TeAM gatherings: Skills for Developing Healthy teams.
Our team gatherings are Missio’s way to help us form a sense of belonging. They create space to talk through and build common frameworks for how we approach being a church community together. We host periodic evening meetings to explore Missio’s values, ministry/leadership philosophy, our practices and develop skills to deepen belonging and further growth.
In February, 2023, the gathering focused on skills in a team setting that help build a healthy culture. The main goal was to think about skills for practicing the way of love. We’d been talking about this broadly on Sundays through Jesus' sermon on the mount (link here). In the following content, we will recap what we covered and invite you to participate in the reflections provided.
Missio’s approach to fostering healthy teams
Practicing the art of love in community is challenging which is why the word practice is so helpful because it locates what we do within a framework of growth rather than meeting a particular standard. As a community we seek to grow in the way of Jesus together which requires us to see ourselves and others on a pathway of growth.
Bible scholar and professor Mark Baker describes it in this way:
“With direction there is always a next step. It is gracious. In a process together. A trajectory towards fullness in Christ together rather than a standard of being good enough, so we are able to celebrate any movement on that trajectory instead of dwelling on the shortcomings of an incomplete attempt.”
Skills for building healthy team culture:
Experiment together:
When we talk about identifying a “next step” we like to think in terms of experiments. Every one of us can benefit from having an experiment mindset where we seek to discover how best we can foster growth and movement.
So the first skill in a team is to identify experiments worth trying and practice bravery in executing them. An experiment could be as simple as developing a new system for communicating, or could be more broad in scope like– who in our neighborhood do we want to throw a dinner party for? To identity a good experiment ask:
What is a question/situation you would like to gather information about?
What is the next step to make the experiment concrete?
Who is on your team?
When will you begin?
Reflect and Examen together:
In any healthy culture, there is space made for reflection and examination. Leaders and teams should expect to consistently implement reflective questions like:
What did we do well that if we don’t discuss we might forget?
What did we learn?
What could we do differently next time/moving forward?
What still puzzles us?
Another important skill on a team is to always cultivate the loving ability to examine, observe, and use self-inquiry around our actions, values and feelings. When we do this we cultivate awareness around the why of our actions and words and grow in health together.
What values surfaced through me/us today?
What feelings surfaced through me/us today?
What actions surfaced through me/us today?
In all things, listen to the voice of love. Love transforms individuals and communities into the best versions of themselves. In the wake of these self-examining moments, what gratitude can you name? Is there a growth step to try as a team, or as a teammate from this reflection?
Relate and discover together:
Relationships can be messy, but as a leader or teammate try to develop sensitivity to others and resist false accusations of an offense or misrepresentation of someone's words or actions. In a moment of discomfort, see if these questions can help you press in, learn more and find healthy ways of interacting.
Am I responding (slow) or reacting (fast)?
Am I curious (about this person/this circumstance/this idea)?
Am I feeling creative (in relation to this person/circumstance/idea)?
Do I have courage (in relation to this person/circumstance/idea)?
When we respond, feel a sense of curiosity, creativity or courage we are usually moving towards others. If we find we are showing up reacting, defensive, aggressive, fixed rather than flexible these are good tells to pay attention to. To find the path of love we likley need to do some work. Journaling, talking to a trusted person, praying, getting outside, exercise/movement are all good ways to work back to healthy relating.
Every community will have its learning curves and growing pains. The goal isn’t to avoid these uncomfortable feelings and experiences, but to discover what you can glean from them
Being honest about limitations together:
To foster a community that is as healthy as it can be, its important to be honest about capacity, limitations and needs. How can you ask others for help? How can you give yourself and your teammates more grace? How can you and your team expand experiences of rest and play?
Practicing these skills of listening in love is like practicing scales before performing a piece of music. Ultimately, moving in the direction of growth, love, and courage is what moves us in the direction of healthy team culture.
Reflect with us:
During our team gathering we spent time in discussion and quiet reflection answering these questions—join in and jot down or think about your answers:
When you think of life in general-what skill is hardest to undertake?
When you think of your world specifically–what skill do you/your team need practice with?
What is an additional skill you’d like to name?
If you are interested in leading, are already a leader or participate in a community group of any kind, or you simply call Missio a church home or place you are exploring– you are welcome to come to these gatherings. Contact Heather (heather@missiodeislc.com) for more information.