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Serving Leaders Produce a Thriving World: They Synchronize the Team
October 30, 2024
When the vision, values and mission of any organization are clarified and embedded deeply into the culture of the organization people thrive. But Paul’s vision also includes two more actions serving leaders can take to build a thriving world.
11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. 14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work (Ephesians 4:11-16).
In this scripture, Paul describes a thriving world, one in which each person is contributing their best to the whole. In this issue, we focus on how the serving leader synchronizes the team. The Serving Leader Model® calls this “Build on Strength™”.
Serving leaders synchronize the team by acknowledging strengths.
Paul’s vision of the church body is diverse. He mentions a variety of gifts for the leaders and concludes by saying that the body will grow “as each part does its work.” Each part has a unique work. No part can do every work. Some leaders assume that if someone can do a job well, it must be a strength. But serving leaders look for areas of service that are life-giving to people. They first identify their own strengths and then work with their entire team to help each one identify areas in which they are not only good at doing but also enjoy doing.
Serving leaders synchronize the team by aligning strengths to tasks.
When strengths are identified it is possible to begin to align assignments to those strengths. Paul would not ask the evangelist to prophesy; he would expect the evangelist to bring in new members. In the same way, serving leaders identify activities that bring life to their team members and then as much as possible align their assignments to that area. Each one will use the strengths that they have to bring their best to the team. Many leaders assign people to tasks simply based on what needs to be done and who is available. But serving leaders recognize that each person is uniquely wired to thrive at specific tasks. Wherever possible they adjust responsibilities to align with strengths.
Serving leaders synchronize the team by adjusting team roles.
The beauty of teams is that each part needs the others. Paul implies that no leader with one of the gifts mentioned will be able to lead alone. They need the others. Some leaders believe they should be able to do everything well. But serving leaders acknowledge that there is no such thing as a “well-rounded leader” but there can be well-rounded teams! They deliberately work to bring people around them that will help strengthen them in complimentary areas. And they work to align their teams to thrive by adjusting roles as much as possible to get people working in the areas of their strengths. Where teams are synchronized, people thrive!
For further reflection and discussion:
- Reflect on your own leadership in this area. How effectively does my leadership synchronize my team? How does my leadership in this area impact the thriving of our team?
- Are there things I am good at but do not enjoy doing? What should I do about this? What about those on my team? Do I actually know what they enjoy doing most? How can I find out?
- When I identify strengths on my team, what can I do to shift their assignments towards areas of strengths?
- How can we talk as a team about individual strengths and make adjustments as much as possible and appropriate?
- Read again the scripture above (Ephesians 4:11-16) considering your organization in the area of teamwork and finding the right place for every person. What is one step you can take this week to improve?
Until next time, yours on the journey,
Jon Byler
In the next issue, we’ll examine how serving leaders create thriving by spreading their power.
Click here for a resource from Center for Serving Leadership to help you in this area: BOS Functional Strengths Identifier v.15. |
