What kind of team player are you?

Re-reading some material last night I came across Glenn Parker's book, Team Players and Teamwork (Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1996). Great stuff that is still helpful to many church leadership teams. Parker sites research describing four types of team players that contribute to successful and effective teams:

1. The Contributor is the task-oriented member who enjoys providing the team with good information and data. Typically they push the team to higher performance standards and the wise use of resources. They are often described as dependable, responsible, organized, systematic and proficient.

2. The Collaborator is a goal-directed member who gets the vision, mission or purpose of the team. They are flexible and open to new ideas and are willing to pitch in and work outside their role and are willing to share the limelight with others in order to see the team accomplish its goals. The Collaborator is often describes as cooperative, flexible, forward-looking, generous, open and visionary.

3. The Communicator is the process-orinted team member who is an effective listener who facilitates involvement, handles conflict resolution, a consensus builder and helps creates an informal and relaxed climate. These people are supportive, encouraging, tactful, helpful, patient, informal and considerate.

4. The Challenger is the one member who will question the goals, methods, and even the ethics of the team. They are willing to disagree with the leader or someone in higher authority. They also encourage the team to take well-calculated risks. They are often acribed as candid, honest, truthful, outspoken, principled and brave.

As the leader resist the temptation to stack the deck with people who think, work and react just like you. Look hard for people described with these four characteristics and qualities. Your church or ministry will be better for it and the end result with be a better decision, ministry or project. The best result may just be that each of these people, having bought in because they contributed can gain the support of others who are like them. The result is quicker ownership of the new idea, ministry or product by your whole organization.