Thursday, May 14, 2009

Getting Your Team on the Love Track

I love the people I work with.

No, really.

I LOVE them.

I think it's important to love the people you work closely with, whether it is a paid staff or a volunteer team. Why would we want to chase a God-honoring vision with people we can't stand? That just doesn't make sense.

Why love?
  • It creates a safe culture.
  • There is a synergy that happens when love and respect rule.
  • Loyalty is not an automatic thing: love helps that along.
  • I'm convinced that love makes creative juices flow.
  • It makes work fun.
  • Jesus' ministry is a model of community and love. That's a good enough reason for me.
Here are a couple of ideas to get your teams on the love track:
  • Spend a chunk of time in your meetings getting to know each other (no, not "what is your favorite ice cream?").
  • Pray for each other. If you're a leader, pray FOR your team (see Colossians 1:9-12 and Ephesians 1:15-21 for the kinds of things Paul prayed for).
  • Listen and respond to each other (Acts 6:1-7).
  • Encourage each other (Hebrews 10:23-25).
  • Challenge each other (Hebrews 3:13).
Even if you don't think you can love everyone you work with, I'd challenge you to try. I think you might be surprised at the result.

(Adapted from a lesson on "Caring for Those You Lead" from Derek.)

3 comments:

Matt Donovan said...

This is super helpful. Thanks for summarizing this lesson.

Larry Shallenberger said...

My favorite ice-cream is chocolate peanut butter cup. Thanks for asking.

katherine said...

thanks for stopping by! i really enjoyed reading through your 30til30 series, and since i knew i was (am) fast approaching my own 30th, i decided i had to do it, too. it's been fun. challenging. rewarding.

thanks for a great idea!