Misperception #1: Harmony helps. Smooth interaction among collaborators avoids time-wasting debates about how best to proceed.Read the other three misconceptions too. Hopefully, if you are leading a missions team this summer, this article makes you think about some of these high capacity leadership topics.
Actually: Quite the opposite, research shows. Conflict, when well managed and focused on a team's objectives, can generate more creative solutions than one sees in conflict-free groups
Misperception #2: It's good to mix it up. New members bring energy and fresh ideas to a team.
Actually: The longer members stay together as an intact group, the better they do... Whether it is a basketball team or a string quartet, teams that stay together longer play together better
Misperception #5: It all depends on the leader.
Actually: The hands-on activities of group leaders do make a difference. But the most powerful thing a leader can do to foster effective collaboration is to create conditions that help members competently manage themselves.
And if you are that missions leader, hopefully you've gathered your team at least a few times this spring and summer by now. Because, like #2 up there, the more time your team spends together, the better the overall missions experience.
If you are in charge of a summer missions team and haven't done any prep work.... well good luck, and one piece of advice: don't wear the team shirts to fly out of your hometown airport. [Contact Ember if you are really desperate...]
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