#4: Seven days to a more generous team culture and the impact it makes
Pastor Kacie Patterson is a smart, caring and dedicated Next Gen & Kids’ pastor. She loves children and her volunteers. I know this because both my wife and I serve on Pastor Kacie’s team. Most Sunday’s you’ll find me at Kid’s check-in, high-fiving kids and connecting with the parents and other caregivers who bring them to church, while you’ll find my wife, Debbie, in the classroom teaching with skill and creativity.
As much impact as Debbie has in the classroom, her greater work happens mid-week, as she customizes the Orange curriculum for our setting. It's a job she’s exceptionally proficient at, and she loves it. She regularly gets notes, texts and in-person praise and appreciation from Pastor Kacie. But as much as she loves it and as good as she is at it, recently Debbie felt herself growing weary in that midweek role. She wondered, was her time leading the curriculum coming to an end? It made her sad. And then something amazing happened…
At a recent Kids’ ministry team meeting, without prompting, another teacher publicly praised Debbie for her work tailoring the lesson plans. He was specific, sharing how Debbie’s planning allowed him to be a better teacher and how her efforts made the lessons work well in our setting. With that, a second teacher chimed in, echoing appreciation for Debbie’s work. This additional praise from teammates has given Debbie fresh wind for her role and I’ve seen a noticeable uptick in her joy.
This is the embodiment of teamness - more is accomplished with more joy and satisfaction in an atmosphere of abundant and generous praise.
Over coffee, someone once told me, “You can almost never go wrong being too generous,” and it really shaped my thinking. And for leaders, generosity can be lived out beyond words, and when leaders model generosity, their teams often follow that lead. Your generosity will be contagious, and it will go far in building trust, fueling passion for the mission, aiding collaboration and in almost all aspects of team performance.
Make It Practical
I encourage you to try an experiment. For the next seven days, pick some way to be generous every day and see if any changes take place in team engagement. Map it out:
Sunday - a positive, sincere, and encouraging word for every volunteer you see. I heard recently from a friend that works at a major grocery store chain, that their team members are trained to verbally communicate with any customer they encounter within some measured radius - I believe it was 12 feet. Following this example, verbally acknowledge EVERY team member you encounter this Sunday and give them a positive and sincere word of encouragement. Slow down and look them in the eye.
Monday - assuming this is a day for team meetings, bring pie or pizza - and serve it to your team yourself. “What’s the occasion?” someone may ask. Simply respond, I was on my way to work today and thought, “This team deserves pie!” Take a moment to share an example or two of team members that crushed it on Sunday, and assure the team, “I could go on…but eat pie!”
Tuesday - grab a package of thank you notes at Walmart or Target - they don’t have to be fancy - and early in the morning, pray for each team member and ask God, “What word of encouragement does each team member need to hear from me?” And then share those in quick, individual notes. Drop them off on the desks before your team arrives, or drop them in the mail if team members work remotely. I have done this over the years and will see those notes pinned up on office walls years later. Your words matter.
Wednesday - Make a snack run to Sam’s Club or Costco or wherever you can get the most snack food items for the least amount of money. Load your cart up with a half-dozen or more options - some sweet, some salt, some healthy, some not. Post a picture of the shopping cart on social media with the caption, “Bringing some treats back to the most amazing team ever!” When you get to the office, text your team to meet you in the parking lot to help carry the snacks in. They will “oooh and ahhh” over the choices. “What’s up?” they might ask. Simply respond, “I’m so grateful for all you’re all doing, I wanted to just help you have a better day while you’re crushing it!”
Thursday - Do you have an office kitchen? If so, make today your day to wash the dishes. No one even needs to see you to this, but do it. If you get caught doing it, don’t make a big deal of it. If no one knows, you’ve still generously blessed the team by saving someone else from this, or some other similarly mundane, but important, task.
Friday - Thank a family member - the spouse or child of one of your team members - for the role they play in your ministry - and be as specific as possible. Speaking with one of your pastor’s wives, it might sound like this, “Shannon, I know you have been walking with a few other women here at the church that have also struggled with infertility. I want you to know I see you doing that with compassion and grace, and I am so grateful God brought you to our church. You are excelling at a really important role here - more than just ‘pastor Mike’s wife’ - and again, I’m so grateful.”
Saturday - This one is a hard one for me to remember - but be generous in these ways with your own family. Ministry is hard for church staff and maybe more challenging for our families. Bring home a pie. Write a note. Do the dishes. Give a specific, encouraging word.
Practically speaking, you can conduct this generosity experiment in seven days, or over the course of a month, but either way, I challenge you to do it and then watch the impact this level of generosity makes.