The Path to Building Teams By Rev. Peter Corney and Dr. Ken Byrne

Follow the Leader When Building Teams

Jesus is a role model for building teams. When sending out his disciples on their mission, Jesus gave them clear instructions about where they could find hospitality. He tells them to see the people who share their mission of peace and grace.

“When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’

 If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will

rest on them; if not, it will return to you.”

Luke 10:5-6

This verse is also sound guidance when hiring staff and building teams in all Christian organisations.

Therefore, selecting the right person for a job is more complex than most people appreciate. It gets more complicated when considering if the person will complement the existing team.

What Is Needed for Effective Teams

• The individuals who comprise an effective team share several key characteristics.
• Their beliefs, values, and behavior align with the organisation’s mission.
• They have a natural tendency to work cooperatively with others.
• Each can enjoy the strengths that others bring to the table.
• Successful team members are modest and can share credit.

Perhaps most importantly, they have a strong ability to read the subtleties of interpersonal situations.

The Problem of the Unstructured Interview

The most common tool for selecting applicants is an interview. This approach is often undertaken without a clear structure.

Often presented as a “getting to know you chat”, this approach has been studied by psychologists for over fifty years. Every serious study has shown that this is an inferior selection method. Relying on this for selecting staff is very likely to lead to a hiring mistake.

We need something to help us get behind the mask. Accomplishing this goal requires thought, skill, and a willingness to go beyond the superficial pleasantries of a casual conversation.

Case Example

A large and prosperous semi-rural church was selecting a new Associate Minister. The Senior Minister conducted an exclusive interview. It was an unstructured, casual conversation, and no background checks were performed.

The role was offered to someone who trained at the same seminary as the Senior Minister. On this basis, he was described as a “pleasant fellow who will fit in well.”

As bystanders to the process, we both felt uneasy about this choice. The selection process lacked rigour. The decision was made almost exclusively based on unrefined “gut feel.” No other opinions were sought—the apparent bias of choosing someone from the same seminary as the interviewer was ignored. The lack of reference checking increased our doubts.

The newly appointed Associate Minister was quickly regarded as autocratic and dismissive of others. Several months after being appointed, he was fired.

Avoiding Common Mistakes

Here, we describe three that are most relevant to this case:

• Lacking a structured selection system.
• Lacking tools to evaluate the underlying personality traits of the candidate.
• Ignoring the importance of speaking with past bosses.

How to Choose Staff to Complement Your Existing Team

A Structured Selection System will have a series of questions, printed in advance, tailored for each job. The questions must be designed to provide information about the candidate’s character.

Here are some valuable questions:

• “If you could instantly change one aspect of your personality – not your height or weight or looks, but something that makes you who you are – what would you change?”
• “How would life be different if you could make this change? “
• “Think of the person in your life who is your toughest critic. If that person were going to describe you honestly, what would they say?”

You must have the team that will join meet each of the final applicants. This next step can be done informally, perhaps over coffee or lunch.

Several team members should be given “discussion points”. These will be things that the interview panel would like more information about.

It is also wise to instruct the team to inform each applicant about both the best and worst aspects of working at your location.

Each team member should be asked to fill out a simple form, responding to two questions:

• How well do you think this candidate will fit with our team?
• Do you have any reservations about this candidate joining us?

It is essential always to check references. Always! There should be no exceptions to this.

Conclusion

When choosing staff and building teams, we must not compromise our mission and ethos. We must become skilled at discerning those who say the right things in an interview, yet lack the critical character traits that are essential for our organisation.

Remember, people get hired for their skills—sometimes, it’s the skill of passing interviews. Almost invariably, people are fired because of personality flaws.

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The Rev. Peter Corney served as the Senior Minister for one of Australia’s largest churches. He is a leadership consultant to churches and Christian organisations.

Dr. Ken Byrne has been an Organisational Psychologist working in the United States and Australia for over 45 years.

This material is adapted with permission from Hire Right, First Time: A Practical Guide for Staffing Christian Organisations, available from Amazon.

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