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What The Shuck?

Important Lessons From a Minor League Baseball Team

In 2015, the Biloxi Shuckers, the AA minor league baseball team of the Milwaukee Brewers, were forced to participate in an unprecedented experience.

A beautiful new baseball stadium was under construction in their Mississippi city, but construction crews weren’t able to complete the project until late spring. As a result, the team was forced to participate in a 54-game road trip to start their season. To add a little perspective, many professional baseball players complain when they are in the midst of a grueling eight or nine-game road trip.

For two months, the Shuckers traveled 2,800 miles through the south, hitting just about every town except Biloxi. They slept in countless hotel rooms, schlepping their luggage from hotel to bus to stadium and back to bus. Teammates gave each other makeshift haircuts in the clubhouse. The bus made nightly pit stops at out-of-the-way gas stations for a bathroom break at 3 a.m. (The life of a minor league baseball player might not be as glamorous as we imagined.)

What does a minor league baseball team with an unprecedented extended road trip have to teach us about the state of the Church in North America?

What does a minor league baseball team with an unprecedented extended road trip have to teach us about the state of the Church in North America? Many church leaders feel that we’re in a new era: we, too, no longer enjoy the benefits of a home-field advantage. In this cultural moment, we are always the away team, no longer privy to the comforts and luxuries enjoyed by previous generations of Christians.

The implication of this reality is that we have a decision to make regarding our posture. We can either deny we’re the away team or complain about our new reality. Or admitting that while things won’t be the same as before, we can be creative and think like Shuckers. In other words, we can engage in the “resident alien” posture that Peter wrote about in one of his letters.  

If we take this posture, it will require us to think like bilingual missionaries in our particular contexts – and to teach our people to do the same. We understand both the reality of the world and the invitation of the kingdom. Culture, of course, is what people do—the rhythms, values, patterns, symbols, taboos, priorities, and characteristics of the way a particular people group operates. Our missionary posture is to celebrate and affirm the good elements and speak into and call out the bad elements— and those bad elements always involve idols, which speak both to our hearts as individuals and to our cultural norms.

While we certainly are in a new era of Church like we’ve never experienced before in North America, we need space to grieve. But we also need to commit to a faith-filled, humble, courageous, and contextually intelligent posture of engagement. In some ways, we need to take on the posture of Daniel and his faithful friends who were living, leading, and serving in a foreign land.

The current reality is not a position or situation we would have chosen or preferred. But even still, there is an invitation to press into the purposes of God through creative mission, if we have the eyes to see it.

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6 Ways to Frustrate Young Leaders

by J.R. Briggs

I was a few years into planting our church when I shared boldly and with strong conviction about an issue on my heart at an elder meeting. After I finished, I could tell that one elder wasn’t too happy; he asked to stick around after our meeting concluded.

“How old are you?” he asked, clearly with an agenda in mind. 

“I’m 29.” I winced, bracing myself for what he might say next.  

He squinted his eyes, wagged his finger, and said, “I’ve been doing ministry longer than you’re alive. So, listen to me for a minute…” I was taken aback and felt so belittled by the comment that I don’t remember what he said (but I can assure you how he shared lasted more than a minute).

On the drive home that night, I felt embarrassed and frustrated by the experience; I vowed never to ask the condescending question of a younger leader, “How old are you?” – and follow it up with a condescending lecture. 

. . .

I have a driving passion to listen to, encourage, and invest in young and emerging leaders. And I especially want to ensure that no young leader feels as frustrated and lonely as I felt in numerous situations. As I’ve worked in leadership development over the years, I often ask emerging leaders what are the things that frustrate them in their leadership contexts, either in what they are experiencing or where they want to experience something, but aren’t allowed to do so.  

If we want to frustrate young leaders, here are the ways I’ve learned to do it successfully:  

[1] Delegate responsibilities, but refrain from empowering them to lead.  

