LEADING YOUR TEAM WELL
It was late. I walked into my house and fell onto my couch with a lot on my mind. Church work is very rewarding, but as with any job, there are moments when either a staff member or volunteer that works with you makes a personal or professional mistake. Confrontation and re-adjustment of behavior has to happen. This was one of those days. Never fun. Always plenty of decisions to learn from. As I sat there and thought about those decisions and the day’s events, a thought came to my mind. Am I leading my team well?
As I sat and watched the clock tick past midnight, I came up with four things you’ll see in your team if you’re leading your team well:
One, their priorities are correct - God first, family second and work third.
Two, Trust - your team trusts your character and believes the organization and you are reliable, honest and effective.
Three, there is a willingness to minister and display God’s love in a way that makes others want to be a part of the vision.
Finally, a heart for what the church is doing. Team shows up on time and is on board with the vision.
I looked at my list and thought, “that's easy to say, but how do we make this happen?” One person I have read a lot about and continue to learn from is Steve Jobs. He once said, "The most important thing is a person.” His passion on this statement created some of the most dominant products and product following we have ever seen. More importantly, that statement is the key to making the above items happen.
How does focusing on people show you are leading a team well?
Focus on people and not gear. Gear does not make your services great, people worshipping do. Everything you do or buy should have that as the focus.
Force interaction - Typically, technicians are behind-the-scenes people. They naturally want to fade into the background and just push faders or turn knobs. Often techs are not as social and would rather be in an online world talking about the next best phone or computer. You must break this trend and bring techs together. Scripture says "...I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” Matthew 18:19 - 20 (NIV). Create opportunities for techs to interact with the worship team, other tech team members and the pastors. This interaction should include vision, scripture reading and prayer.
Change the mentality of what your techs are doing. Techs are not just behind the scenes. They are the scene. Like a worship leader on the platform playing the keyboard, techs are playing an instrument that mixes everything together to create the environment that ultimately sets the environment of worship and hopefully leads people to Christ. Without techs, the spoken word would not reach satellite venues, recordings or the masses. Techs are the definition of fulfilling the Great Commission. If your techs grasp this mentality, it will change the way they act and interact with each other.
Have plans and boundaries for conflict resolution. Technicians always plan for the worst case scenario and can be perceived as saying "no" a lot. Either it's too expensive, not technically possible or skill sets of the team are not there yet. That "no" translation can easily create conflict with other team members. You must have a plan for conflict resolution. This plan has to provide the ability to resolve things and help step the team forward.
Think Positively.
"How you think about a problem is more important than the problem itself" (Norman Vincent Peale). Always think positively. It will allow you to address problems, provide solutions and fix the problem in a fashion that helps to keep you from being negative. Bring positive solutions when discussing a problem to keep negative thinking at a minimum. That will also lead to a strong tech team that thinks positive while worshiping the Lord with instruments of sound, video or lighting.
If I do all these things will everything run perfectly?
No, Tough situations will arise and leading well means you’re ready to address them. You’re monitoring the health of the team and ready to take someone to the doctor if they get hurt or out of line. Similar to a sports team, you’re ready to bench people who don't live up to the values of the team.
As I drifted off to sleep, I wrote down one last item. We have to hold ourselves accountable to be the best we can be. Live and show the standards we have set. But our team is made up of people. They will make good decisions and they will make bad decisions. We can't expect perfection, but we can expect excellence. In the words of Max DePree, our first obligation as a leader is to define reality, the last is to say thank you, in between, be a servant. Live that and you are leading your team well.
Goodnight
As I sat and watched the clock tick past midnight, I came up with four things you’ll see in your team if you’re leading your team well:
One, their priorities are correct - God first, family second and work third.
Two, Trust - your team trusts your character and believes the organization and you are reliable, honest and effective.
Three, there is a willingness to minister and display God’s love in a way that makes others want to be a part of the vision.
Finally, a heart for what the church is doing. Team shows up on time and is on board with the vision.
I looked at my list and thought, “that's easy to say, but how do we make this happen?” One person I have read a lot about and continue to learn from is Steve Jobs. He once said, "The most important thing is a person.” His passion on this statement created some of the most dominant products and product following we have ever seen. More importantly, that statement is the key to making the above items happen.
How does focusing on people show you are leading a team well?
Focus on people and not gear. Gear does not make your services great, people worshipping do. Everything you do or buy should have that as the focus.
Force interaction - Typically, technicians are behind-the-scenes people. They naturally want to fade into the background and just push faders or turn knobs. Often techs are not as social and would rather be in an online world talking about the next best phone or computer. You must break this trend and bring techs together. Scripture says "...I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” Matthew 18:19 - 20 (NIV). Create opportunities for techs to interact with the worship team, other tech team members and the pastors. This interaction should include vision, scripture reading and prayer.
Change the mentality of what your techs are doing. Techs are not just behind the scenes. They are the scene. Like a worship leader on the platform playing the keyboard, techs are playing an instrument that mixes everything together to create the environment that ultimately sets the environment of worship and hopefully leads people to Christ. Without techs, the spoken word would not reach satellite venues, recordings or the masses. Techs are the definition of fulfilling the Great Commission. If your techs grasp this mentality, it will change the way they act and interact with each other.
Have plans and boundaries for conflict resolution. Technicians always plan for the worst case scenario and can be perceived as saying "no" a lot. Either it's too expensive, not technically possible or skill sets of the team are not there yet. That "no" translation can easily create conflict with other team members. You must have a plan for conflict resolution. This plan has to provide the ability to resolve things and help step the team forward.
Think Positively.
"How you think about a problem is more important than the problem itself" (Norman Vincent Peale). Always think positively. It will allow you to address problems, provide solutions and fix the problem in a fashion that helps to keep you from being negative. Bring positive solutions when discussing a problem to keep negative thinking at a minimum. That will also lead to a strong tech team that thinks positive while worshiping the Lord with instruments of sound, video or lighting.
If I do all these things will everything run perfectly?
No, Tough situations will arise and leading well means you’re ready to address them. You’re monitoring the health of the team and ready to take someone to the doctor if they get hurt or out of line. Similar to a sports team, you’re ready to bench people who don't live up to the values of the team.
As I drifted off to sleep, I wrote down one last item. We have to hold ourselves accountable to be the best we can be. Live and show the standards we have set. But our team is made up of people. They will make good decisions and they will make bad decisions. We can't expect perfection, but we can expect excellence. In the words of Max DePree, our first obligation as a leader is to define reality, the last is to say thank you, in between, be a servant. Live that and you are leading your team well.
Goodnight