Dear Church,
We have to stop being so nice! Thursday the Chamber of Commerce hosted Patrick Lencioni, who wrote The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. Eight hundred Rockford leaders filled the Coronado for an uplifting couple of hours focusing on leadership. Lencioni talked about the importance of trust and vulnerability in teams. He talked about the need for conflict; for everyone to be able to express their opinions and ideas. Then he asked, do you know what type of organizations are the worst at this? You guessed it, churches.
He gave an example of attending a church board meeting where a lovely lady suggested the church sponsor a balloon festival. Everyone around the table politely nodded and didn’t tell her they thought it was a terrible idea. Once they got into the parking lot they talked about how ridiculous she was. Instead of telling the truth about an idea, they crushed her spirit.
Lencioni shared how important it is to tell the truth, to be willing to disagree, not necessarily so that group comes to consensus, but so that everyone is heard and valued. (I am definitely adding my own words in here). He said, if you care about and love your team enough you will be willing to share your thoughts honestly.
According to Lencioni, we need to stop being so “nice” and be more willing to tell the truth and work through conflict. I have seen some very healthy conflict in our church, and I hope there is more to come. Let’s love one another enough to disagree and continue to be church together. God is bigger than our ideas and our differences.
Peace (and conflict) to you!
Rebecca