SYNODALITY AND TEAM BUILDING

We are all daily working towards a structure that loosens rigidity that could make people be themselves and creative at their best. This will enable those who are still lying dormant on their talents that seem to be going to waste. We now have to be invited to work beyond our disciplines, outside our cultures above and below our ranks. Working in a TEAM and being organized as a team. Today being a lone ranger is impossible unless otherwise. Today you can’t invent something alone, you need several people, form different disciplines, working together at the same time.

This is what calls for a paradigm shift, information based model, in the technical language what we call Connectography- the lining up lights in the a straight line that produces bright light and connections of city to city that manifests a brilliant beautiful panorama. This calls for team spirit as in a football, tennis or any sport that carries with it a deep discipline if what is intended for can reach its objective. The members have to act as responsible decision-makers, where all members have to see themselves as executives, all members participate in a creative team actions right across departmental lines. There is no need for one to be the president or chairman, moderator unless s/he is dedicated to serving the needs of others and to providing resources to the people who are getting the job done.

What used to work yesterday no longer works anymore. Management is becoming a lot flatter. Now there is a real need to build teams, lead teams and motivate people horizontally, and this in most cases has been without titles, without financial remuneration or incentives. Its team performance that is key. They cooperate, they work in teams, and they produce group projects. Working more cooperatively than they ever have before, Team effort, social skills, to encourage those in the group who aren’t doing so well. They should not be made to feel less than worthy because they slip up or they do not have all the answers. We need to feel welcomed to real world of team work.

Effective team work doesn’t happen by magic. It takes a cooperative group of players, and it takes a talented coach. You can’t simply throw a few individuals together, even a highly talented individuals and expect them to perform brilliantly. When it comes to playing as a unit, it’s important to forget about the specialties and limelight as in being a superstar, but to create the image of the teamwork. There are some few coaching skills in the field of sports that can help us get the idea of what we are trying to approach in this context of Synodal approach of doing things in the Church.

a) Create a shared sense of purpose

People working together can accomplish tremendous things: a unified vision, ideas, creativity and intelligence sparks a sense of oneness. A strong leader is always needed to focus all that energy established, to focus all that energy that helps the team members how their accomplishments will impact upon the outside world. We ought to provide an environment, the corporate objective and encouragement so that people as individuals and as teams of individuals can feel that they are world-class, that they are better than any other team, and that there’s recognition and feedback which acknowledges that.

b) Make the goals team goals

Unless the whole team wins, no one wins, this is how the world sports do what if they are to win. Individual records are fine for history books; what matters is more of performance of the entire team. Once people get involved in this way and they feel off each other, it’s contagious.

c) Treat people like the individuals they are

When individuals come together as a team, their individuality doesn’t suddenly evaporate. They still have different personalities. They still have different skills, different fears, different hopes, we need to recognize those differences, appreciate them, and use them to the advantage of the team.

d) Make each member responsible for the team product

People need to feel their contributions are important. Otherwise they will devote less than complete attention to the tasks at hand. The project belongs to the team. We should let as many decisions as possible bubble up from the group, invite participation, don’t dictate solutions, don’t insist that things be done a certain way.

e) Share the glory, accept the blame

When the team does well and recognized, it’s the leader’s responsibility to spread the benefits around. A public pat on the back, a bonus from the top, whatever form the recognition takes, everyone should get a generous share of it, and we all congratulate each other. People appreciate being included in the praise, it encourages them to give their greatest efforts and makes them want to works, again with the leader who guides them to this success. In the end the leader gets a big share of the credit anyway. 

When it comes to criticism be smart leader and take exactly the opposite approach. Don’t point the finger to others, never raise public complaints about the weak link in the chain. Step forward and accept whatever complaints arrive. Then speak privately with the team members about how the results might be improved, and turn their attention to doing better next time.

f) Take every opportunity to build confidence on the team

Believe firmly in the team and share that belief with every member. Who doesn’t want to feel as if they are part of the wonderful group? When they get complaint from others, they can begin to see the progress they are making and changes in themselves.

 g) Be involved, stay involved

The stronger leader has to be involved and stay involved, visualize the leader as a commander of the busy battalion. The leader doesn’t need to be there, you have the experience and you got to listen. If you get enough experience, if you work hard enough, if you are smart enough, if you don’t do your part then you get a good feel for all these activities going up and down and for all the other things around you. You can’t always draw up a precise battle plan. Get initiative feeling for it, you have to have antennae out, at the back of your head.

h) Be mentor

It’s the leader’s job to develop the talents and strengthen the people on the team. Team members ought to deal with their assignment at hand, taking genuine responsibility for the lives and careers of the members of the team. How would you like to improve? Where do you want your career to go from here? What kind of new responsibilities would you like to be taking on? It’s your job as a leader to ask all these questions and help the team and whatever knowledge and experience you possess to help the members achieve those goals. 

The final test of the leader is that he leaves behind him in other men the conviction and the will to carry on. The greatest reward of a leader can achieve the greatest legacy as a leader can leave, is the group talented, self-confident, and cooperative people, who are themselves readily to lead. Team players are Synodal leaders with focus of what kind of Church they want to hand over to the coming generation.