winning teams

This past year, I led a retreat with men and we had some fun team-building games. One of our games involved  5 men being tied together and completing an obstacle course. It was a very challenging event. Men were quickly assembled and given 3 minutes to pick a leader and teammates and to come up with a plan of attack. 

 Here are some observations gleaned from that event.

Teams work better when someone takes the lead and charts out the course.
Teams work better when the same goal is in mind.
Teams work better when there is not friendly fire.
Teams work better when they have a plan.
Teams work better when everyone doesn't try to lead

Leaders surface quickly 
Leaders are encouragers and believe they can win
Leaders pull the hardest, and pull the best out of their team
Leaders look out for the obstacles ahead and make them known
Leaders  go first into  the unknown territory
Leaders lead  and always look ahead
Leader set the pace, the pace of the leader was the pace of the team

Winning teams follow the path of the leader
Winning teams come alongside the leader and work with him
Winning teams have everyone running the same course charted out by the leader
Winning teams have great chemistry and celebrate as a team
Winning teams run at the pace of the leader
Winning teams believe they can win and overcome a fall or two along the way

All that to say this, as I officiated this event, it soon became evident that some teams performed a lot better then other teams. And here is why:

They pulled together
They had a great leader
They believed they could win
They overcame the obstacles
They believed in each other
They had a winning pace
They never once complained
There wasn't any friendly fire
They wanted to win!

winning teams

I have spent a large part of  my life investing in the building of leaders and the building of teams. I firmly believe that any organization, ministry, or team is only as strong as the weakest link. So it is important to build a team that makes you stronger and the team stronger as a collective unit. 

I have stated on many occasions that Character, Competence, and Chemistry are the core ingredients of great teams. Yet many teams have the first two elements listed above but few have all three. Chemistry is critical, if not imperative in building a winning team. You must be able to gel well as a team, you must have the "it" factor when it comes to chemistry.

God has certainly blessed me with an all-star Pastoral Team. I mean that with all of my heart! These guys standing in the photo above are tremendous teammates and I thank God for them.

So, Jeremy, Jon, Rich and Jeremiah I want you to know that I love you guys and that I got your back covered and  I would fight to hell and back for you and with you!