Teams are a crucial part of the vitality and flourishing of congregational ministry and church leadership. The title of John Donne’s famous poem, “No Man is an Island,” is almost a cliché at this point, but it is true. Very little of what we want to see happen is possible without having the right team in place. Although the extraordinary efforts of individuals produce eye-catching headlines, there’s often a team in the background supporting, training and encouraging the individual to accomplish great things.
So, given what we know about the value of teams, what is it that makes a team work well? How do teams thrive? Whether they are comprised of volunteer disciples serving on a board or paid staff working in full-time ministry positions, all teams have at least one characteristic in common: teams cultivate trust.
Trust is nonnegotiable. Teams are great for solving problems and generating creative ideas. Teams provide systems of support for everyone involved. However, teams only thrive when they invest the time and energy that’s necessary to build trust.
One definition of trust is “the firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability or strength of someone or something.” When we practice these traits consistently, other members of the team know they can expect certain behaviors. When members of the team practice these traits inconsistently, we feel less confident about what will happen from day to day.
Ron Friedman highlights key strategies for building trust in an article about high-performing teams. Friedman points out that trust happens when teams decide not to leave collaboration to chance. They share credit, maintain open lines of communication, see disagreement as a path to improvement and proactively address tension. If what Friedman discovered resonates with you, what can your team do to intentionally build trust?
Resources
Learning to speak more honestly in meetings
What would you say for a PayDay bar? A lighthearted exercise using peanut-encrusted candy as a reward is remarkably effective in helping people speak more honestly in public, writes a human resources specialist.
By Claire O. Bowen
Working better by working together
Leadership based on collaboration benefits everyone involved. And the work improves, too.
By Alaina Kleinbeck
Hospitality, trust and reweaving the fabric of community
At a time when the social fabric is frayed, the church has an important role to play in reweaving community, drawing on the practices of hospitality and trust, says a theologian and professor emeritus of Christian ethics.
By Christine D. Pohl
Cultivating trust is a crucial task for leaders
To cultivate trust, leaders must contribute to a sense of safety, commit themselves to listening, empower others to act, learn from their mistakes, and promise only what they can deliver, writes the executive director of Leadership Education at Duke Divinity.
By David L. Odom
Before you go…
I’m sure most of the folks reading this know about “trust falls.” You stand with your back toward another person. You close your eyes and fall backward, hopefully into the outstretched arms of the person standing behind you.
It’s often quite difficult to relax and fall. In that moment just before you lean backwards, you wonder if the person will catch you. Are you standing close enough to the person for them to grab you before you hit the floor? If they miss you, will you get hurt? Clearly, trust is not automatic for human beings. Without real collaboration and consistent, honest communication, trust will be elusive.
One more thing: as you reflect on the quality of trust on your team, keep in mind that trust not only works on the interpersonal level, but it also functions at the institutional level. Do team members trust that the institution will do the right thing? I’ll have more to say about institutional trust in a future issue, but for now I’ll leave you with this truth from Steven Covey: change moves at the speed of trust.
You can reach me and the Alban Weekly team at alban@duke.edu. Until next week, keep leading!
Prince Rivers
Editor, Alban at Duke Divinity