The Leadership Triangle
By Pastor Gary Comer
Insiders knew it was one of the keys to winning six NBA championships! It wasn’t only Michael Jordan that made the old Chicago Bulls great, but also their offensive philosophy called “The Triangle.” This offensive scheme helped raise six banners because a team benefits when they have a philosophy guiding their game. It gets everyone on the same page to focus, and then refocus. The Bulls used to say, “Let’s get back to working the triangle.”
Since “The Triangle” worked for the Bulls, and now the Lakers, why couldn’t it work in the church? In the course of doing ministry, I developed a philosophy for leaders to practice with their teams appropriately called “The Leadership Triangle.” My inspiration had nothing to do with running the hard-court, and everything to do with running the church. The thinking stems from observing church execution, needs or problems. Each of the three areas, or sides of the triangle is important for the team and the church as a whole. The goal is to help ministry leaders and teams function at a higher level, build key values, and avoid certain issues. Allow me to explain the sides or main ideas of this leadership approach...
#1 TASK: Empower a team to serve with you.
The first side of the triangle is about fulfilling the task through a team. Ministry is not a solo sport. You must build a team. One of our apprentice leaders shared with me her breaking point: the recognition she could no longer fulfill her ministry alone. She began to create big roles for others within her ministry. It was at that moment she became a leader. Leaders empower others to do God’s work.
That means leaders must strive to see others serving potential. I will always remember my son’s third year of baseball and how I just about died when the coach determined he was to pitch a game. He had one of the weaker arms on the team, how could the coach do this? I addressed the skipper with my fear of his failure, and he looked at me and said, “Just relax and let him have his chance.” That day he pitched an inning, striking two batters out! I recall him running to the dugout, high-fiving coaches and players! It was a great moment in his life.
This experience made me step back and question why I would hold him back, and why I didn’t see more of his potential. If it was up to me he would not have stepped on that mound. Years later, he is in the regular pitching rotation on his team. Let us learn to pull others higher with us. As leaders, our role is to empower others helping their gifts to find expression in the body. We often need to be the ones who push them out onto the mound. Nelson Mandela, drawing from his African herding background said, “We need to learn to lead from the back, not the front.” It is always a significant moment when one leader encourages another leader, or team member to step up for a great task!
The leader must also keep the big picture vision before the team. There’s a job to do, but in ministry it’s not just a job, it’s about furthering the kingdom of God. That is big! The leader needs to help the team realize how big it is. Sharing stories of impact from the ministry helps people see the true picture of what’s happening. I like to tell the story of the young man who shows up his first time at church. He is nervous not knowing anybody, and is just about ready to leave before the service begins when someone says, “Would you like some refreshments – they are over there.” He goes over and gets a cup of coffee, and somehow feels better hiding behind a styrofoam cup. He decides to go to the service where God moves in a powerful way by his Spirit. He returns the next week and eventually comes to faith in Christ. What do you think about the greeter who pointed the guy to the refreshment table? What about the refreshment team who made that coffee, or the people who set up the service, and the prayer team who was praying for God to work in the service? These are no small matters. They are acts of service, which God is using to lead others into eternity!
The Church Leader empowers people to do the greatest task on earth! Finding ways to celebrate, honor and award the team is a big part of good leadership. The first side of triangle deals with the task, but we’d be short sighted to think that is all we need to focus on. Let us take a look at the second side of the triangle...
#2 RELATIONSHIP: Build a sense of community on the team.
The second value is vital to the overall leadership approach because in the church we are not just about the task. People usually get on a team to help with a task, but the truth is they want much more than that at church. What they really want is to serve and have close relationships with others. The wise leader is proactive in helping those kinds of deep spiritual relationships form on their team.
This relationship focus is essential because there will always exist a tension between production and people. I have made mistakes in having people think I valued the ministry production over them. As a Pastor working with artists, there have been numerous times when the drama, or art project was not ready, and I had to bite my tongue, let it go, and love on the people who gave the effort. This side of the triangle helps us remember we are about people, not just a program.
Additionally, relationships need cultivation. If we only task we are missing it. We have a saying, “The team that plays together stays together.” Teams need to balance work with play, and create opportunities to enjoy one another. This takes intentional planning from a leader. It’s easy to let this slip. Too many times we only value relationship development after team members tell you they’re leaving the church. Why are they leaving? “They just didn’t connect!” Ouch! If we only worked the triangle it would work for the team and the church.
Thus, the leader must not only organize to execute the task at hand, but also be about building relationships on a team. There are many ways to do this. How about gathering the team and having a time of life sharing? This way people get to know one another, and actually feel valued and cared for. How about planning an outing, or a bi-monthly barbeque? The astute leader will also take personal interest in the team members and grab a coffee sometime, or make a phone call just to talk, not to task. You have to be intuitively in tune with others, and genuinely care for them.
