Excerpt from article published in Outcomes Magazine by the Christian Leadership Alliance
We’re better together.
Not someday.
We’re better today.
The diverse perspectives and practices of inter-generational team members make us better at mission and ministry now.
Just as Paul’s beautiful narraphor (narrative metaphor) of diverse members of the body working together, we need each other now. (1 Cor. 12) That’s a story worth imitating.
During this health crisis, we both desire and fear human connection. I went to the grocery story last week – sporting my mask. People averted their eyes from one another as if eye contact meant contamination. I smiled (our eyes smile when we smile) and asked the gal at the register about her day. She was clearly startled – and delighted. She smiled back, over her mask and through the glass partition.
What if our ministry teams become life-giving communities –
places of belonging where team members
contribute and receive value, and smiles,
even during seasons of physical distancing?
Five Competencies
Research reveals five competencies of extraordinary leaders – and extraordinary teams:
1) Communication, 2) Collaboration, 3) Creativity, 4) Critical thinking, and 5) Cultural intelligence.
Let’s look at these 5 competencies through the lens of the COVID crisis.
Communication
A crisis often reveals something that already needed our attention. It’s never been more important to communicate well – or more obvious that we don’t. Ask more questions. Lean in. Listen. Use audio and video. Communicate with confidence and compassion. Communication is the essence of our team story.
Collaboration
Communication opens the door for collaboration. This is the real test of diverse, dynamic teams. “Us and them” thinking and acting is damaging. Collaboration allows us to propose, question, argue, wrestle, design, construct, deconstruct, and build consensus. The collaborative team’s story-line becomes “we are better together.”
Creativity
Collaboration infused with creativity invites us to innovate in our ministries. The first question creativity asks is: “is it safe?” Environments where it is safe to propose, question, try and fail become the most innovative. Creative teams tell a story of being seen, heard and valued.
Critical Thinking
Empathic communication and collaboration in diverse, safe, creative environments catalyzes critical thinking. The story the critical-thinking team member tells is one of seeking opportunity within every obstacle. One COVID gift may be discovering how God invites us to partner in new ways now.
Cultural Intelligence
At the heart of cultural intelligence is curiosity. The simplest way to become a culturally intelligent organization today is to work in and through inter-generational teams. The culturally intelligent team tells a story of diverse, shared contribution. Every member is valued – not in spite of, but because of their differences.
People don’t join missions. People join people on a mission.
And people don’t leave the mission. People leave people. That won’t change. What can change is the story they tell.
The COVID story may speak of limitation, loss and grief – but what if our organizations have a larger story? A story of generative contribution by transforming ministry teams, a contribution first into each other’s lives and ultimately together into the world we serve.
Read the entire article by visiting Dr. Teresa Moon's website.
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