"Develop a right hand TEAM not a right hand PERSON." Craig Groeschel

During the first two years of theMOVEMENT's existence, unfortunately, I have already had several people transition off of our Staff Team. I am very aware that I have made many leadership mistakes that have led to these transitions, and I want to get better.

Therefore, as I enter into a season of developing a new staff team, in an effort to become a more effective leader, one of the things I'm doing is investing time envisioning the type of Staff Team I'd like us to become. Instead of developing a staff culture by chance, I'd like to do my best to develop a staff culture by design. Here's what I have so far. The Staff Team I See...

1. LAUGHS

We laugh. We laugh at ourselves. We laugh at each other. We laugh at our mistakes. We laugh at our circumstances. Though we will take God and the mission of the Church very seriously, we will not take ourselves too seriously. And if we find ourselves short on things to laugh about, we will always take time to laugh at the absurdity that God actually choose us to lead His Church!

2. LEADS

We lead. We are not "Yes Men" and "Yes Women." We take initiative in our roles and do not wait to be told what to do. We lead ourselves. We lead our teams. We lead the church. We are extremely aware of the fact that the health and strength of the church rises and falls on the health and strength of our leadership.

3. LISTENS

We listen. We listen to God. We listen to each other. We listen to our members. We listen to our guests. We listen to the community. We understand that we can learn more about each other and the people who we've been called to serve by listening. We understand that we can meet needs best by listening. We understand that we can avoid and resolve conflict and frustration by listening. We understand that if we don't listen, someone else will, and opportunities will be lost.

4. LEARNS

We learn. We learn from the Scriptures. We learn from other churches. We learn from each other. We learn from people both inside and outside of the church. We learn from both our fans and our critics. Conferences. Books. Podcasts. Vodcasts. Blogs. Vlogs. Mentors. We have an ever-increasing appetite for learning because we understand that not all learners are leaders, but all leaders are learners.

5. LASTS

We last. We last through ups and downs. We last through good times and through bad. We last through triumphs and transitions. We understand that every great team and every great organization has at its' foundation a group of people who have committed to last. We understand that for our mission of Overwhelming Oakland with Love to become a reality, longevity must become a necessity.