Team Building

I became the Academic Dean of a wonderful Christian school in Ohio just 7 months ago. Taking the position officially in mid-January was a real change for me. I had served in the school as a high school principal for many years and as the director of curriculum and instruction for a year and a half prior to entering the spot of academic dean. Having just completed my 23rd year with the school as an administrator of some sort, I have been part of the Administrative Team for decades. But now, for the first time, I am the chairman of this important committee.

The Administrative Team (the A-Team to it's membership) is made up of 11 members and myself - 7 principals, 2 special education specialists, a director of curriculum and the assistant academic dean. Some of the membership I have known for years, others for just a few years and two are new to the committee this year. I decided that it might be beneficial to spend some time prior to school getting to know one another in deeper way and discovering how each one of us is wired. We all participated in three assessments that provided some interesting insights into our teammates (and ourselves). I would recommend this type of experience for any team.

The first inventory that took our attention was a free personality inventory created by Gary Smalley that involved a self-rating exercise of the four major temperaments (choleric, sanguine, melancholy, and phlegmatic) in terms of animal types - lion, otter, beaver, and golden retriever. As you might expect we had a lot of lions in the room of leaders. This exercise allowed us to see ourselves as a mixture of the extroverts, the serious, the focused, the loyal, the visionary, the task-oriented, the people-centered, etc.

The second inventory we took was an online survey of the motivational spiritual gifts described in Romans 12 (http://mintools.com/spiritual-gifts-test.htm). This provided another interesting perspective on how God has created, wired, and gifted each one of us. It really emphasized the unity we experience with the diversity of individuals. I was rather surprised at the specific giftedness of some people with whom I have sat around the table for years.

The third inventory involved a book, StrengthsFinder 2.0. by Tom Rath. This Wall Street Journal bestseller focuses on the strengths that individuals bring to an organization. After reading some background information and conceptual understanding of the book's focus, the reader is directed to a website for an assessment. The online inventory provides the participant a list of his/her 5 top strengths. Each of the five strengths is explored for the participant including and definition and suggested ideas to magnify the strength. The book contains an explanation of all 34 of the characteristics.

These three exercises proved to be an insightful time for me. I have obtained some key insights into each of my co-workers. I hope that it will allow me to understand them better and to build a unique relationship with each one. I am praying that knowing our differences and similarities will help us cooperate and collaborate on deeper levels. Time will tell the long-lasting effects (if any) that this sharing will produce, but it was fun to get some initial glimpses into my friends' lives.

My administrative team is made up of some pretty amazing people. I so look forward to working with them and seeing how God is going to use our individuality to bring about unity and accomplish a common purpose and ministry.