www.nextwaveonline.com
Leadership & Life
Building X-Cellent Leadership Teams
Mal Fletcher
We recommend that you also read "Get Real!" by Mal Fletcher
INTRODUCTION:
Isaiah 37:30 - What God at first causes to grow from nothing must then be reproduced
Isaiah 9:7 - With the increase of Christ's government (His kingdom on earth) must come an ordering and establishing of it, through his appointed leaders
2 Timothy 2:2 - We must commit ourselves to passing on the baton to the next generation. There are many politicians in the church (thinking of the next election) but not enough statesmen (thinking of the next generation)
1. THE MOTIVATION FOR TEAM-BUILDING
In the church, our motivation is not just the completion of a task or mission, but the building and releasing of people to their full potential in God as we get the job done. Our mandate from the Lord is to preach the gospel to all nations and to make disciples as we do it! (Note: Mark 3:14 - Jesus called the disciples that they may first be with him, before being sent out from him, to do the work)
We are not so much interested in committees as ministry teams (democracy is the best human government can do without God. God has always led his people through theocracy:
- in the O.T., through his appointed and anointed kings, priests, prophets
- in the N.T. through gifted church leaders.
As long as these delegated leaders spoke what God had given them, they remained in this leadership role. When they stepped beyond this and began doing their own thing, they were removed (1 Chronicles 10:13-14).
Whenever God wanted to bring a change to the affairs of men, he did not send a committee, but an anointed, visionary leader who then passed on his vision and spirit to other anointed leaders, who equipped the people of God (cf. Moses in Numbers 11). Jesus' disciples did not constitute a committee, but a ministry team.
2. THE QUALITIES OF A TEAM-BUILDER
a) WILLINGNESS TO BE A "WHOLE OF LIFE MISSIONARY":
Recognizing that we are stewards of all we have under God ( time, effort, talent, money etc). God has not asked for the tithe, but for the total (the tithe is an emblem of the fact that it is all his!) We must allow others to share parts of my life which, had I not become a Christian, I might have kept all to myself.
Discipling is not simply sharing the content of a message, it is conveying the character of the teacher (as Jesus did with his leadership team). Jesus was not just commander, but companion to his team. He displayed three important qualities of a team builder:
i. Accessibility (Philippian 2:5-8): Not hiding behind a position or using this as an excuse not to be real and open.
ii. Sincerity (John 2:12): Allowing team to see the leader "up close", to see his values at work even in the home (not just in the pulpit)
iii. Security (John 3:26): Jesus was secure enough in his own call and was not threatened by the successful ministries or reputations of others. Insecure leaders produce insecure teams!
b) COMMITMENT TO DEVELOPING THE MEMBERS OF THE TEAM
Commitment is a learned response (learned via modelling). In Luke 5:1-11 Jesus demonstrated his commitment TO the disciples and their needs (fishing) before asking for commitment FROM them for his needs (fishing for men).
The difference between influence and power is clear. People allow me to influence them when they see that I have their best interests at heart. Authority giftings may come from God, but it is people who actually GIVE the right for a leader to influence them. This is given on the basis of trust!
A mentor is someone who can see leadership potential in a still-to-be-developed person, and is willing to promote or at least influence this emerging leader toward the realization of their full potential. A protege is someone at a lesser level of experience to whom we can give knowledge and personal support.
Leaders must be committed to:
i. Equipping the team: Training for practice. Teaching the "how-to's" as well as the philosophy of ministry
ii. Releasing the team: Training in practice. Giving people guided opportunities to learn "on the job". Being there to give support and encouragement as they do this. Calling them together again f or constructive feedback (Jesus did this when he sent out the 70 in groups of two). Note: "Releasing" ministries does not mean waving goodbye, and leaving them to fend for themselves.
Note: there are 3 key stages in the training process:
a) Instruction: principles and practix
b) Trial: guided opportunities to try out what is being learned (and thus to "own" it)
c) Feedback (leading to further instruction): fine-tuning of skills and encouragement to go on.
c) GRACE
i. Changing only what God wants changed, the way God wants to change it. Grace is not concerned with changing trivial things or imposing man-made rules based on personal taste. Grace is committed to building disciples for Christ, not clones of myself! (Gal. 4:19). Never dominate your protege, do not come between them and God (you only have a limited delegated authority from God)
ii. Taking hold with the aim of one day letting go. Grace knows that one day, after I've given all I can for the development of another, I will have to cut them lose to do things their own way. Grace recognizes that I cannot be the only influence on someone's life; they will learn from others also and I should not think this diminishes my role at all; I am part of a process, not the end of it.
3. PERSONAL MENTORS:
To be an effective mentor and team builder, we must seek out mentors for our own lives, at three levels:
i) "Fathers": people who've gone before us and therefore have much to teach us (these are not necessarily old!)
ii) Peers within our Organization (denomination, church): people who have similar level of experience as us, with whom we can build a 2-way mentoring relationship, in which each person inspires the other and helps in areas of weakness.
iii) Peers outside our Organization: people outside our structure who share similar level of experience.
4. CHOOSING THE TEAM
A) QUALITY LEADERS ARE NOT MASS PRODUCED (THEY ARE CULTIVATED)
Building a leadership team involves discipling gifted men and women who have been given into your charge for this purpose by God himself. Matt. 9:38 - God will send you leaders in response to genuine prayer. Sometimes the kind of leaders-in-formation God sends are not the kind you were first expecting! (You will need the insight of the Spirit to see their potential as He does!)
B) WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN THE TEAM MEMBERS:
2 Tim. 2:2: Paul gives us two major things to look for in those we disciple for leadership:
i) Character:
- Look for those who are "trustworthy" says Paul. Look for character in the following areas:
(a) Loyalty (1 Cor. 16:10; Phil. 2:19; 2 Tim. 3:10): Not simply unquestioning obedience, but a willingness to do what is in the other's best interests in every situation, even if it costs me something! Look for loyalty to God, the church and you the discipler. (Cf. 2 Kings 2: Elisha was loyal to Elijah to the end)
(b) Self-Responsibility: Many people want to blame their genes, background or present environment for the way they are. Unless we accept responsibility for who we are now (and the decisions we make which shape our lives), we cannot improve! Self-responsible people are self-motivated.
(c) Servant-Heart: Look for those who will serve without crying out for accreditation; for those who are seeking a calling not a career in ministry
(d) Leadership Gifting: Look for those who Paul says are "able" to do the work of ministry, those who are anointed and gifted of God. We should pursue excellence in all ministry (Mark 7:37), which will mean that we are not prepared to have people in leadership positions simply because it is "their turn" or, "there's nobody else to do it".
If we try to build leaders out of those who are not gifted for leadership in the church, we are telling God he has made a mistake, that we know better than he does what people's giftings ought to be! We are also setting people up for frustration and loss of confidence, by asking them to perform in ways for which they are not equipped.
Ephesians 4: the leadership gifts are given by God for the building up of the church. (Note: A person doesn't "have" the gift of apostleship, they "are" the gift of apostle to the church. The person is the gift!)
The wisdom of the Spirit is needed in identifying those who have spiritual leadership gifts.
Note: often, though not always, we will naturally attract leaders who are gifted in similar ways to ourselves (Like can attract Like).
THE PRACTIX OF MENTORING
A leader is able to offer several things to the team members he/she is seeking to mentor and raise up. Here are some practical ways in which we mentor others:
1. PRAYER
Regularly pray over a (mental or written) list of your personal protege's.
2. SPIRITUAL GIFTS
Believe for and exercise spiritual gifts in your relationships with team members (words of knowledge, words of wisdom, prophecies etc.). This brings powerful breakthroughs in the lives of individuals (breakthroughs which might not have come with months of meetings!). It also models the operation of spiritual gifts in real-life situations.
3. RESOURCES
Sharing with team members resources which we feel will help them develop as individual people and as leaders: eg. tapes of messages; books which have influenced us or will prove helpful to their situation; video's; recommendations re. films we think will help; recommendations re. magazines; recommendations re. conferences and seminars; advise re. useful internet addresses etc
4. SHARING FROM YOU DEVOTIONAL LIFE
Share some of the things you are learning from your own private Bible reading; areas in which God is stretching, challenging you; areas where you are experiencing growth.
5. PUBLIC PROMOTION AND SUPPORT
Being there to publicly stand behind a team member who is trying something new: ie. being willing to share any embarrassment. This gives them powerful incentive not to give up on themselves and to try again.
6. INTRODUCTION TO OTHER MENTORING RELATIONSHIPS
If we feel a team member will benefit from the experience of some other leader, we should set up a meeting for them.
7. FINANCES
Money needed to help from time to time in either meeting daily needs, or in obtaining resources.
This models a generous, Christ-like lifestyle. However, ensure that team members don't come to expect this, relying on you (not the Lord, and their own hard work) to meet their needs.
8. SOCIAL TIME
Make time in the relationship with the team for social interraction. Much is passed on through such informal friendship times, which also reaffirms your desire to be with them as people (not just leaders in your department or organization).
9. SPECIFIC ENCOURAGEMENT
Not general flattery. Be specific re. what the team member has done well. Let them know how you feel about this. Note:
i. Encouragement works best when given at (or near) the time: don't wait for weeks after the event.
ii. At the beginning, you may need to look for a team member doing a thing "almost" right! (If you wait for perfection, they may never receive their first encouragement!). If desirable, set times in your diary to call up different members and give a word of encouragement.
10. HELPFUL (POSITIVE) REBUKE OR CORRECTION
The emphasis is on correcting bad behaviour, not commenting on the person's worth as a person! How to give rebuke positively:
i. Choose the right moment for them (don't make a habit of rebuking in the presence of others: this pulls down a person's dignity and respect in the group; don't wait for weeks after the event though, as it then seems like you've been storing it all up to "hit" them with)
ii. Choose the right moment for you (if possible/desirable, wait until feelings of anger etc. have subsided: don't react out of hurt pride)
iii. Always be specific re. what the team member did wrong (and ensure your facts are right - don't operate on "hunches").
iv. Always let them know how you felt about the failure (feelings can leave a deeper impression than words). But don't overstate this (becomes either melodramatic or manipulative).
v. Always finish on a word of encouragement ("Well, I know you'll do better next time...")
vi. Once the issue is dealt with, forget it and move on.
vii. Always keep a heart free of bitterness and willing to restore the repentant.
11. LOYALTY
Don't be disloyal by speaking disparaging words about someone "behind their backs".
www.nextwaveonline.com