Training article: The five steps to releasing your team.

 

 If you are the leader who finds themselves at the centre of a team or teams, then the chances are you will not be able to get out to set up new things.  It’s quite possible that you also find yourself at the centre of more than one group, and that they are being less effective than they could be.  

It’s unpleasant to amalgamate in business as there are often job losses, but it doesn’t always have to be like that.  Efficiency, particularly in voluntary work or in the church, makes better use of the people and resources that you have.  But how do you relinquish the reigns?

 This 5 step process is a way of considering how you could move separate groups together, or reconfigure a group in such a way as to be more productive, and yet use less energy.

 It is important that you include a good model of training (I do you watch; we do together and share ideas and production; you do I watch; you do I support) as well as using tools to analyze what is going to be successful (Pareto analysis, for example).

 The steps are: 

• Step back
• Combine
• Simplify
• Give over
• Support

 

Step back

No one can see a true picture up close.  Use analysis tools and/or bring in an outside consultant so that together with the team you can see what is truly going on.  How effective are you?  If you are in church, you need to also be listening to God and praying with others.  Use the 80/20 Pareto principle if appropriate, but don’t work to it slavishly. 

Combine

You don’t want to lose people.  You need to consider them by empowering them and including them in the change process.  Ask the five whys (search the internet for ‘change management 5 why’s’).  What will be the effect of combining?  Why do you want to do it?  What is the problem you are trying to solve?  Establish positive reasons and possible problems with the transition.  How will you support people during the process?  Be careful that as you change things some people may want to leave – be careful about that because you may find that you are putting more energy into support long term than the original problem.  

Simplify

It’s no good taking all the different activities and combining them, and then putting the total effort that had been spread between activities all into one project!  Identify the central essentials on the way through, and do them as well as possible.  However you MUST involve others in that.  As you bring people together in the previous step and in this step, make sure that you are not indispensible.  A rough guideline is that if the work force are unwilling to do it, it doesn’t happen.  That said, if you sufficiently involve everyone in the process and it isn’t just your idea they should be fired by the creativity.  Don’t give jobs out, rather allow ministry calling (or whatever you might describe it as…skills, gift perhaps?) to shape what is possible.  The meeting point of opportunity (discovered in the previous steps) with skills/gifts/passions will be your area of activity.  Set realistic expectations.  Watch out for unachievable ideologies.  Look for connections to reality. 

What about time?  People don’t have enough.  I am unsure of this anymore.  If most people were asked if they wanted £5000 and all they had to do was to meet you in time, I am sure that they would turn up.  The problem is twofold:  committing to anything means that people are relinquishing choice which in our consumerist world seems prized above all things.  Secondly time has become a commodity such that it is possible to waste time, and wasting time is calculated due to personal worth or what someone has called the selfish gene.  Thus, what does it do for me?  If you can provide the answer to both of these situations (provide personal value and make sure that people do not feel trapped into anything long term) then you will be more successful getting and keeping volunteers. 

Give over

If you haven’t been the sole initiator of the project and your team has been part of the project development, then stepping back won’t have a major impact.  You know that you have got this part right when

1)      they can do it with only a minimal wobble

2)      They miss you a little (it means you were involved)

3)      They say that they (and God) were responsible, and not you. 

You may be tempted when they wobble to step in,  don’t.  We let toddlers wobble, it doesn’t hurt them and they learn.  They will need support individually and as a group which may be more intense than before, but it will be ok, just give it time and back off quickly by demonstrating your confidence in them. 

Support

This will start by being there for the initial questions.  Phone people up after meetings.  Meet with the team after a month for a debriefing and (possibly) pizza.  This finally will lead to making sure that they are resourced, loved, encouraged and supported.

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