Many leaders erroneously believe that leadership development is the art of delegating tasks. But delegating is not the same thing as empowering. Delegation is about giving others tasks; empowering others is about giving people authority and permission.

Delegation says, “Get this done exactly the way I want it done.” But empowerment gives others authority and permission that says, “Here is the vision and the mission of what we’re about. You are capable and responsible. I believe in you. Take this and lead in such a way that best advances the vision and moves the mission forward.” This means others will most likely do it differently than you do. But remember: we are not trying to create clones, we are trying to develop and empower leaders.

Years ago I led the college and young adult ministry at a large church in Colorado. I remember sitting in a pastoral staff meeting when the executive pastor said to me, “We want to communicate to the young people in your ministry that they are the future of this church.” I told him that while he meant well, that mindset was a problem. He was confused.

“They are not the future of the church.” I said, “They are the present. And if we want to serve them well, then we need to start thinking this way. They’ll grow and develop more if we do.” When we over-emphasize the tasks needed to get done, we can easily under-emphasize whole-person equipping for formation. The ultimate, long-term goal is not to just get things done; it’s to empower and unleash people into their giftings.

[2] Assume that you know everything that young leaders need to know.

Certainly, there are some skills that need to be developed, perspectives that need to be gained, and character that needs to be formed in others in order for them to be healthy and effective leaders, regardless of their age. But many seasoned leaders take the mistake of assuming too much and trying to read younger leaders’ minds.

Some common faulty assumptions made are: 

  • I am going to teach this young leader everything they need to learn about leadership.
  • Growth and formation are only one direction.
  • Emerging leaders are too young and inexperienced to handle “real” ministry responsibilities.
  • Each generation does leadership development the same way.
  • Growth and development can only happen in official and formal settings.
  • Telling is the same thing as training.

One of the greatest ways experienced leaders can keep from making faulty assumptions (and we know what happens when we assume) is to stop trying to read leaders’ minds and simply ask questions. Two of my favorite questions to keep us from stepping into the assumption trap is to ask: Where do you want to be more involved? And where do you want me to get out of your way? If emerging leaders are willing to give honest answers to these questions, it’s amazing what can be learned and discerned in these conversations.

[3] Offer complete freedom and autonomy without guidance and accountability.

Trust is essential for young leaders to grow and develop, but too much freedom without guidance can be demoralizing and disorienting. Simply sending leaders off to “figure it out on their own” is not a purposeful strategy for development.

I know one leader who described his leadership development process as “I throw them into the deep end of the pool and they’ll eventually figure out how to swim.” I asked him what happens to those who don’t figure out how to swim. “Well,” he said, “they don’t make it.” That doesn’t sound like a thoughtful strategy; that sounds like a good plan to help young leaders fail. Young leaders need freedom and autonomy, but they still need – and often long for – loving and constructive direction, structure, feedback, and guidance.

[4] Micromanage others.

While most emerging leaders I’ve spent time with have expressed that while they want direction, feedback, and structure, they certainly don’t want to be micromanaged either. (In fact, name any leader who actually likes to be micromanaged.) Leaders often micromanage others because of fear, lack of trust, or their own control issues. They often worry that the job won’t get done (at least not the way they want it).

Few things aggravate, demoralize, and crush morale more than when leaders control the environment so much that others can’t do anything without the leader’s permission or approval. Not only are they failing to develop leaders, they are actually diminishing the opportunity for leaders to grow in the future.

[5] Lead only in the style you’re used to leading in.

There are some time-tested truths and principles in leadership development. But there are also generational shifts that experienced leaders need to be aware of – and more importantly, make efforts to adapt to.

The old approach of leadership was to be the sage on the stage; the new approach is to be a guide on the side. The old approach believed we need a strong leader; don’t show us your failures, mistakes, and wounds. But the new approach says we need an authentic leader we can trust; show us your failures, mistakes, and wounds so we can learn from you.

