Teamwork and Gifts
The guard took the inbound pass and dribbled to half court. The center broke for the top of the key to receive the high lobbed ball from the guard. The left forward set a screen on the opposing center. The right forward made his break for the basket. The center gave a quick head fake right and then dribbled left. With a quick bounce pass, he delivered the ball to the driving forward, who made the lay up.
Teamwork.
What is true for basketball is true of leadership. Effective leaders are effective team players. They share the responsibilities of leadership with others; they affirm one another’s gifts and efforts; they coordinate their efforts with other members of the team; and they shape their strategy around the gifts and abilities of fellow team members.
I know of one IVCF group that exemplifies the last item. One year, this group had three student leaders with strong hospitality gifts. These three students could make a “bah humbug” Scrooge warm up to a crowd. The chapter leadership recognized their ability and shaped a strategy for newcomers around their gifts.
The following year, some of the student leaders had strong teaching gifts. Chapter leadership designed a strategy for them to train the newcomers brought into the chapter the previous year by the gifted hospitality people.
For leaders to serve effectively as a team, they must also talk to one another. They must learn how the other leaders think and feel. They must understand what the others value. While such intimate knowledge of one another takes time to acquire, learning to work together is more important than well-thought plans. Many a chapter’s plans that are formulated during chapter camp end up in the dust bin, because the Exec could not work together.
Closely related to the issue of teamwork is the issue of gifts. As basketball players come in all shapes and sizes, the same is also true of leaders. They come with a variety of gifts.
On one hand, there was the apostle Paul, who seemed to be a courageous, outgoing pioneer. On the other hand, there was Timothy, with his weak stomach and possibly a temperament to match.
Leaders may also serve in different roles. Some, like Paul, are pioneers; some, like Timothy and Silas, consolidate what someone else pioneered; some sustain what exists; and some, like Nehemiah, build, add to, and repair what was already there.
Although there is no one leadership type, all leaders do have something in common. They all get things done. For this reason, everyone is in some sense a leader.
However, some people have a greater capacity to influence than others. Some people’s gifts are also suited to certain situations.
For example, some leaders are very influential with others in a one-to-one or small group setting, but their brains turn to mush if you put them in a large group setting. I know of one individual who works best in high pressure crisis situations. If you put her in a calm maintenance situation, she will either create a crisis or go to sleep.
The key is to match people and their abilities to the situations most suited for them. One way to discover this information is to ask individuals the following questions: “What accomplishments gave you a sense of satisfaction and joy?” As people describe their accomplishments, also ask them to describe the circumstances surrounding the accomplishments. A pattern should emerge.
What do you do if you are 5’11’” and, as the tallest person on your basketball team, you are assigned to guard the opposing center who is 7’11”? Well, you can hope that the other center gets sick, or fouls out early in the game. Or you can trust the judgment of your coach and play the best you can.
Many students have ended up as chapter leaders because there was no one else to do the job. Ultimately God assigns us to leadership roles. Knowing that should free us to give our very best even when we feel unqualified or mismatched with the assignment. As sovereign Lord, He can take our meager efforts and do mighty things with them.
In summary, leaders are team players, and all sorts of gifts are needed on the team. Whenever possible, leaders should try to match gifts to suitable situations. God is sovereign, and quite often He may put us into stretching situations where, in the context of Christian community, we can expand our influence and sharpen our abilities.