#1: Know, Share and Encourage Each Others’ Bigger Dreams
This is the first in a seven-part series to help you bring more teamness to your team.
As a kid, I dreamed of being a disc jockey and in 1975, when I was 9, I put the Sears Wishbook Disc Jockey Phonograph at the top of my Christmas list. The catalog fueled my dreams, promising, “Use the professional-looking microphone for announcing…play records, sing-along, and interview ‘famous’ friends…even make up your own commercials.” With its laminated cabinet, I could record the day’s weather and programming, and (I mistakenly thought) the player allowed me to make records. Realizing it was just a record player with fancy add-ons, I took it off my list, but my dream continued and eventually, a TV production major and theater minor put me on a course not too far off of my original dream.
“Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:4 speaks to our desires and dreams. Often misunderstood, this verse doesn’t mean wish for whatever you want and God will give it to you, but rather, as we love the Lord and delight in Him, He will put desires in our hearts - things and experiences He wants for us - likely connected to His purpose for our lives.
The people you lead and lead with have ambitions and desires that may not be centered on their job. Likely, these dreams, if placed there by the Lord, may actually connect them to their next Calling. I like to think of these as our “bigger dream.” Reflect on your own life and I’m guessing you can speak to your bigger dream. Maybe it’s to open a food truck, write a book, travel the US by RV, or to serve as a missionary overseas. Some teammates may desire leading a particular ministry - at your church or another church. So many dreams! The trouble is, in most work settings, even in the church, people often don’t feel safe to openly discuss their aspirations . Their bigger dreams, perhaps placed there by God, have to be hidden because to express them carries risk.
Teamness (the qualities associated with amazing teams) says, “Share with us your bigger dream - that thing God may have placed in your heart - and let us join in your dreaming.” Teamness says, “Let’s serve together now but help you fan that flame, and one day we will celebrate God bringing your dream into being.”
When teams operate this way, people feel seen, heard, and valued for who they are and who they are becoming. When leaders make it safe to express these bigger dreams, they foster an abundance mentality, not one of scarcity. When team members feel free to share their goals (while still getting their chores done today) they actually thrive more in their current role, not less. And a thriving teammate pulls harder on the rope today, in part, because they have hope in their future. Teamness leaders make space for these conversations, both 1:1 and in team settings. When leaders embrace the bigger dreams of the people they lead, what may feel like a lack of dedication now, in reality, can bring the loyalty leaders crave.
Let’s make it practical:
Schedule a “Walking 1:1” with each person on your team. In the invitation, let them know you hope to go on a 20-30 minute walk with them if they are able, and you have a few questions you’d like to chat about as you walk. Let them know you’re having this same conversation with everyone on the team. Share these questions in advance and really engage in the conversation as you walk.
What was a dream or aspiration you had as a child?
What dream or aspiration do you have now that may or may not have anything to do with your role here at the church?
Is it possible that God has placed that desire in your heart?
How can your work at the church or ministry, support the possibility of you achieving that aspiration one day?
Be ready to share your answers to the questions as well. Stay curious and encourage their dreams.
Create dream collages
A few days in advance of your next team meeting, let everyone know you’re going to do a fun exercise about dreams and aspirations.
During a meeting, bring in a dozen or so old magazines, scissors, glue sticks and construction paper.
Start the exercise describing this idea - that you want it to be safe for everyone to share dreams and aspirations for the future. Let them know you want to celebrate and support the dreams each person has. That our work will be more rich and our relationships stronger if we cheer each other on toward these goals.
Invite the team members to cut out pictures, words, headlines, advertisements, etc., that convey their “big dream” for their future. Make a collage.
Go around the room and share. Celebrate. Support one another.
Keep the conversation going
At opportune moments, find ways to remind each team member you are excited about the possibility of their bigger dream. If someone’s dream is to own a food truck and you ate at a good one recently, mention it. If someone hopes their future involves making pottery and selling it at regional galleries, ask if they’ve had the opportunity to work in their studio, or fire up the kiln. Your team will feel seen and loved.