“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.”- George Bernard Shaw
In my 18-years of ministry, I have had the honor to serve with some amazing men and women who pastored well. I have also served with some less proficient in their leadership and communication skills. Below I want to address the key components, “the secret sauce,” that makes for a healthy team and focus on the most critical component, communication.
Hear me out.
The critical components of a healthy team to which I will be referring come from Patrick Lencioni’s The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable—written as a fictional story of a new CEO’s attempt to unify her fractured executive team. Throughout the story, she unveiled pieces of her model to her team hoping they would adopt it for themselves and influence the DNA of the corporation.
The model was in the shape of a pyramid that included the essential characteristics of a healthy team and the repercussions if these were compromised or ignored. Trust was at the foundation of the pyramid. If there is no trust, then the team will be full of people with “masks,” shallow and impersonal. Conflict was the next level. What was interesting is that conflict cannot be avoided in either a healthy or an unhealthy team. The difference is that when the foundation of trust is established, conflict can be worked through thoughtfully because the focus of the resolution effort is on addressing the problem and rather than blaming personalities or abilities. If the foundation of trust is unstable or underdeveloped, all conflict, healthy or otherwise, tends to be avoided creating an “artificial harmony.” Commitment was the third stage; this could also be thought of as “buy-in,” inviting each person to have a say, whether the group goes with their plan or not. Commitment communicates value whereas the absence of commitment will create ambiguity and a hostile workplace. Accountability is the next phase, where each team member is not only accountable to their supervisor but also to each other. A healthy view of accountability stresses investing in one another’s potential and giving grace if failure is experienced. The absence of accountability leads to low standards, inevitably allowing a lot of things to fall in between the cracks. Lastly, results is at the top of the healthy team pyramid model. The team should be unified in goals and purpose and the absence of unity creates an environment for people to focus on ego and status.
Though Lencioni didn’t include communication as part of the model, communication is crucial to making any of the components work. You need communication to build trust and relationship with others. Relationships are formed in both healthy and unhealthy circumstances, they will either be formed or malformed. Don’t assume people interpret your motives or actions for the positive, they need you to communicate. You need communication to voice out your hurts, disappointments, and frustrations and also to communicate forgiveness. Just because there is conflict doesn’t mean that restoration or reconciliation can’t happen. We preach a gospel of reconciliation! Don’t settle for time to heal all wounds and simply ignore the issues; air out the issues respectfully, and then move on. You need communication to give permission to a team that may feel like they haven’t been empowered before. Be sure to build up your team for taking a step of faith. You need communication to ask specific questions of your team, stray away from asking general questions because you’ll get general answers. Seek to know the person’s heart and see where they really are emotionally, spiritually, and if their plate is too full. Lastly, be generous with communicating your gratitude and appreciation when a goal is achieved, and even more importantly when your team has failed an attempt to implement a new idea or went into uncharted territory in an effort to find a new way to achieve the vision. We often learn more from failure than from success, and with the right communication and encouragement from a healthy leader, the team can glean wisdom from what may have gone wrong and use it in the future positively.
If you are not a natural communicator, it is vital for you to learn how to become one if you want your team to be successful. You’re going to need humility in this learning this essential skill. Be aware of your body language because you may say for the sake of buy-in, “please share your opinions” while your face communicates that you don’t really want to hear their opinions. This is where you can communicate with a team member by saying something like, “I see the importance of communication and I want to provide a safe atmosphere for you to share your thoughts. I want to make sure my facial expressions match what I’m trying to say.” This process will make you feel uncomfortable but be encouraged to know that your team will thrive as you engage with them honestly and openly.
Proverbs 18:21, (ESV), “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.”
Your ministry team can experience health, but it will take time, commitment, forgiveness, and, most of all, communication. We preach that people cannot read minds, and that truth is extended to your ministry team. Build relationships with them; take them out for coffee or lunch. Don’t sway from healthy conflict where all involved can become stronger leaders and disciples because of it. Encourage your team to speak their minds when it comes to decision making, keep them from being crippled by fear and intimidation. Be courageous and ask the difficult questions to bring about accountability which shouldn’t be feared but desired. Lastly, over-communicate your joy and excitement over every victory, big or small.
Now that you have the secret sauce to build a healthy team and know about the most crucial component, here’s your challenge: identify one element from this discussion to incorporate into your interactions with you team this week. Plan a time to implement that element, and the way that you are going to employ it. You may be thinking of a weekly staff meeting, where you want to take the time to intentionally ask for and listen to your team’s perspectives. Or you could engage in healthy conflict management between two members of your team, or between a colleague and yourself.
If this has been helpful, come back in a week, read this article again, and choose another element of a healthy team to explore. Also, consider reading Patrick Lencioni’s The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable for more insights into this leadership model.