17Indisputable Laws of
Teamwork.
Nelson Publishers.
Maxwell, J. (1999). The 21 Indispensable Qualities of
a Leader.
Nelson Publishers.
Maxwell, J. (1998). The 21 Irrefutable Laws of
Leadership.
Nelson Publishers.
Phillips, T. (1997). Building a team to Get the
Job Done.
Rice, W. (1994) Hot Illustrations For Youth
Talks.