Full Engagement

How can we move toward full engagement from our teams? Engagement (or buy-in) is the “Holy Grail” dream of every leader. Buy-in creates a mission focused, can-do attitude and passion within the team. When engagement is present, it seems like we are moving forward and taking more kingdom ground. When engagement is on life support or absent, even small ventures seem to drain us. I bet you have a story about a team that was fully engaged. I know I do. My senior year in High School was supposed to be a rebuilding year for our boy’s basketball team. We graduated 7 seniors from the team the year before and only returned 3 lettermen (2 of the 3 had started as juniors). This team was not really a great shooting team (our best shooter shot 41% from the field that season) and not relationally tight off the court. But, Coach Dye had a way of forging a group of individuals into a team. We had a successful season (20-7 and played in the 5A State Playoffs). Here are some interesting stats, 3 team members averaged double digits in rebounding, all 5 starters averaged double digits in scoring and as a team, we shot less than 40% from the field. Coach Dye was able to get 10 unconnected guys to function at a higher level than anyone predicted. I believe that is what Team buy-in is all about – the sum of the parts is greater than the parts.

I believe every team wants to be a winning Team. The must be attractive to all but only full engagement will get us there.

Ecclesiastes 4:  9 Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. 10 If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble.

Take a moment and list 5 things that help you fully engage with a team. In my next several posts I will begin to unpack what I believe leads to “Full Engagement”. Please feel free to post your ideas below…