One of the most damaging expressions in a team environment is the phrase “that’s not my job” or “that’s not my area of responsibility”. Thankfully I have never heard that said at Grace Community Church. Sadly it is far too common in organizations that claim to be a team environment. I talk with people on staffs frequently who feel they are on an island by themselves within the organization and no one ever helps them think through a problem, recruit volunteers for their area, or lend a hand during crunch times.
While I agree with the equally modern concept these days of job specialization, working from one’s strengths and having clear expectations of a job’s responsibility, the very concept of a team is one of shared resources and shared responsibilities. For a team to thrive it’s members must be willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish the mission of the team.
Team leaders must foster a spirit of cooperation within the team. Leading by example, team leaders demonstrate this concept best by willingly participating in whatever is necessary to help the team, even if that task is way out of their comfort level or interest.
Does your team need a dose of a “whatever it takes” attitude? How does your team foster team spirit?
Love this! A great resource is “The ABC’s of Building A Business Team That Wins” by Blair Singer. Although it’s for businesses, there are great concepts for ministry as well.
Singer talks about a Code of Honor that the team agrees to early on. That way, when the pressure’s on, the team abides by the Code. One point of a Code could be, “We never utter the phrase “that’s not my job”.
Thanks for the post!