Winning Teams

Jay Hostetler, March 25, 2015

Recently on sports radio a nationally known basketball coach was describing the top teams that remained in the NCAA tournament. In his description he gave some teams high grades on athleticism and raw basketball talent. He also profiled some teams as having sub-optimal talent but superior systems of defense and offense.

He refused to say which teams were best, citing the “anything can happen on any given night” card. For your church, are you constantly trying to spot emerging talent as a part of your ministry strategy, or are you developing impactful systems to best deploy your current talent pool? My guess is your answer to the question is a little bit of both.

Talented teammates can be hard to find but bring great momentum to organizations or churches. Your values and vision for  your ministry would influence the core competencies of your wish list for new team members. Some organizations hire for specific skill sets, others hire with a “potential” mindset. Meaning, hire the great person and you will find a spot for them somewhere.

Developing systems and creating culture may be a daunting task but the benefits could be monumental. As organizations or church ministries continue to process execution, talent and systems would seem to be integral.

The wish list for best people might look like this:

• Agile
• Innovative
• Emotionally intelligent
• Assertive
• Flexible
• Finisher

I love dialogs that center around workplace improvement. People, culture, systems, innovation and strategies all have many variables that are constantly changing and challenges to interpret and learn.