It was John Maxwell who coined the phrase ‘Team work makes the dream work’. There’s also a famous acronym for T.E.A.M. which says: Together Everyone Achieves More. Ok, it’s a bit cheesy but it really is true. Great leaders build great teams – and great teams accomplish great exploits.
If you follow this blog, you’ll know that I recently posted an article called ‘Building a World Class Team’ which you can read HERE. I thought it would be helpful to share a bit more on the kind of team culture we’re building at the Junction Church Loughborough as well as our new campus church in Leicester. In this blog, I’d like to look specifically at what makes a great team player. This is by no means exhaustive but here are 10 observations:
1) A positive vibe A ‘can do’ attitude makes a massive difference to the heart & spirit of a team. As far as a great team is concerned, there are no such things as problems. There can be challenges….but not problems. When a great team player identifies a challenge, they don’t revel in finding it. Instead, they present ways to overcome it. That’s one of the outstanding traits of a great team player.
2) Willingness to embrace new experiences Change is an inevitable part of life. For example, the world today is very different to what it was just 5 years ago. Great team players recognise the ‘why’ of change – and embrace it for the sake of the long term future. They are calm under pressure.
3) The ability to laugh at yourself! Life is too important to be taken too seriously. So it’s important to be serious about laughing. A sense of humour will help get you through 90% of life’s challenges. Great team players enjoy great laughter amidst the serious business of living for a greater cause. Laughter is like the glue of relationships – it keeps them together!
4) Faith Nothing undermines the momentum of a team more than unbelief and negative vibes. Great team players are people of faith. They dare to believe for the impossible – and are motivated by an irresistible conviction that with God, it CAN be done.
5) Emotional Intelligence Emotional intelligence is AS important as cognitive intelligence. When you develop emotional intelligence, you understand how to be principled yet gracious & firm yet sensitive to others. You also know how to get the best out of others. Great team players save themselves hours of needless conflict by learning to read & understand people better.
6) Having each others backs! A great team player is one who looks out for the rest of the team. You see…it’s all about the TEAM. There is no such thing as ‘my success’ and ‘your success’. It’s ‘our success’. That’s what a great team player aims for.
7) Getting stuck in Having a servant heart that just gets stuck in is what makes a GREAT team player. No divas. No strops. No complaining. No slacking. These things do more damage to a persons credibility than they can possibly imagine. No-matter what kind of day is going on, great team players stay loyal and faithful – living for a cause that is bigger than themselves.
8) Adaptability Life is full of challenges that no-one could ever have predicted. Great team players recognise this – and adapt to the challenges WHEN they come.
9) Honour There are always those on any team whose responsibility is to make the ‘final call’. Great team players recognise that leadership isn’t easy. So even if they don’t entirely agree with the ‘final call’, they remain faithful, supportive and honourable.
10) Doing everything for the Glory of God Great teams want to make a positive difference for the glory of God. So in everything they do, from the minor to the major tasks, each team member is motivated with a desire to glorify God in everything.
