Customer Reviews

The Power of Team Leadership: Achieving Success Through Shared Responsibility (Barna Reports)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book purports to be from a research group, but there is almost no documented research in the book. The principle of working in teams is an important one for churches and businesses, but once that's been said, there is little this book adds in the way of useful information. I managed to read most of it and skimmed the rest to see if I could find anything worth detailed reading. I didn't.

The Power of Team Leadership seeks to demonstrate the power of lay-leadership teams as opposed to do-it-all overworked staff leaders within a ministry context. It aims to provide churches with all they need to know in order to recruit, train and deploy leaders for great effectiveness. The book was previously published under the title "Building Effective Lay Leadership Teams." While the book does a decent job at covering much of this material, it neither presents compelling new research nor delivers on a clear pathway to accomplishing this goal.

The whole point of the book is on team leadership, but oddly enough, what is meant by this is never clearly defined. At times it seems like a radical replacement of the idea of a leader, at times it seems like making sure that you have a team and not one person guiding a ministry, then the idea of team captain is thrown into the mix. Is there *a* leader on the team or not? What is the team captain? If he's what everyone else would call "the leader" then what is different about the approach described?

The book describes the power, necessity and benefit of a team-based approach to leadership, but doesn't adequately grapple with the tough issues of making decisions, determining and casting vision, and conflict resolution. Finally, the section on best practices is rather vague as the research didn't really show any one approach that worked. That said, there are a number of excellent points and messages in the book - the benefit of having a diverse team where trust and community are present, valuing the shared input of others, including more people than just clergy/staff in significant leadership roles, as well as avoiding unrealistic expectations and burnout of leaders. If I could I would give it one more half-star for these.

George Barna's work entitled The Power of Team Leadership focuses on the need for churches to incorporate an organizational structure that utilizes the combined strengths of multiple individuals in leadership to accomplish more than any single individual could accomplish in spite of their talents and abilities. This need is illustrated by a lengthy and unrealistic list of expectations which parishioners assume the pastor of a church should be involved in on a regular basis. Barna states, "Expecting any one individual to meet such extraordinary demands is not only naïve, but borders on being cruel to the leader and unjust to the enterprise he or she leads." Team leadership is common among many enterprises such as government, military, sports teams, and major corporations, but most churches continue to function under the assumption the "superstar" style of leadership in which the pastor stands, and perhaps falls, alone is the best and only way to accomplish the mission of the church. Unfortunately, this model, "while appealing and without some experiential validity, can do more to decimate the health of an organization than to facilitate its well-being." Barna argues instead for the use of small groups of leaders, who are individually gifted and skilled differently yet share a united vision and can work together to lead others toward a particular goal.

Throughout Scripture, there are instances where shared leadership proved to be the best option. Some of the wisest leaders, including Moses, Nehemiah, and Paul, recognized the value of team ministry. Even Christ called only a small group of men to be His apprentices and continue the work of the Church after the Ascension. A common thread among these exceptional leaders is the realization of a God-given vision. Leadership must have a vision for where their followers need to go, or as Barna put it, "if you cannot articulate a clear picture of what you are seeking to achieve, how can you lead people there?" Leaders must be diligent to discern God's unique vision for their church by understanding their own gifts and abilities, by studying the community in which they minister, by developing a deep, personal relationship with God, and by testing the vision through various means before declaring it to others.

There are many reasons most churches do not use the team model of leadership, such as, "We've never done it that way before," but there are also a number of reasons why they should, including some strong biblical reasons like the priesthood of believers. According to Ephesians 4:11-12, the purpose of the leadership gifts is to enable the saints to do "the work of the ministry." Being able to recognize those called and gifted by God to lead is, therefore, of utmost importance. There are a number of specific competencies which may be evidence of leadership material, but individuals must be called by God and exhibit godly character before they can accomplish the task effectively. Barna also brings out four particular aptitudes that should be sought out for inclusion in a leadership team. Every leadership group should have a directing leader, a strategic leader, a team-building leader, and an operational leader, so each team member will complement the traits of his or her teammates. It cannot be assumed that every team will be fully functional as long as each of these attributes are present, but initial and ongoing training can be of great assistance. The appointment of a team captain who will strive to keep the group focused and moving forward is also helpful.

A transition from the traditional model to a lay-leadership structure requires the pastor to be totally committed to the change. His exuberance for the future must also be evident to all, for there are many obstacles to change. The pastor must expect and be prepared for opposition, and he and the church must be patient as the transition takes place. This is a process which cannot be rushed. Furthermore, this type of transition should not be aborted midstream either, so much prayer and careful evaluation of the pastor and the congregation must precede such an enormous undertaking.

Barna makes a case for using leadership teams to lead ministries rather than a single person calling the shots. His reasoning is sound and fairly straightforward. I would never argue against the concept of blending leadership competencies into a well-rounded leadership team. Especially in ministry, teams are always more effective.

However, Barna shoots himself in the foot by spending a chapter explaining the need for a team "captain". As I read the chapter, it sounded to me like he was describing what other books would call the team leader. He did not make a good case for the captain being any different than a solo leader of a team. Therefore, I didn't see the concepts in this book as being any different than other "How to be a leader" type of books.

This was a helpful tool. Not Barna's best but it was useful. I think a little more instruction would help. I would recommend it to anyone that is part of any team.

Thank you for sending the books promptly. I loved it. Great job.

Lilia

I enjoyed this book. It was required for a college class. It is one that I will keep, and not sell. I referenced back to it even after the class was over.

I also recommend The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork.