The Gift of Christian Leadership: Investing in Others and Building Teams

One of the greatest gifts given to a leader in life is the opportunity to invest in the growth and development of others. The ability to influence a small group of people in life over the course of life is the leadership approach modeled perfectly for each by Jesus Christ. During his ministry, he remained focused on his team, those closest to him, his preparation and development.

In business or ministry, developing a winning team is crucial to one’s success as a leader. Taking the time to develop a team allows for future success stories. So what does a winning team look like? First, winning teams have great leaders. According to John Maxwell, there are two ways to get others to do what you want: you can force them or you can persuade them. Of these two methods, the most effective approach is through persuasion. Persuading requires the leader to understand what motivates each individual team member and, in turn, harness her desires to drive performance. If a leader has the knowledge of what motivates people, he has a fundamental tool to deal with them. Next, successful team leaders understand the value of creating the right environment and recognize the basic human needs of their team members. Third, excellent leaders maintain control of the three critical areas of any team: finances, people, and planning. Finally, team leaders should avoid John Maxwell’s “seven deadly sins”:

1. Trying to be liked versus being respected
2. Not asking team members for advice
3. Foiling personal talent by emphasizing rules over skills
4. Not keeping constructive criticism
5. Not developing a sense of responsibility
6. Treat everyone equally
7. Not keeping people informed.”

Understanding how to lead a team is one thing, assembling one is another. I would add that filling a void in an already established team is arguably an even bigger challenge. There are five principles for selecting your team members that John Maxwell provides in his book, Developing the Leader Within You. The first principle is that the smaller the organization, the more critical is hiring. This is such a true statement. At smaller companies, you have potentially greater negative exposure to your team and clients if you make a bad hire. Next, recognize what kind of person and personality you will be working with on your current team. Take the time to assess a prospective team member’s talents, motivations, and personality. A poorly evaluated hire can have a significant impact on your team’s dynamics and production. Third, before you fill a position, understand what is expected of that position. Each year, 32 NFL teams participate in the NFL Draft to fill the gaps in their roster and fill a position of need. As a leader, I cringe when I hear sports analysts comment that a team decided to make a decision not based on need, but by selecting the best athlete on the board. As in business, this approach almost never works. Why draft a quarterback when you already have a Pro Bowl QB on your team? Just because he’s the best player available doesn’t make him the best option for the team. Fourth, when selecting a team member, understand what the prospective staff member wants from the relationship. Too often, relationships fail because both parties fail to clearly define their desires for themselves and the expectations of the other. Taking the time to clarify these expectations early on will save everyone time in the end. Finally, when you can’t afford the best, hire the youngsters who are going to be the best. Simply, if your budget does not allow you the best, be prepared to develop them.

Building a team is more than filling a vacant position. Done right, recruiting pushes the team to new heights. Done wrong, hiring drags the team to new depths. This may sound simple, but when making a critical hire, there are three basic criteria that all candidates must meet before being considered for my teams. The three are integrity, work ethic and knowledge. Without any of the three, the relationship will likely fail. For example, without integrity nothing else matters. With a strong work ethic and integrity, a lack of knowledge results in failure. Likewise, integrity and knowledge produce poor results without a strong work ethic. Be careful when adding to your team and be diligent. You owe it to yourself and your team.