Aug

If you lead a team, you know that the journey to high-performance is ongoing. Its the rare team that achieves high-performance and just stays there. In my business life, whether Ive managed a team within an organization, or run my own company, its been unusual to keep the same team together for longer than a year. Team members come and go, driven by the needs of the organization and their own career goals. And every time the members of a team changes, the team needs to regroup and refocus.

Whats a team leader to do? For starters, focus on the seven characteristics of a high-performing team (what we call a Total Team at NetSpeed Leadership):

Shared Purpose and Direction

Motivating Goals

Commitment to Individual and Team Roles

Multi-Directional Communication

Authority to Decide or Act

Reliance on Diverse Talents

Mutual Support and Trust

Shared Purpose and Direction

On a high-performing team, everyone on the team is committed to the teams purpose. They know exactly what that purpose is because the team leader keeps them focused by constantly communicating that purpose in team meetings and regular updates. The team leader helps each individual team member meet his or new own needs while serving the overall purpose of the team.

Motivating Goals

The team leader ensures that everyone on the team has clearly defined goals and targets. In some organizations, the strategic goals and departmental objectives are determined by senior management. In that case, the team leader makes sure that these goals are clearly discussed. Team members should understand how their jobs support the achievement of the defined goals, and, if possible, have the opportunity to develop individual goals and action plans that spell out how they will contribute to the success of the organization.

Commitment to Individual and Team Roles

On a Total Team, team members have clearly defined expectations but they also understand how each of their roles is linked to every other role. Team leaders ensure that team members are cross-trained in other responsibilities so that everyone can back each other up when needed. The team leader makes sure that individual job responsibilities are fulfilled, but, at the same time, works to help the individuals develop a common language, processes and approaches that allow them to function as a team.

Multi-Directional Communication

On the best teams, team members solve problems, communicate with each other, and keep the team leader updated on current challenges or emerging issues. On low-performing teams, communication is one-way (from team leader to team members) or two-way Ken doll the team leader and individuals). Skilled leaders focus on developing multi-directional communication, avoiding the trap of communicating with individuals members of the team.

Authority to Decide or Act

No doubt about it, new teams may have to earn this authority by demonstrating that they understand the teams purpose, processes and priorities. However, effective team leaders work toward pushing authority for the teams outcomes to the team members. Team members know how and when to get approval for decisions and, in the best of cases, are charged with making on-the-spot decisions when a customer is facing them. On low-performing teams, team members have to constantly get approval before taking action, significantly reducing their effectiveness and negatively affecting their sense of engagement on the team.

Reliance on Diverse Talents

Savvy team leaders pay attention to helping team members understand their unique strengths, talents, and weaknesses. No individual team member can be good at everything. The best team leaders assist everyone to develop an appreciation for individual style differences, natural gifts, and personal experience. Teams are encouraged to use the language of acceptance and appreciation, rather than criticism and judgment. Team leaders consciously hire team members who bring complementary skill sets, unique experience, and diverse perspectives.

Mutual Support and Trust

The seventh characteristic may be the most important, and frankly, is probably the most elusive. The team leader cant force a team to be supportive and trustingits a natural result of shared responsibility, shared success, and mutual respect. The high-performing team achieves mutual support and trust because they have a history of working together to achieve grand dreams and results. They have met challenges, overcome obstacles, backed each other up in good times and bad. The Total Team has earned each others trust.

Building a high-performing team is not an easy task. However, if youre a team leader that is up to the challenge, then consciously focus on developing these seven characteristics. Bring them to your next team meeting and ask team members to evaluate them. How do you know whether each of these characteristics is present or absent on your team? What is the team willing to do to develop these seven characteristics? Then ask the individuals on your team to commit to 3 5 specific actions they will take in the next 60 days. Revisit these commitments regularly and see what develops. I guarantee a rewarding journey to high-performance.

Cynthia Clay is the President/CEO of NetSpeed Leadership ( netspeedleadership.comnetspeedleadership.com). NetSpeed Leadership meets the learning needs of managers, supervisors, and individual contributors in small to mid-sized organizations. Our programs blend interactive instruction techniques with online reinforcement tools to extend learning beyond the classroom. With this holistic approach, our clients quickly launch programs, train participants, reinforce skills, and measure the impact

I am with Mego action figures heart and mind...

Do all that you have in mind, his armorbearer said, Go ahead; I am with you heart and soul. 1 Samuel 14:7.

Have you ever had an overwhelmingly trouble-filled day, where circumstances seem to be against you on all sides? Look in on young Prince Jonathan (son of King Saul) on just that kind of day. It is a known fact his boss who was his father had backslidden from God. His dad had counted only 600 soldiers left from his 3,000-member army. He had just gotten the news that three war parties were dispatched from the enemies camp.

On top of those facts, the Philistines had banned blacksmiths in the land of Israel. Therefore, there was not a single sword or spear in the entire army of Israel that day, except his own and his fathers. A day or so later, Prince Jonathan decided to go over to the enemys camp with his armorbearer to spy out the camp. He did not tell anyone where they were going. They crossed a narrow pass between two steep cliffs. Upon arriving, he said to his armorbearer, Lets go over to those heathen, maybe the Presto Magix will do a miracle. It doesnt matter to him how many is in their army. His armorbearer said, Yes! Do whatever is in your mind. I am with you heart and soul.

