Teamwork is a key part of Christian leadership. The skills and practices to be an effective and considerate team member and a wise and inclusive team leader need to be consciously cultivated. The team also needs to be formed through an intentional process. Some teams just happen, but it is more common for good teams to be shaped and formed by intentional processes of team development.
Here are three two tools I find helpful in shaping and forming effective teams.
A Team Covenant
Take some time each year to collectively discuss what values and practices you would like to commit to in terms of your relationship together as a group. Document these in a team covenant and actually commit to actioning this. Periodically review the covenant to see if you as a team are on track. Work out ahead of time what you will do if there is a breach of the covenant relationship. See Sample Team Covenant (Note: Don’t just impose this sample on your group, do the hard work of working one out for yourself. You could start with the headings though….)
Team Reflections: The Team Evaluation Survey
This is a simple tool I have adapted from some original work (8 revisions ago) by Les Scarborough and Geoff Cramb. It can be used as part of a reflective team retreat to allow reflections on a set of 10 dimensions of team life. It is primarily a discussion starter but it allows the group to fairly clearly identify what is going well and what is not going well in team life. Team Evaluation Survey