Team leaders become part of the glue that holds it all together, when they are working on building deep relationships on their team. Yet, because we are human beings there is a third side to the triangle, which cannot be ignored. Let us look at it.
#3 HEALTH: Develop healthy relating patterns within the team.
From my experience nothing is more destructive than unhealthy relating patterns in the church. We can count on this, since we are all sinners and come into the family with our set of baggage and engrained relating patterns. Most people also have big expectations, which are often unspoken. Healthy relating is not the easier side of the triangle to guide. I have learned the hard way on what exactly healthy relating is. Leaders need to be trained on what health looks like so they can model it, and talk about it with their team.
Team health always starts with the leaders. If a leader is consistently relating in unhealthy ways, then maybe they shouldn’t be leading. Too often we allow things to go on to the detriment of the body. Top leaders and Pastors must come along side team leaders and help them overcome their issues. One of our leaders had a problem with his communication. He didn’t realize how others perceived his tone and words as hurtful. I pulled him aside for a meeting. “I can’t have that from you. This pattern has got to go. What do we need to do for that to happen?” To his credit, he took steps to change, and the whole team saw his growth. You can’t put your head in the sand and think these issues will just go away. We don’t need perfect leaders, but we do need responsive ones. They must model teachability and a heart to work on their stuff.
In summary, it’s not just about the task and being in relationship with others, it’s about modeling the kind of relationships the Bible calls us to. It’s living out and putting feet to the teachings of our faith. I call this side of the triangle: Healthy relating. If you don’t have it, it can undermine the team and your mission. Now, let us get specific with what it looks like...
Healthy-Relating Checklist:
- Humble, not prideful.
The heart of humility is critical on a team. That means we don’t think too much of ourselves. We are able to value others ideas and contributions. Humility is like grease to good relationships. Here is an important question to ask: “Can they speak the language of humility.” Words like: I am sorry. I blew it. You were right. I need help. That was my fault. Please forgive me.” - Team oriented, not territorial:
Sometimes people have attitudes that undermine the team. A worship team singer exclaimed, “I can’t believe he is having her sing that song!” The whole worship environment was affected by the bad vibe in the room. She was territorial. Other people coming into the ministry were a threat to her! This is unhealthy. This and other selfish attitudes cannot be allowed to be a pattern with team members. This is often most difficult in the arts areas. - Committed, not flaky.
People need to be committed to the task, church and their team. We show love by sticking in there together. Unlike the world, we don’t just abandon relationships. People say things like, “I don’t speak to that person anymore.” In the church we expect more. We teach people to communicate authentically, to forgive others, and to stay committed to Christ and each other. Of course, we need team members to be faithful with their responsibility, and to do their task with excellence. - Resilient, not wounded:
The church is filled with broken, wounded people. That’s the way it should be because we are the church! However, if someone is so wounded that it interferes with their ability to work with others, you need to deal with this. You usually see wounding by how a person reacts to a situation. Picture yourself accidentally stepping on another’s foot, and they react like you tried to kill them! It was just an accident and shouldn’t have been a big deal. But for a person whose foot is sprained, that accidental step hurts in major way. Leaders need to recognize if someone is overreacting from woundedness. These people often need to step out of the team for a time and heal. They must be able to function with others in healthy ways to be on the team. - Grace oriented, not critical:
Giving grace to others is healthy. People need room to fail. None of us are perfect. If the team embodies the value of grace, then others will feel loved. If you have someone who can’t give grace to someone else, you will have to address the issue. Usually you see it in a critical spirit that can undermine the effort and morale of the team. Grace is also about coming alongside people to help them get to where they need to be.
People don’t get the values of Biblical community from the world they live in. They need to learn them in the church. Leaders of teams have a part in developing these values. They are working with others where the rubber meets the road. It is a great opportunity to teach and model biblical community.
Final Applications
The last thing to do with the Triangle visual is to put a cross in the middle. That represents the spiritual devotion of the leader, and spirituality working out into the team. Let us apply one of the great principles: Be spiritual before doing spiritual. This will require the leader learning self-nurture. If the leader is abiding in Christ than we have godly, prayed up, spirit led leadership. Then the leader can naturally encourage the team-members growth in Christ.
It’s a great thing to have a leadership approach like “The Triangle” to shoot for, but it means nothing unless the leaders practice it. Top leadership must create accountability with team leaders, and make sure these values are modeled, taught, and celebrated. You can help the leaders by creating measurable benchmarks in each area. The Chicago Bulls believed the offensive scheme would work. We need to believe the Triangle too and say, “If the leaders work it, it will work for the church!
-- Gary Comer
