If you’re like me, when you get into your car to go somewhere, the only thing you’re checking for is making sure the tank has gas in it. There’s no one hundred and fourteen point inspection before I need to get some milk from the corner store.
The truth is, in many cases, this is how we treat our ministries and the church in general. We show up to accomplish a weekend service but are often unaware of the underlying issues that could be happening amidst the team and culture.
Why is it so often that dysfunction or misalignment in a team is ignored until something breaks? Are you in a season where culture is off, volunteer spots are vacant and the team is checking out, but you don’t know why?
ARE YOUR TEAMS OUT OF ALIGNMENT?
Here’s a three-point checklist to evaluate if your team is out of alignment.
1. THERE’S MORE RESERVOIRS THAN RIVERS.
What do I mean? Systems create flow in an organization.
Healthy systems create healthy avenues for progress and maintenance.
Assembled but not aligned teams will create a blockage of flow in productivity. Projects will be delayed due to a lack of unity on its completion, and decisions aren’t being made because members choose not to communicate with one another due to external situations.
Aligned teams have a healthy flow in productivity. Teams are willing to catch the ball should another team member drop it. Unity creates trust, and trust enables us to operate without walking on eggshells around each other.
Teams that produce the most have decided to remain unoffendable when working on a project. The best idea wins and there are no additional revisions outside the meeting room.
If you notice that productivity isn’t what it used to be, it may be time to get a pulse on the relationships between team members. Listen for the things that aren’t being said.
Alignment doesn’t mean everyone is appeasable and agrees; it means we’re all pushing for the same result.
2. VISION IS VOID
Teams will look to their leaders for two main things: direction and dependability. Essentially, where are we going and will you be the person we need to take us there?
Times of crisis, although difficult, are often the times when teams need vision the most.
Here’s the key thing. Your team doesn’t need a destination; they need direction.
When was the last time you pitched vision to your team? I’m not talking about the weekly stand-up “how’s everyone doing” kind of meeting. I’m talking about the type of meeting where God is shaking the core of your passion and you can’t help but deliver it to those who choose to follow you with conviction and determination.
Hard times call for leaders to have the ability to pull themselves up to pull everyone else up. If there was ever a time your team needed to hear your heart, it’s when you’re wrestling the most with the vision God placed in you as a leader. Allow your team to walk that journey with you and it may surprise you how quickly your passion spreads.
3. EXCELLENCE HAS LEFT THE BUILDING
I don’t know about you, but customer service these days is non-existent. People are doing tasks but not taking the time to go the extra mile. Apathy is the attitude in style and almost everyone is wearing it.
Here’s the issue.
Excellence speaks a different language.
It tells those around us that we care about what we put our hands to. And it ultimately mirrors and reflects how we feel about ourselves. Have you ever seen someone who does everything excellently? They’re confident. They’re disciplined. They know their worth.
This is exactly why Paul urges us in Ephesians 4:1, “Live a life worthy of your calling.” For us to present poorly is to represent our God poorly.
Teams that operate in excellence not only produce more, but they grow because people desire to be a part of something bigger than themselves.
Excellence matters if you want to be great. If the excellence level has dropped, it could result from low self-esteem in your people.
Time to build into them and get back in the game of showing people why we serve an excellent God.
RECOMMENDED RESOURCES:
Book: Visoneering by Andy Stanely