I have been away these last three days at a training with life coach Sam Farina. This is the second training I have been to with him and bit by little bit I am pressing towards my certification as a life coach with the Assemblies of God. This is just one of the areas God is expanding in me.  Let me tell you I am feeling a little stretched. This training was intense and I came back with a boat load of take aways:

The team I worked with from NNED

Our team (called 4 good) made this code of conduct. Number 7 was our most important rule.

Pastor Risto and Pastor Brad joined other teams at the event but we shared meals together at the end of the day.

Team building excercise. Team Epic (Pastor Brad’s team)

Take aways:

* A renewed understanding of how important it is for our local church to be a team. Teams succeed where groups fail.

* Groups can never achieve what teams can because they never achieve cohesive vision or direction.

* In a team:

Everyone involved is involved

There is synergy

Each member knows and depends on the other team members strengths

There is collaboration

There is acceptance and respect for each member’s role

are goal focused

active listening is practiced by all members

members take ownership not just responsibility

members embrace change for the sake of the team

everyone celebrates wins and everyone shoulders the blame for losses (there is no finger-pointing)

there is a leader

teams gather around weakened members and willingly cover for them as they bring the weakened member back to strength.

* “Great leaders don’t overcome fear they practice courage.” Sam Farina

* I think my biggest take away came with this quote though. ” Don’t try to cure weakness. Just stop planning around it. Plan around your team’s strengths.”

Which characteristic of teams speaks loudest to you? Are there any I missed?