Sticky Teams by Larry Osborne

Author:Larry Osborne [Osborne, Larry]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Non-Fiction
Publisher: Zondervan
Published: 2010-02-25T23:00:00+00:00

Once I know the answers to these three questions, it’s relatively easy to predict with great accuracy whether young eagles are flying high or flying away.

I must warn you, however. If you are over fifty, already have a seat at the leadership table, and perhaps think most of the new eagles you know are a lot like the shrinking freshmen I encountered in high school, you might not like what you read next.

1. Are Young Eagles Empowered and Platformed?

I find that most ministries pride themselves on empowering people. But I seldom hear anyone talk about platforming people. Yet empowerment without a platform is like responsibility without authority. It’s frustrating for everyone involved.

Platforming is granting someone the symbols of power and prestige. It tells everyone that this person has significant juice, influence, and power.

These symbols of power and prestige vary from one organization and industry to another. But everyone within knows exactly what they mean. In the business world, it’s the corner office, a private parking space, or an impressive title on your business card. In an academic setting, it’s the letters after your name or the title “professor” rather than “instructor” (even if you’re teaching exactly the same material). In a church, it’s the title you’re given, the role you’re allowed to play, and a host of other subtle symbols.

I grew up in a church where it was pretty clear to all of us that the senior pastor was the only real pastor. Though there were two others on staff, he always carried out the symbolic duties of spiritual authority: communion, baptisms, weddings, and burials.

That sent a strong message to every other eagle (young and old) that if you wanted to fly in the pastoral world, you’d better go elsewhere. His was a platform not to be shared.

The senior pastor’s hogging of the symbols and platforms of spiritual leadership also sent a strong message to the congregation. If someone was in the hospital, he had to be the one to visit. His were the only prayers that counted. If someone needed spiritual counsel, or even the keys to the church kitchen, he was always the one you called.

The result was an overwhelmed pastor and two devalued associates.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. Leaders who willingly share the symbols of organizational power experience a completely different reality. Since their young eagles (and any other eagles they have on the team) don’t have to go elsewhere to fly, they tend to stay. When a congregation has other gifted, powerful, and appropriately platformed leaders to choose from, people will start turning to them for spiritual counsel and the keys to the kitchen, significantly lightening the pastoral load.

We can platform people in many ways. Most involve simply stepping back and sharing some of the platforms and perks you already have. The following are some of the most effective strategies I’ve used over the years. They have helped our young eagles (and other eagles on our team) fly higher and stay longer. I don’t offer them as a prescription.

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