Just as listening to music has shifted from 8-tracks to cassette tapes (all things younger leaders have little to no experience with!) to CDs to streaming services, we need to change the format of how we listen to the music of leadership development in changing times. Leaders must learn to adapt and change to meet emerging leaders where they are. This requires letting go of some control and being willing to be humble to listen to the way emerging leaders think, act, and feel.

[6] Expect perfection.

Few things cause anxiety to rise in the life of an emerging leader more than creating a culture and expectation that failure is unacceptable. Learning from failure is one of the greatest learning tools in the life of a leader, young or old. Failure is a terrible thing to waste. Bridgewater hedge fund manager and investor Ray Dalio articulated this well when he said, “Create a culture where it is acceptable to fail, but unacceptable not to learn from it.”

Certainly, we don’t want to over-protect young leaders from experiencing failure – that’s where the true learning comes when we reflect on failure appropriately – but we also don’t want to create an unsafe environment when they do fail. If failing in a learning environment is not safe, young leaders will be tempted to hide their mistakes, experience shame, and refuse to reflect and process valuable lessons to be learned through these experiences.  As poet Archibald MacLeish wrote, “There is only one thing more painful than learning from experience, and that is not learning from experience.”

Much of what we are called to do in developing younger leaders is to live in the midst of the healthy tension: to give freedom, but not too much of it; to delegate tasks, without neglecting whole-person development by empowering and equipping; and not protecting them from failure, but cultivating an environment where they can learn valuable lessons when they fail. We need wisdom, humility, sensitivity, courage, and compassion to effectively engage in leadership development.

Let’s refrain from frustrating young, emerging leaders and instead empower them to lead. As Liz Wiseman said, the essential role of a leader is not to create followers; it’s to be a leader multiplier.

Want a practical way to encourage your Young Leaders? Check out the Emerging Leaders Cohort!

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Halfway There: What Comes Next?

In the Spring of 2047, it will have been 50 years since I preached my first sermon. 
I can remember the day vividly that I “surrendered to the ministry.” After I walked the aisle to answer the call, my pastor told me at the end of the service that “if I was called to ministry, I was called to preach, so next Sunday night you are up!” I looked up and said “Next week?” to which he replied, “The only way you learn to preach is by preaching!”

I didn’t know it at the time, but I stepped into the world of ministry at a moment that I would now describe as the finale of the church in the era of Christendom in the US. When I first went to school to study pastoral ministry later that year, it hadn’t been very long since The Purpose-Driven Church was initially published, one of the most popular periodicals for ministry leaders at the time was “Church Growth Magazine”, the conversation about future generations and church participation was aimed squarely at Gen X, and that was only in the tiniest corner of the smallest room, in the basement of the church complex in North America. In other words, to most pastoral leaders, church participation was largely stable and even growing. The surrounding culture of the common American city or town was either supportive or at least neutral to the values and worldview of the Christian Church. Further, most pastoral leaders were still respected and met with a common embrace and gratitude, even among those who did not faithfully attend.   

By the time I reach my 50th year of ministry, the landscape that I entered into will have so vastly changed that I know it would be unrecognizable to the world of the 1990s.  Like many of those who will be reading this article, I’m a “bridge leader” in ministry in the year 2023. I entered into ministry on the end side of Christendom and I will finish ministry when I expect that Post-Christendom will be so underway that nobody will even recall that there once was another side to the bridge. My ministry will have been summarized by a season that only a small portion of pastors since the Protestant Reformation will share in that, throughout our career, we will have crossed the bridge from one epoch of the church into another.  

Not long ago it dawned on me that I am halfway across the bridge.  I have been in ministry for about as long as I have left in ministry and now I am working on the back half of that bridge.  

As many of us are somewhere in the same vicinity, it’s a good time to ask ourselves: 

  • What do we feel called to during our remaining years? 
  • With more maturity, wisdom – and hopefully humility – than we started out , what mark do we want to leave on the world when we are done?  

