My family and I have moved to
Chicago after being missionaries in East Africa to plant a new multicultural
church with East African Diaspora. Church planting in Chicago is no easy
endeavor. Church planting is a lot like starting a new business. This
is a big task and it requires others who will join us. The relationships with
these co-workers are important as it sets the tone for the DNA of this new church. Collaboration is a key skill in developing a
healthy functioning team, in which storytelling and leaders who promote
collaboration are essential to accomplish this.
Collaboration according to Wood and
Gray, “occurs when a group of autonomous stakeholders of a problem domain in an
interactive process, using shared rules, norms, and structures, to act or
decide on issues related to the domain”(Imel and Zengler, 2002, p 43,44) In
other words, people that share common ownership in a problem and are working
together to solve the problem are collaborating. As stated by Imel and Zengler “Face-to-face
contact is a necessary condition for the collaboration that occurs in
communities of practice. The term communities of practice refers to a group who
by working together learn by doing and also develop a shared sense of what
needs to happen to get a task accomplished”(Imel and Zengler, 2002,p46)
According
to Imel and Zengler, learning plays a roll in collaboration. “The teams engaged
in learning activities that included learning how to work together and learning
to accomplish specific objectives.”(Imel and Zengler, 2002,p44) Learning how to
work together involved getting to know each team member both personally and
professionally. Working on specific objectives, this learning “might be
characterized as sharing knowledge. ‘Sharing knowledge occurs when people are
genuinely interested in helping one another develop new capacities for action;
it is about creating learning processes’” (Imel and Zengler, 2002,p45)
Jassawalla and Sashittal found that “
high –collaboration team members had learned and developed distinctively new
ways of thinking and acting, which meaningfully differentiated them from
others.”(Jassawalla and Sashittal, 2001,p34) First, collaborative teams take
ownership and personal responsibility for achieving the goals of the team.
Second, collaborative teams have high levels of transparency. “There are no
hidden agendas and few misunderstandings”(Jassawalla and Sashittal, 2001,p34,
35) Third they have a high level of mindfulness. According to Jassawalla and
Sashittal, “every member could explain why other members (whether acting alone
or as part of the team) did what they did and found it easy to support their
actions.”(Jassawalla and Sashittal, 2001, p35) Finally, collaborative teams
have high levels of synergy- “a team environment where trust is built up for
each other so there can be participation in constructive conflict and look for
a solution that go beyond everyone’s notion of what is doable.” (Jassawalla and
Sachittal, 2001,p35)
After researching various working
teams, in the opinion of Imel and Zengler, there are also several elements that
lead to the success of teams maintaining collaboration. (Imel and Zengler,
2002,p 42) Some of these are, regular communication, customer-center focus,
shared leadership, structure and focus, and respect for one another. (Imel and
Zengler, 2002, p43) The groups that were successful at collaborating; communicated
regularly some even daily, they were focused outside themselves on providing better
service for the customer, leadership would shift to those in the group who had
the given strength to accomplish the particular task, there was a plan, and
mutual respect and commitment to the team. (Imel and Zengler, 2002,p43)
Although,
developing the skill of collaboration and implementing this into a collaborative
team may seem like a daunting task, it is possible. Learning to work together
well by getting to know each other both personally and professionally,
developing distinctive ways of thinking and acting, and by applying each of the
elements that lead to teams maintaining collaboration, this becomes more
attainable.
As
my husband and I begin to gather other co-workers, spending time in face-to
face communication will be important. Learning about each other. What are our
strengths and weakness, where do we thrive and what are the areas where we
struggle? Taking some gift assessment tests may also be helpful during this
beginning process. Becoming comfortable with each other is essential to
developing trust. Learning about how each of us works as we accomplish small
task helps to see how we will work together on bigger tasks.
Developing
distinct ways of thinking and acting that will help ensure a collaborative team
is paramount. First, taking the time to all have buy in to our vision of
planting a multicultural church so that the whole team owns this is key.
Second, creating an environment of trust where transparency is cultivated. Open
and honest dialogue will be encouraged. Third, developing mindfulness, recognizing
that everyone in the group adds value and understanding and appreciating each
one’s perspective. Forth, encouraging synergy, working on looking for the third
idea. Knowing that by coming together and sharing ideas a solution can be found
that maybe different than the idea with which I came into the conversation.
