First off, if you don’t already know this, I’m a huge baseball fan – and since they appeared on the horizon – a fan of the Toronto Blue Jays. But I’m also a big, big fan of the concept of teamwork – anywhere from two to thousands of people who work together for the sake of a common goal. And I’ve learned a few things about teamwork from the Toronto Blue Jays, and more specifically, from Cito Gaston. As manager, Cito led the Blue Jays to two World Series rings and other great finishes, but he rarely got the credit for his accomplishments. What you inevitably heard was, "With that team and those players, anybody could have won." Not. I’m so pleased that Cito has been given another chance to do his thing with the Blue Jays. And it’s working. Even watching on TV, you can see the players becoming a team, and not just a group of skilled players. So what are the secrets of building a team? What does Cito do? 1 Builds people’s confidence by working with them individually to improve their skills. He treats each player as a unique person rather than treating everyone the same. Another coach who was lauded for doing that was the Chicago Bull’s renowned coach, Phil Jackson. 2. Builds a core team. In this case, Cito brought with him loyal coaches whom he’s worked with before, and who are on the same wavelength he is. Players are saying,"It doesn’t matter who we talk to, they tell us the same thing." 3. Identifies potential. Cito has given long-term opportunities to several players who were either floundering before or weren’t even on the radar. He doesn’t put them in one game and expect them to show their stuff under high pressure, but trusts them enough to let them get comfortable. 4. Bring hope that if people work together and follow his lead, things will improve. And hope brings confidence, and well-placed confidence brings positive results. And positive results bring excitement. And excitement brings courage, which leads to the desire to perform better than ever before. And that desire typically leads to success. Doesn’t sound like rocket science, does it? And yet all are crucial steps to building a successful team of any kind. Wouldn’t it be great if we were all part of a team led by such a coach?
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Nancy,
Wouldn’t it be amazing what God could do if churches used this concept of teamwork and utilized excellent coaches!
I can just dream of how the whole body of Christ would come together and work as a “body” (a team) if there were coaches in each local church – good coaches – coaches who cared for their team as you described in this article.
I can even dream of it being taken to the next level in churches. Can you imagine what would happen to a local community if coaches played a role in getting all churches in their community to work together?
What an impact the team (the body) of Christ would have.
Thank you so much for this article. I will be encouraging people to read it.