What echoes deep in my own spirit is that I want to do all I can to ensure that there is a faithful, vibrant, and flourishing church that is fully equipped for what we might now call a Post-Church era.

I want to do all I can to ensure that there is a faithful, vibrant, and flourishing church that is fully equipped for what we might now call a Post-Church era.” 

Ecclesia as a whole has always been on the same journey – and those of us who are a part of this family have been drawn together for this shared purpose. Although we might articulate it with different nuance, it is my conviction that the churches and leaders in our family have always been characterized by a heart to bear witness to the gospel among generations of people for whom standard approaches to church were ineffective.  We certainly don’t know all that we need to know in order to carry out the Great Commission for the next 25 years – and we need to continue to learn from one another (and from others) – but we do have within our DNA several of the key essentials to fulfill the mission before us. More, we know that we are not alone.

[1] One constant theme in the life of Ecclesia over the last 15 years has been the number of leaders from outside Ecclesia who feel at home among us, but are constrained from having their church join us for one legitimate reason or another. Perhaps they share an understanding of the gospel with Ecclesia, sense a common approach to ministry, or perhaps most of all an affection for our relational posture. But, whatever the case, they have had the desire to come more closely into life with Ecclesia. This is why we beta-tested an Individual Membership option in 2022. Having found initial fruitfulness among a handful of friends, we are excited to share that we are now planning to make the Individual Membership option a formal part of our future plans.    

[2] In like manner, we have also seen the rise of congregations within Ecclesia sensing the need to start local networks of churches within their city or region.  These are popping up in all four corners of the country and run the gamut from city-wide networks cooperating around church planting to collaborative approaches to youth ministry across a town. Given that these networks are the outgrowth of the character and nature of leaders within Ecclesia, we believe there is a “tissue match” between Ecclesia as a whole and these emerging local relationships. For that reason, another growth step we have decided to take in 2023 is to become more proactive in encouraging the formation of local networks through Ecclesia churches as well as exploring how Ecclesia can serve these local networks through our churches.. 

As we move into the future then, we see the ministry of Ecclesia being centered around leaders, churches, and local church networks. While we do not expect to diminish our focus on the three important phases of healthy local congregations – Starting (years 1-3), Strengthening (years 4-8), and Sending (years 9+) – we do believe that now is the time to formally create paths that allow individual leaders and local networks connected to our churches to benefit from the ministry of Ecclesia.

As I stand now in the center of the bridge, these steps for Ecclesia resonate as the kind of actions that strengthen our capacity to be more faithful and fruitful in the unique time that we have been called to steward together (with others) on behalf of the gospel.  

Does your own calling, wherever you are on the bridge, resonate with this?  If so, we would like you to take a further step with us in 2023 in these ways: 

  • First, if you are a leader, not officially connected to Ecclesia, consider joining our family on this mission as an individual leader.  
  • Second, if you are a church, or aspire to plant a church and know that you need a company of friends to be in ministry alongside, but without the trappings of a hierarchical denomination-type structure, then consider joining with us or planting with us in 2023.  
  • Third, if you are an Ecclesia Church already, why not consider how the gospel might multiply more fully if you created a network of like-hearted and common-minded churches within your city or town? If so, we would love to help.  

And lastly, if you are a leader of another ministry that would be a “peer” to Ecclesia and happen to be reading this, and are wondering how we might team up our common efforts, then drop us a line because we are exploring that too in this season.  

We are in a unique season as ministry leaders in 2023.  The challenges in front of us are greater than those behind us – and yet, so is the kingdom opportunity! Let’s not lose heart as we emerge from these last few years of immense challenge and let us recommit ourselves to the cause of the gospel in our time and let us do it together.

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Good News for Imperfect Pastors

Years ago, I was talking over breakfast with a young man. Between bites of bacon and eggs, he was telling me about his disappointment with his dad.

