BUILD A QUALITY TEAM

 BUILD A QUALITY TEAM 

                No man is an island. Success is not a feat you attain all alone. You need people to arrive at your destined goal. Not just any people but the right set of people. The set of people a leader surround himself with are called team. The team members include council members, advisers and counselors The quality of the team a leader surround himself with will determine his success. Leaders that do not build up a team around them get worn out easily. It is another thing to have a team and it is another thing to trust your team by delegating duties to them. Assigning duties to them give them a sense of responsibility. Believe in them and gives them authority to do the work and make them accountable not only to you but to the whole team. Moses was doing it all alone, he could have died before his time until Jethro advised him that he would worn out if he continued to judge the people all alone by himself. He chose a team and delegate duties to them. Jesus took his time before he chose a team he worked with. He invested time in them by building them up in word and prayers. David build up his team members. He trained them and invested on them. He was a leader that led with sympathy and gentle heart. He knew his team members by name and ascribed his success to God and his team members. On an occasion three team members risked his life for him when he was thirsty. They brought the water for him, he could not drink it because he saw the water as blood. He pour it to ground as an honour to God. When he was in the wilderness, they formed a shield around him. He was responsible for the welfare of his team and took it upon himself. No king in the history of Israel invested in team building than David. He had foot soldiers, commanders of army, advisers, counselors, Spiritual advisors and many more. He was a great King. What made him great was the quality of people that he surrounded himself with.

         Building up your team will do you a great favour and pay up one day. It is not always easy but one day you will reap it if you do not faint. David could have died on the battle field. He slumped in the midst of the battle. His men rallied around him, brought him up and got him out of the battlefield. From that time on they stopped him from going to battlefield, they told him the lamp of Israel shall not be extinguished. They fought his battles for him and gave him credit till he died peacefully on his bed . There are so many reasons leaders do not want to invest in their team members. One of them is majorly trust issue. The fear of if I build him up will he not take over my investment and render me irrelevant. The fear of moving away to start his own enterprise is always there too. People who cannot trust people do not go far in life. To trust is a risk and only a few people are willing to pay the price. Understanding that all you have belongs to God and he can take it from you and we are stewards who will give account of what he has given us. Not all people can be trusted but with time you will know who to trust and who you cannot trust. Prepare your mind, in life you will betray people trust and people will also betray your trust. The disciples didn’t want Jesus to go, they wanted a government of this world where Jesus will preside and they will be in charge. They were disappointed when Jesus died, they all fled, Jesus had to come back, strengthen their faith before moving on. Focus on the goal, get the work done without expecting the glory. Let God alone takes the glory. If you fail to invest in people when you need people, no one will be there for you.

                 Team building is important for the sustenance of whatever vision God has given you. Your ability to build up a good team will give you a lasting success. Your team will stand for you when you are weak. Your team is your strength and courage. You cannot win all alone, behind every successful enterprise there is always a team behind it. Things don’t just work they obey laws and principles. If you see a system working there are people behind it that makes it work. You see a leader, you think that he is the one doing it all alone, he gets all the credit but there is a quality team behind the scenes that are responsible for his success. Season goes and seasons come but one thing is sure that last, it is your investment in lives. People die but their memories live on. What create memories? They are the lasting impact you have made on people. A wise leader do not invest in material things but rather in people. When you invest in your team, you build a formidable team around you. As a leader you do not have to attend all the conference alone, grow together, do not be the only strong member and others are weak . Surround yourself with quality and growing people. Do not be intimidated by their gifts, charisma, and talent. A leader should be able to manage individual team member gifts for the betterment of the team. Do not be like a man who said: “ I cannot enlist someone that is better than me into the team because he can take over the team from me” There are many skillful men than David in his team but none of them overthrew his government. Why? He managed them well. When team members are not properly managed. Another hinderance to team building is favouritism. As a leader do not prefer one team member to another. Treat them equally and do not create a system that will make them to bring negative reports regards any member of the team. You may have a favorite among them but do not express it openly.

       Finally communication is very important in team building. Communication is a chain that holds the team. A leader that does not listen to his team will fail. A leader should have a listen ears and take advise and counsel of team members. There are leaders that do not seek opinion or advise from their team members. They do it all alone and takes responsibility for their failure while others push the failures of their decision to team members they do not carry along in decision making. Some leaders ask for counsel, do not heed to counsel but go ahead with their own plans. A leader that fail to listen to his team members is on his way to failure. In the biblical details of David's leadership,for more than once, we saw him communicating, listening and taking counsel from his team members. In another occasion we saw Joab counseling him against numbering the nation of Israel but he rejected it. The outcome was devastating. In another place we saw him listening to Joab who counseled him to admonish his team who restored his k

ingdom or else he would lose their loyalties. Building up a team is not a day job , it is continuous and deliberate efforts geared towards accomplishing a goal. Do you have a team? Do your best to invest on them and build them up. Your team's  success is your success.

Abolanle Oladipupo

©️ 3rd September,2022