Also
there are several elements that lead to teams maintaining collaboration that we
will need to apply. To begin with, having weekly team meetings but also during
each week checking up on each team member will be crucial for maintaining
regular communication. Next, working together to creatively serve our community
will be our primary purpose. Third, leadership will be shared according to each
of our strengths and area of interests. For instance if some in our group are
musically inclined, they will be the ones to lead worship at the church. For
those that are gifted in outreach they will lead in helping us to share our faith
in the community. Some may have communication skills and in-depth Biblical
knowledge and they can lead the teaching at the church. Fourth, we will have
structure and focus. An overall mission and plans and sub plans are in place so
that we are focused. There are many things that churches can be involved in but
sometimes this shot gun approach leaves a body scattered and it is better to do
a few things well than many things badly. Last but certainly not least, a
mutual respect for each other and commitment to the team. Respect is both given
and earned. It is deepened over time. Respect is key in developing trust for
each other and gives each of us on the team confidence to take risks to
accomplish this task of church planting.
One
of the practical ways that I have learned to help form a collaborative team is
through storytelling. According to Silverman, “ Storytelling helps connect
people, building relationships and fostering idea sharing and mutual support” (Silverman,
2006, p11) By each of the team mates sharing their personal story I can
understand much of their journey. Learning about how they functioned in past
teams with both the joys and hurts of their previous experience can help build
trust moving forward. Listening is a vital part of storytelling. Silverman
writes, “When working with someone who tends not to be converse, using the
prompt, ‘ Tell me about …’ followed by
silence will often trigger a story rather than a short response. However, if
you do so, listen without interruption and judgment to what is said or the
person may view a future invitation to talk with disinterest ”(Silverman,
2006,p12)
Silverman
shared that “storytelling can develop team-based collaboration and teamwork in
unique ways”(Silverman, 2006,p13) There is a unique team culture that can
develop through sharing a common story.“…a collective story that provided
direction around how to work together, clarified roles, increased mutual trust,
and promoted camaraderie” shares Silverman. (Silverman, 2006, p.13) I think it
is important as new members are added to the team that this collective story is
shared and then it becomes a part of their story. The story evolves as new
people are folded in. Silverman says it this way, “…involving people in the
process of creating, capturing, or relaying stories strengthens their bond to
the organization and the link between their own needs and work to what the
enterprise desires to achieve.”(Silverman, 2006,p 15) In East Africa where I
lived for many years storytelling is very much a part of their culture. So much
of their history is oral based so stories are one of the ways to remember the
past and share values with the future generation. I really resonated with Silverman’s
thoughts on using stories to promote a collaborative team.
Besides
storytelling being incidental to becoming a collaborative team, leaders that
promote collaboration are very important. I see this is key for my husband and
myself as we are leading this endeavor. Jassawalla and Sashittal wrote that
there were four specific steps to make this happen:
1.
Holding regular meetings and foster
high levels of information
sharing and communication between members.
2.
Collocate team members to increase
shared understanding of the
team’s goals and strategies.
3.
Handpick team members and spend time
developing their
interpersonal
and team process skills.
4.
Network with key people outside the
team to ensure access
to information
and resources needed. (Jassawalla and Sashittal, 2001p37)
It has been my experience that
collaboration does not happen accidentally.
As leaders, if my husband and I can implement these four steps together
with modeling collaboration skill using storytelling we will be well on our way
to developing a collaborative team that will be successful in planting a
multi-cultural church here in Chicago.
References
Imel
S, Zengler C. For the Common Good: Learning Through Interagency
Collaboration. New Directions For Adult & Continuing Education [serial
online]. Fall2002 2002; 2002(95): 41. Available from: Academic Search Complete,
Ipswich, MA. Accessed September 17, 2014.
Jassawalla
A, Sashittal H. THE ROLE OF SENIOR MANAGEMENT AND TEAM LEADERS IN BUILDING
COLLABORATIVE NEW PRODUCT TEAMS. Engineering Management Journal [serial
online]. June 2001; 13(2): 33. Available from: Academic Search Complete,
Ipswich, MA. Accessed September 17, 2014.
Silverman
L. How Do You Keep the Right People on the Bus? Try Stories. Journal For
Quality & Participation [serial online]. Winter2006 2006; 29(4):
11-15. Available from: Academic Search Complete, Ipswich, MA. Accessed
September 17, 2014.