Having had a dad who paid little attention to me, spent no time with me, and was really only “dad” in the strictest biological sense of the word, as I listened I struggled with how to respond. The complaints I was hearing sounded to me like the description of a normal human being trying his best to be dad; occasionally preoccupied, often not sensitive enough to his son’s needs, maybe not as spiritually dialed in as he could be…

I knew telling him my own story of a bad dad might help give him some perspective, but I didn’t want to make it a contest. At the core of his disappointment was the idea that his dad hadn’t modeled the loving character of God in quite the way he wished had been done. And as I looked down at my own plate of (quickly disappearing) bacon, something occurred to me.

“Well, it’s a good thing your dad wasn’t perfect. If he was, you wouldn’t have needed Jesus,” I said.

What followed was a good conversation on the way fathers (and others) point us to God both in their successes and failures in their roles.

I was thinking of this conversation recently as I reflected on a recurring theme among many of the pastors I coach. It probably won’t come as a surprise to anyone that pastors often struggle. They struggle with the things that every human struggles with, but added to that, they struggle with the odd idea that they shouldn’t encounter struggles at all as spiritual leaders- that by the time they reach a position of leadership, they ought to be beyond all that. And worse, because they aren’t beyond all that, they are somehow imposters or frauds who will eventually be outed as flawed and failing by people who expect… more.

While there are standards of ethics and conduct for ministry that are vitally important, most pastors I work with aren’t dealing with the kinds of sin that would disqualify someone from ministry, but rather the everyday ups and downs of following Jesus. Everyday ups and downs like spiritually dry spells, the very human struggle with lust, envy, ambition, worries about the future, and regrets about the past.

And to those leaders, I would say “It’s a good thing you aren’t perfect. If you were, nobody in your church would need Jesus.”

“Follow me as I follow Jesus” was written by a pastor who himself was not beyond the spiritual struggles of an imperfect human following Jesus. Those words weren’t meant to say “emulate my perfect spirituality,” but rather “emulate me in both my successes and my failures.” Follow me as I walk in the footsteps of Jesus AND as I deal through repentance with the times I stumble off the path. See me in both the highs and the lows, and in that be pointed to the ONLY one who ever did it perfectly.

Pastor, you do well when you allow others to see how you deepen and grow in your discipleship. You would do equally well to allow people to see the harder parts of that journey as well. You aren’t perfect, and no one (at least no one whose opinion you should care about) believes you are or even could be perfect.

We’ll settle for someone who’s trying– someone who shows us what it really looks like to follow Jesus.

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Leaders Profile- Ryan Braught

Ryan Braught is the founding pastor/church planter with the Veritas Community in Lancaster, PA. We had a few questions for him!

How would you describe the area your church is in?

Veritas is based in the city of Lancaster, a city that is growing.

How would you describe the journey of pastoring Veritas? What have been some of the milestones/different seasons?

One of biggest milestones over the last almost ten years, both for myself but also for the community was my sabbatical in the summer of 2017. It helped me rest, rejuvenate, and reconnect with God and family. But more than just what it did for me, I believe it truly grew our community- People saying “this is our community,” people taking ownership, stepping into leadership roles, and become active participants in the mission and ministry of Veritas. Another milestone or series of milestones relates to our connection with our denomination (the Church of the Brethren). They have a process of planting where plants start as a project, move to fellowship status, and then become a full congregation. We have been able to walk through this process becoming a fellowship in 2016 and this summer will become a full-fledged congregation within the Church of the Brethren.

Looking back, what do you know now you wish you had known when you first started Veritas?

Just the amount of turnover that happens each year, especially as we have connected with a younger generation. And to look at that turnover as a blessing- that we get to disciple them for a season, then send people to other places around the country and the world, and commission them as missionaries from Veritas. Also something that i wish I had known is just how slow missional church and missional church planting can be. And how much patience I need to trust Jesus, rely on him, and really lean into the belief that He grows the church- and not succumb to the latest church growth fad to try to numerically grow the church.

