What is a good team? Two words come to mind: cooperation and responsibility.
We want every team in the church to be collaborative—to work together naturally, creatively, and effectively. At the same time, we want the team to accomplish something worthwhile. A healthy team is not simply a group of people who enjoy working together; it is a group that works together and gets things done.
A healthy team understands that both individuals and the group have responsibilities. Therefore, team members have a dual responsibility: responsibility for mutual cooperation and responsibility for their shared ministry. To become a healthy team, we must learn to handle both sides well.
Cooperation Without Responsibility
When a team emphasizes cooperation but neglects responsibility, it can create an unhealthy and superficial culture.
Team members may appear to support one another. On the surface, everything may look positive. People may be friendly, agreeable, and encouraging. But underneath the surface, there may be frustration and conflict.
Without clear roles, clear responsibilities, and honest feedback about implementation, problems eventually emerge.
Team members may become reluctant to express their opinions because they are uncertain about their responsibilities. Eventually, capable and responsible people become exhausted. Their passion and skills are not fully mobilized because everyone is trying to cooperate without taking sufficient personal responsibility.
When someone does something well, we should not hesitate to praise that person. Taking personal responsibility does not mean competing with one another. We do not need to make ourselves smaller so that someone else can appear greater. A healthy team celebrates the contribution of every member.
Responsibility Without Cooperation
The opposite problem occurs when responsibility is emphasized without cooperation.
These teams may be composed of highly skilled people. Each person may be excellent in his or her own area, but members only pay attention to one another when necessary.
When this happens, the group begins to function more like a collection of individuals than a team.
There is little synergy beyond what each person can accomplish individually. When a colleague needs help, someone may simply say, “That is not my job.”
That attitude may protect individual responsibility, but it destroys teamwork.
A team is not a collection of people protecting their own territory. A team is a group of people who accept responsibility for their own work while also helping one another accomplish the larger mission.
Finding the Balance
Therefore, leaders need to pay attention to whether their team has a healthy balance between cooperation and responsibility.
Simply recognizing that the team is out of balance is not enough. Leaders must also help the team understand what a healthy team looks like and what needs to change.
One of the best ways to begin is to talk openly about the health of the team.
A healthy team should ask questions such as:
- Do we have a compelling vision for the future?
- Is our purpose clearly understood and shared by everyone?
- Is the size of our team appropriate for the size and growth of the organization?
- Does the structure of the team fit our church and its members?
- Do we have the right people in the right roles?
After considering these questions, the team should come together and honestly discuss whether everyone agrees with the answers and what needs to be improved.
But this requires something important first: a culture of trust.
People must feel free to speak honestly without fear of being criticized, rejected, or punished. A healthy team creates an atmosphere where difficult conversations can take place openly and respectfully.
Three Kinds of Relationships
When a church attempts to develop team collaboration, it is helpful to remember that there are at least three kinds of relationships.
1. Parasitic: 1 + 1 < 2
In a parasitic relationship, conflict, competition, personal interests, and internal battles consume the energy of the group.
Instead of multiplying one another’s strengths, members drain one another’s energy. The result is less than what the individuals could have accomplished separately.
This is a highly unproductive relationship.
2. Symbiotic: 1 + 1 = 2
In a symbiotic relationship, people cooperate with one another. Each person contributes, and the result is approximately equal to the sum of those individual contributions.
There is sharing, cooperation, and common values. This can work well, especially when there is sufficient time and good coordination.
But it does not necessarily produce something greater than what each person could accomplish individually.
3. Synergistic: 1 + 1 = 4
The healthiest relationship is synergistic.
Here, collaboration produces something greater than the individual contributions. Trust, honesty, open communication, shared information, and creative interaction allow people to accomplish what they could not accomplish alone.
This is the power of a healthy team.
The goal of teamwork is not simply to make people cooperate. The goal is to create an environment where cooperation and responsibility come together, producing something greater than either could achieve alone.
A healthy team says:
“I am responsible for my part, and I am also committed to helping us accomplish our mission together.”
That is where true teamwork begins.