Lesson 5/29

Empowerment Leadership Model for Small Groups, Teams, & Families
Course 5, Lesson 29

Developing Teams That Identify and Utilize
All Available Resources That Are Necessary
for the Best Accomplishment of the Team Purpose
Copyright 2001 Dick Wulf
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It is the responsibility of the team to get the job done the best way possible. To do this, the team must utilize all available resources that are helpful for the best accomplishment of the team purpose. Depending on the team purpose, the number of resources can be very many.

What information is available that could be useful in reaching goals and working on the team’s purpose? Are there people who should be talked to? Might there be useful information on the Internet? Should a team member take a college course or attend a conference? Are there machines that would do a better job than the ones available? What resources to tap depends on the particular team.

Church teams and committees usually seek other resources to help them be effective and reach their goals. Worship teams are connected to outside sources for music. A struggling committee will ask for help from a pastor or elder. A pastor confused about how to handle a situation will consult a pastor from another church or reach out to his seminary.

So, how does the team leader help the team to take on this task of utilizing all available resources necessary for the best accomplishment of the team purpose?

Usually teams will do this task without reminder. But, it is very easy for the team leader to remind the team that they should use whatever resources are available in light of their purpose and goals, as well as time available. A simple statement like, “Remember that, working as a team, there are resources out there that might help and it is your job, not mine, to find and use those resources.” Such a statement will not only give the team its task, but it will also reduce dependency on you as the leader.

You can further improve a team’s resourcefulness by helping the team talk about who can check out what resources. Often until synergy develops and brainstorming occurs, the breadth of resources is not tapped.

Next: Developing Teams That Can Successfully Work with Other Groups of People
and Systems That Affect Their Performance

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