As you think about what you’ve been able to do so far in ministry there what are some things you have done/tried that have worked well?

I believe there are three different parts to our ministry that have worked well. First, I believe our engagement with the arts community within Lancaster has been going very well. We have been able to connect with many different artists and are building a reputation within Lancaster. We have been doing a lot of social justice/awareness shows and been able to bless many artists and get behind their work. One of the neatest things related to this- is asking the artist that we feature each month to come to our worship gathering for a 5-10 minute Q&A and have them share about their work, and allow them to find a supportive faith community that is interested in their work and wants to encourage and bless them. I believe the second thing that has gone well for Veritas is related to the development of the community within Veritas. We have a tight-knit community and we have built it through many different ways- including our Veritas community What’s App, something called Conversation Project (where we do some intentional relationship building by pairing people from the community together, get them to meet up, and have them talk through questions and get to know each other), and just regular engagement with each other outside the “confines” of Sunday morning. Thirdly, I think our value of participation has been hugely beneficial to our community- in regards to building relationships with each other, but also in relation to discipleship. This value of participation while multifaceted, has led us to have interactive discussion as part of our sermon- where people dialogue around tables during and after the message, and to talk about how they will seek to apply and live out what we are talking about each worship gathering. The value of participation has also led to the creation of a teaching team, which includes myself, but also a few others- who help develop the teaching series, and also take turns in preaching and teaching throughout the year.

What hasn’t worked so well? What have you had to rethink/reimagine/rework?

One of the things we struggle with is the role of Children within the life of the community. Do we provide a nursery and children’s ministry and have the separated from the community for the entire worship time? Do we provide a nursery only? Do we provide a nursery and children’s ministry for part of the worship gathering? Do we act more as family- and assume infants and children will be in the service for the entire time? Or a hybrid of some of these? This is something that we struggle with- especially with not really having any children for children’s ministry (but having a growing number of young babies/infants/toddlers). We are in the process of also rethinking and reworking our leadership structure and how to develop a leadership pipeline, that grows and develops leaders, gives them the permission to begin and develop ministries, and develop leadership team and ministry team structures that fit our community (our vision, values, etc.).

What is one failure you experienced and what did you learn from it?

The day after Easter in 2018 I hurriedly set up a ladder against my garage, and hurried up the ladder to clean out a gutter. The ladder slid out from the garage and I came down with it, landing on my driveway and fracturing my wrist. You might ask what does this have to do with the church and ministry? This failure- 1. to take my time. and 2. Having someone holding the ladder, taught me those 2 valuable lessons in church and ministry.

First, in ministry I need to take time and not hurry though things. Planning events, preaching, visiting people, etc… takes time and I need to not hurry through those things and move on, “to more important things”. In planning events, I need to be diligent about the details (something that I struggle with), writing out the to-do list, and steps to making the event a “success”.

Secondly, I can’t do it alone. If I try, I will experience a fall. I desperately need others- both within my church and outside my church. I need a team of leaders within my church- those having different gifts and passions than I do- in order to make the church function as it is supposed to- as a body. If I try to function alone- the body is broken (just like my wrist was). I also need others outside my community who can pray with me, walk with me, and support me (as I also support, pray, and walk with them).

What is something you’ve been hearing from or learning from God in this last season of leading?

I feel that God is speaking to me about what leadership-like-Jesus truly looks like: a dying to the self, washing the feet of others, servant leadership. This is not an easy process- and I have to continually ask God to help me lead like Jesus- which means not always going in the direction that I think we should go in, not making all the decisions, trusting the leadership of others, and seeking to build consensus.

What do you dream/hope/pray Veritas looks like in five years?

My hope and dream for Veritas is that in five years we will be looking at planting a church out of Veritas. I also hope and dream that our church would be a strong family who are pursuing Jesus together, and following Him into the world and being about His mission.