The rest is history. Prince Jonathan and his armorbearer climbed over the cliff and killed about twenty men who fell left and right. After that, panic struck the entire Philistine army and at that same moment, a great earthquake came. The Philistines began killing each other in confusion. The Lord saved Israel that day through a man of God and his armorbearer.14

Have you been appointed to support someone in your leadership? Is your heart set toward helping this person accomplish their God-given tasks? If the answer is yes, then you are not alone. All over the Body of Christ, God continues to make specific appointments of helpers to assist His authorities. As an administration of the Helps ministry, He has uniquely formed the armorbearers place in His support system. It is a part of His design for a team to strengthen His leaders.

Recently, I listened to a friend complain about a Church project using a well-used phrase, There are too many chiefs and not enough Indians around here. It seems everyone wants to be in charge. My mind drifted as I thought, How many times have I heard this complaint about various teams over the years. I thought about the need of understanding Gods authority structure. It is not a new struggle nor is it isolated to the New Testament Church, as I considered Moses and Aarons conflict with Israelite grumblers. They had complained against the leadership of Moses and especially Aaron saying, We are all chosen and holy, who set you above all the Israelites?

Under Old Testament law, judgment and destruction came to many of those who complained. God, in His mercy, approved Aarons leadership with a budded, blossoming staff with ripe almonds hanging from it among the staffs that stayed the same. He then graciously reiterated the duties of the leaders and the supporters.1 It is a fact, not everyone is called to be a leader at the same time. Someone must lead and others must follow. From Scripture, we discovered God appoints leaders and those to support them.

When Jonathan is found on top of the hill spying out the enemys camp, we dont have to look very far to find his helper. He was there with him. Scripture says Jonathan turned to his armorbearer and said, Lets go up His assistants response was, Do all that is in your mind. For I am with you heart and soul. 2 Those words are music to any leaders ears, whether he is a weary church leader or a pastor needing an arm of support. I believe the Body of Christ needs those who will support the man or woman of God in a more tangible way. God is looking for people who will be with their assigned leader heart and soul.

With any ministry, gift, or talent God has entrusted us to use, we must develop it to reach its fullest potential. To develop the ministry of helping as an armorbearer, do this:

Build relationship. Get to know whom you are serving. Relationship will guard you. For example, one key thing relationship will guard you against are the baits of Satan (offenses). When he comes to distort the truth about your authority, you can say, I know this person there must be a reason for this. Your leader may do the same for you through relationship.

Personalize your service. What one leader desires will be different from another. Each pastor or leader has a different set of gifts and needs of service than another. Learn what your leaders are and personalize your service. Allow the Holy Spirit to guide you. Be attentive to his promptings. He will teach you what works best for your authority.

Be pure in your service. Make sure your service is to your leaders benefit. For example, a pastor friend of mine expressed her disappointment at the immaturity of her assistant. She explained, My armorbearer insisted she come to my speaking engagement for support. I said great, and then she asked if I would pick her up, which was fine but on the way, I interpreted two dreams, counseled her, and prayed with her before arriving at the meeting. I was drained before I made it to the platform. I agreed with my friends frustration regarding the assistants lack of consideration for her need. Remember, there is a time and place for everything. Allow your concerns and needs to take a backseat to discerning your leaders need. God is faithful; as you plant seeds of excellent service in your leaders life, He will remember to take care of you.

Wear Godly garments. Be careful of the attitude you wear when serving your leader. One of my team leaders says often, I am careful of my attitude and mindset when I serve my leaders because whether I intend to or not I often transfer it to them. I dont want them to have to guard against receiving a bad attitude from me. If we strive to wear a garment of humility, kindness, and congeniality, our leaders may safely trust themselves to us.

Develop loyalty in your ministry. Determine to be where your assigned leader is. Have you considered where Joshua was when Moses went up the mountain to receive the law of God? We can only assume he was somewhere close by because he was right there with him when he came off the mountain forty days later. Remember, how can your ministry to him or her be developed if you are not in place?

Develop a watchful spirit. Jesus said to his assistants on the first night of his trial, Watch and pray Yet, they were unable to stay awake to watch. He then gave us the key to a watchful spirit in His last words to them saying, The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. 13 If it is your hour of trial or your leaders hour of trial, determine to build your spirit so that you may remain alert and prayerful.

Our leaders are calling for us. They are looking for someone who will commit to the long-term. There are pastors and leaders who are weary in the fight because we have not taken our place. We must take our place as God appointed armorbearers, assistants, and helpers in His army. God will hold us accountable for the support that should have been given if that leader fails because of it.

About the Author
Earma Brown, Dallas, TX, USA
Most leaders need a strong team of support. Your leadership should have one too! Earma is Author of In the Spirit of Armorbearing and Co-Founder of Armorbearers International, Inc. who offers help with designing strong teams of support for Gods leaders. Subscribe to their free ezine The Armorbearer Coach at href="armorbearers.net/newsletter.htm">armorbearers.net/newsletter.htm or visit host site at href="armorbearers.net">armorbearers.net for other insightful articles and resources.