Worship Arts July August September 2022

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M om, is it bad to not like working in teams?” my daughter asked in middle school. “It seems that whatever team I am on, I end up being the leader in order to get the project done on time. Plus, I usually do all the work! The other team members either procrastinate, dominate, or irritate everyone else by their bad attitude. The worst part is, my grade is dependent on them!” There’s no “I” in team. It’s the one slogan I remember from my participation in team sports grow ing up. Whether it was playing field hockey, basketball, softball, or volleyball, my coaches always emphasized that everyone has their unique role to play on the team. I also came to believe that a team where every player contributes will be more successful than a team with one superstar who dominates. Team work did not play an important role in my academic development, however. Homework and projects were usually solitary, and success rested entirely on my own initiative and work habits. It was only in my children’s generation that working in teams became an essential part of public school education. Successful teams In today’s world, the ability to work well with others is necessary for success in virtually every pro fession, including the church. • Through the synergy of working in teams, the sum is greater than the individual parts.

legitimate reasons for Joe to have flexibility, and I wanted to be sensitive to that need. Unfortunately, the unpredict ability of Joe’s schedule and his un willingness to communicate when he was going to be working created disruption and affected the ability of other staff to get their own work done. I was patient and kept trying to show grace and understanding toward Joe until one day two staff members sat me down. They said, “Laurie, we need to talk. We know that you are sensitive to this person’s family life and needs and want him to succeed. But it’s not working for the rest of us. We can’t do our job well when we can’t count on Joe. “There is such a thing as be ing too gracious. We think Joe is manipulating your compassion for his own benefit. He doesn’t seem to want to be part of our team. Fur thermore, he needs to be available to the rest of us by working consis tent hours, and you’re the one who has to share that hard message.” It was a wake-up call for me. Joe and I had a heart-to-heart talk, he eventually resigned, and I received a valuable lesson about teamwork. I also learned about the impor tance of hiring the right people who fit the cultural and profes sional expectations of wherever I am serving. Patrick Lencioni’s 2016 best-selling book The Ideal Team Player: How to Recognize and Culti vate the Three Essential Virtues has been immensely helpful in under standing how to create outstanding work teams. The thesis of Lencioni’s book is that the three most critical virtues

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• Teamwork draws out and makes the best use of the unique gifts of each member. • By engaging multiple disciplines, teams include different perspec tives and can cut through depart mental insularity. • Teamwork develops camaraderie, empowers participation from all, demonstrates equity, and elimi nates competition for “who gets the credit.” • Cultivating and managing effec tive teamwork is not only a skill, it is an essential art for all leaders, including clergy and lay leaders in congregations. Being too gracious A defining experience in my own professional development in ministry occurred when I was a young pastor serving a large downtown church with many staff. One staff member was in the habit of working at odd hours of the day and night. There were some No ‘I’ in team by Bishop Laurie Haller

___________________________________________________________________________________________________ 22 July-August-September 2022 • WorshipArts • umfellowship.org