Framework for Teamwork

Wow! It's been a whole week since my last blog! Time is flying. Things are happening! Days are busy.

We have reached a point in ministry where we are seeing leaders surface and people showing up on the playing field. This is a result of moving people to service. The saints are being equipped for the work of the ministry. (Ephesians 4) It becomes increasingly evident that in order to have an effective team we must have a framework or structure that enables people to function as a team.

The tension lies in the tendency to create a group of silos that are independently focused on their particular ministry instead of group of squads, who, although they specialize in certain areas, are all serving on the same team with the same goal. A squad focuses on a certain aspect of the game. Each squad has positions that focus on certain aspects of the squad's needs. The purpose of each squad is to assist the team in winning the game.

The silo effect in organizational structure takes place when each group is focused only on the advancement and success of their area of responsibility. There is very little horizontal communication between departments and a sense of competition over resources and recognition emerges. Initially, the work is accomplished and appears to be organized. A spirit of "team" is even present, but without the horizontal communication between department leaders and the proper framework for teamwork it will soon erode to a dysfunctional group that keeps leaders busy putting out fires and mediating internal problems.

The paradigm held by second and third tier leadership is key to preventing silo-ing and to creating a powerful team of effective squads. Horizontal communication, cooperation and coordination between leaders is vital to a framework for teamwork.

Just Thinking