What helps a staff really work TOGETHER?

This week our kids ministry and small group ministry worked together to have 2 events going on in one area of our facility on the same Sunday. They worked out the timing, the space usage, the lighting, and then both events pulled off with success. It took some careful planning and intentional collaboration but the partnership worked great. Why are our teams able to collaborate and work together? Our staff is linked together through our strategy and mission. We will do whatever it takes to make sure Grace Community Church is able to fulfill our strategy even when we have to put aside our own personal ministry goals. When we signed on to work here we agreed to support a vision of what church could be if we were willing to unite behind a strategy.

Are you picking up on a theme here? If you want your staff to collaborate then your team has to be united in visions, mission, and strategy. Most of our organizations have only two goals and that is to make people happy and sustain the institution. With these goals the staff are left to fight for their own agendas. Most of us understand this because we are currently fighting for our own ministry goals and when we are supposed to collaborate with other staff all we find is conflict. Your team can begin to work well with other teams when you take these steps...

1. Unite around strategy and mission // The entire staff needs to constantly be reminded of the bigger mission of the organization. Strategy and mission have to be constantly repeated and modeled!
2. Serve each other with humility // when staff members work together they model humility. There is nothing like collaboration to help staff value other areas of ministry in the organization.
3. Identify the win // before collaboration begins a clear win needs to be identified. Clear goals help staff know where they are headed together!
4. Celebrate together // teams that collaborate with success find moments to celebrate with each other. Even if it just over a quick lunch or in the middle of staff meeting make sure teams have time to celebrate the in.