WORSHIP LEADERS
THE # 1 WAY TO GET YOUR TEAM TO EMBRACE CHANGE | Jon Nicol
" Everyone ' s gonna hate it ," Bryan said .
That was the feedback I got from this trusted team member ( name changed ) when I told him my plan : " Bryan , when we finally get in the new building , I want to move us to in-ears and use a click track ."
We were about to move into a renovated warehouse . For the last 10 years , our campus had been renting various spaces from the local schools . We had outgrown most spaces and were now in the high school auditorium . Great stage . Great seating . Bad sound system . With constant feedback , mystery buzzing , and only two shared monitor mixes , I couldn ' t wait to get out of there .
The more we talked , the more Bryan came around on the in-ears , especially knowing we ' d have personal mixers . " But I dunno ," he said , " I get why we ' re going to in-ears . But a click ? People are not going to like it ."
The result ?
Within a few months of moving into our new facility , we had fully transitioned to using a click track on almost every song and only lost one team member : a drummer who thought playing in time somehow pushed out the Holy Spirit . ( I wanted to ask him if he was really blaming his lousy sense of timing on God , but I decided my snarkiness would not help this situation .)
There was additional pushback , to be sure , but the buy-in to move to click tracks was relatively easy . While I used several tactics to get the team on board with the change to using a click , there was one thing that moved the needle the most :
I wasn ' t the one pushing the hardest .
Bryan and several other team members attended the Christian Musician Summit ( in Buffalo , NY ) with me several months prior to moving into our new building .
In almost every session they attended , they kept hearing about …
• The value of learning to play in time .
• The power of a click track to keep the band together .
• How tracks can enhance the sound of a small band .
• And how all of this would equal a more consistent and excellent sound , week after week .
During the drive home , Bryan and the others agreed : we ' re moving to a click track .
Because they championed the idea , we moved faster and got far more buy-in than had I been the only one advocating for this change . Why ? Because for the others in the band , this wasn ' t ' Jon ' s idea .' No , it was something their team members - their peers and fellow volunteers - were pushing for .
You might not be leading your team to use click tracks , but you do have a vision for …
• A new process .
• A game-changing initiative .
• A higher standard .
• A transition from the status quo . … that will help you build a team that can make every Sunday more exceptional . Right ?
One of the most powerful levers to implement your change is a few fully ' bought-in ' team members . And this is also the key to being a successful , visionary leader : not being the only one who ' owns ' the vision .
Before going public with any vision for change , you need to get buy-in from as many core team members as possible . You need their buy-in for two big reasons .
1 . THEY HAVE A DIFFERENT KIND OF INFLUENCE AND CREDIBILITY WITH YOUR TEAM THAN YOU DO . No matter how well-liked or respected you are by your team , you ' re not " one of them ." You ' re the leader , and that inevitably shifts the relationship dynamic .
2 . THEY CAN HELP YOU REFINE THE VISION AND CATCH BLIND SPOTS . As leaders , if we keep our vision in a vacuum until we unveil it , we ' re bound to discover issues and holes that could have been caught by a few sets of trusted eyes .
I can ' t tell you how many times I had an ' insanely awesome idea (!)' that I was ready to run with , but my leaders and core team members caught some massive holes and issues . Had I gone public with my various visions for change before vetting them with those trusted advisors , it would have been ugly .
So , before implementing a change , invite others to help you refine your vision . And through that process , those team members will have ownership of this vision . Because of this , they will help carry your vision into fruition .
Implementing a big new vision - or even small changes - isn ' t easy . But if you get buy-in from your key team members , you ' ll be able to implement it so much more effectively than if you had tried to lead it on your own .
And if you want help developing a vision for your worship team - or implementing it - reach out to me at jon @ worshipteamcoach . com . I ' d love to walk with you through this process .
Jon Nicol Jon helps worship leaders build teams that will make every Sunday exceptional . He lives and serves in Lexington , Ohio with his wife Shannon and their four kids . WorshipWorkshop . com WorshipTeamCoach . com