Tag: Christian Leadership

Building a High-Performing Team…Getting Started Right

Week 11 of the NIV Leadership Bible focuses on Team Building.  Leadership author John Maxwell likes to say, “Nothing of significance was ever achieved by an individual acting alone.”  So, one mark of a great leader is having great followers.

Great followers are often specialists.  My boys and I like to watch the movie, The Avengers.  As the movie shows, specialists often differ in personality and views.  And the movie does a great job illustrating how teams are not effective until the team members learn to combine their individual strengths to produce an outcome that no single member alone could have produced (even if the team members are super-heroes!).

High-performing teams are tough to build.  Let’s turn to the Bible for a couple of examples of how to do it right.

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The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace

Book Cover

Just 3 months ago, I was finishing a 9-month developmental assignment as a front-line leader in the Johnson Space Center’s Engineering Directorate.  While working with the leaders in one particular organization, we determined a “retreat” was needed.  Now, a retreat is normally considered a time away from normal activities, often devoted to reflection.  I argued that we should instead pursue an “advance”, which Webster describes as “to move forward; to make progress; and to continue in a process of development.”

Whatever term we used, we wanted to build a stronger team, create a more positive work environment, and build a culture of appreciation throughout the organization.  To accomplish those goals, we turned to The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace by Gary Chapman and Paul White.

I thought this book would be a perfect fit because just a few weeks earlier, I picked it up from our local library and was impressed with their structure as well as the book’s “Motivating By Appreciation” (MBA) self-assessment.  So, we agreed to give it a shot.

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