WORSHIP LEADERS
11 SIGNS THAT YOU ( YES YOU ) ARE TOLERATING TOXIC TEAM BEHAVIOR | Jon Nicol
“ I ’ m tolerating toxic team behavior ? No way !” Unfortunately , chances are you are .
Dysfunctional and unhealthy behavior doesn ’ t always look as dysfunctional and unhealthy as we think . But on most worship teams , it ’ s lurking in plain sight . More importantly , it ’ s holding you back from building the kind of team that can make every Sunday exceptional .
So let me give you eleven signs that you might be enabling some culture-eroding behavior . And just so we ’ re clear , I ’ m saying “ you ” on all these just to help you think about if this sign points to an issue in your leadership . I could easily say “ I ” and “ me ” throughout this article because I ’ ve identified each of these shortcomings in my own leadership experience at one or more times .
You ’ re Tolerating a Toxic Team Member If …
1 . YOU WAIT TILL EVERYONE ARRIVES BEFORE YOU START REHEARSALS . Lateness doesn ’ t seem like a big deal . But it leads to resentment by those who are committed enough to show up on time . And the rest of the team ’ s resentment isn ’ t just for ‘ Tardy Taylor .’ It ’ s for you . Your team will begin to resent you if you continue to let it happen .
2 . YOU ’ VE LET TALENT IN TOO SOON . If you tend to fast-track the audition process for a more talented applicant , you ’ re inviting dysfunction . When you do this , you don ’ t spend enough time with that person to * really * get to know him or her . As a result , you miss signals that this person is a bad fit .
And let ’ s face it , as leaders , it ’ s easy to get blinded by talent and overlook character issues .
3 . YOU PUT OFF DIFFICULT CONVERSATIONS . Here ’ s a common phrase you might tell yourself when ( yet another ) incident of ‘ subpar ’ behavior arises : “ Yeah , I really need to talk to him / her .” Your other team members pick up on your hesitancy . After a while , it erodes their respect in you as the leader .
4 . YOU TOLERATE ( OR EVEN PERPETUATE ) GOSSIP . When you or another team member talks about another person behind their back , it erodes the health of the team – even if that person never finds out . Gossip is the byproduct of a team that doesn ’ t trust each other enough to speak the truth .