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10 Practical Ways to Cultivate Trust With Your Leadership Team

The fundamental role of a leader is to build trust, bear pain and give hope.

Ultimately, all leadership flows from these three streams.

This week I was reminded once again of the crucial and irreplaceable stream of trust. It is the least common denominator in all leadership contexts, the fuel by which the leadership car moves. It is impossible to lead effectively over the long haul absent of trust. In Patrick Lencioni’s helpful book The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, he lists the major destructive factors among team dynamics: fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance of accountability and inattention to results. But the keystone trait that undergirds all the others is the absence of trust. As one of my doctoral professors recently said, “The absence of trust is ultimately the absence of grace.” Conversely speaking then, building and deepening trust is the single greatest thing leaders must cultivate within and among their team in order to be healthy, fruitful and effective.

Albert Winseman, in his book Growing An Engaged Church, wrote that every person who walks into your church is asking two questions: Am I valued? and Do I have something to contribute? These questions get to the heart of the matter. Yet, I would offer that these are not just questions asked by churchgoers; they are also asked by any person who serves on any team in any capacity.

I don’t think anyone would argue with what I’ve offered thus far. Every well-meaning leader I’ve met believes trust is important. And every leader I’ve talked to wants people to feel valued and to allow space for collaboration, participation and contribution with their team. However, you may be thinking: Yes but how? Practically speaking, how am I to go about deepening trust with my team?

With Lencioni’s book in one hand and Winseman’s book in the other, it’s important for leaders to drill down further and consider how we can cultivate health in specific and practical ways, first by self-assessment. I offer the following ten elements – and questions – for self-evaluation.  

  • Value and love: how do I treat the people on my team (i.e. my words, posture, presence, tone, affirmation, etc.)? Is it a judgement-free zone? Which is more important to me: healthy relationships or accomplishing more? Are our team meetings and interactions safe spaces for people to really share what they are thinking and feeling?
  • Participation: how much do I actually empower and include our team on decisions being made? Am I collaborating or simply informing them of decisions already made?  
  • Congruence: how much do my words match my actions? Where might I be out of alignment? How would I even know?
  • Consistency: is there evidence of results in my leadership over an extended period of time? Do people have confidence in my ability to lead?
  • Self-differentiation: How much of my identity is wrapped up in me being the leader? Being a “successful” leader? Ultimately, which direction are the arrows pointing: toward me, toward our team or toward our mission?
  • Vulnerability: how vulnerable have I been (and how vulnerable am I willing to be) in order to model what a safe space looks like on the team? When others are vulnerable how have I responded? Am I capable of readily admitting “I don’t know” and verbalizing phrases such as “I’m sorry”?
  • Failure: How do I respond to risks and failures, individually and as a team? How much does it define who I am as a leader or who we are as a team?
  • Truth-telling: How am I at telling the truth – and embracing it – even if it stings? Am I actually telling the whole truth or am I telling the truth, plus or minus ten percent?
  • Unity: how much are we pursuing unity (not uniformity) as a team? Am I willing to let go of my personal preference(s) if it means we will be better off as a team in the long run? Do dissenting voices have a valued role among our team or are they hushed, ignored or swept aside?
  • Clarity: How clear and compelling is our vision, priorities, what we care about? How do we know if we are being clear in our communication?

In closing, I submit these additional questions worthy of reflection for leaders when it comes to deepening trust among our teams:

  • Why should people follow me? What gives me the right to lead others?
  • Because I have power, who, in turn, is flourishing?

It takes courage to ask these questions of ourselves about our own leadership; and it requires even more courage to ask others these questions about our leadership. But because trust is so crucial to the process, we can’t afford not to ask them. Ironically, we may find that if we ask these questions of ourselves and others with a humble, inquisitive and courageous tone and posture on a consistent basis, trust among our team will deepen.