All quotes taken from The Advantage by Patrick Lencioni.

Do you want a have a healthy ministry staff team? Do you want a team that is strong, unified and effective? It starts with you. It starts with authenticity.

Our ongoing awareness of our sinfulness and weakness and our resulting need for God is the foundation for humility with others that results in authenticity. I can admit my mistakes and weakness because I have humbled myself before Him first. His grace and mercy is the backbone that enables me to confidently own my weakness as well as my strengths (which come from Him), in humility with others.

TC staff members must be comfortable with being transparent and honest. They must be genuine in their comments: “I really blew it with….” “Your plan is better than mine.” “I am sorry that I…” (no but’s added). “I need help with…”

“When everyone on a team knows that everyone else is vulnerable enough to say and mean those things, and that no one is going to hide his or her weaknesses or mistakes, they develop a deep and uncommon sense of trust. They speak more freely and fearlessly with one another and don’t waste time and energy putting on airs or pretending to be someone they’re not.”

“We often want to blame the negative behavior of others on their intentions and personalities, while blaming our own negative behaviors on environmental factors (outside our control).”

To overcome this we need to understand one another in a personal way. We need to give each other as much information as possible about who we are and why we each might act the way we do. I’ve listed a few ideas to get your team started on this journey in the “Think about it” section below.

Leader goes first: If the leader is not authentic then none of this matters.

“If the team leader is reluctant to acknowledge his or her mistakes or fails to admit to a weakness that is evident to everyone else, there is little hope that other members of the team are going to take that step themselves. In fact, it probably wouldn’t be advisable for them to do so because there is a good chance that their vulnerability would be neither encouraged nor rewarded.”

Gallup reports that when managers are “open and approachable” employees are more engaged, significantly more engaged.

Think about it

Here are some ideas and tools to help your team members know each other better and to help build authenticity and trust.

1. Here is a simple idea presented by Patrick: Ask each team member to tell everyone, briefly, a few things about their lives:
   1. Where they were born
   2. How many siblings they have
   3. Where the fall in the order of children
   4. What the most interesting or difficult challenge was for them as a kid. This last question can give us a greater understanding into hardships and obstacles that team members have had to overcome in their lives, giving us a greater appreciation for one another.
2. Have each Staff member take a DISC profile and discuss the results as a team Uniquely You  is an inexpensive self-scoring assessment that I like. There is a spiritual gifts version of the assessment available as well.
3. Strengths gift’s version is a great self-assessment tool. Strengths Finder 2.0 is available on the TC USA store. Each book comes with a one-time use assessment code identifying 34 strength areas

For a thorough study of trust and the other foundational components of a healthy team check out Patrick Lencioni’s book The Five Dysfunctions of a Team.