Follow up to Tools of the Trade: Ziti

This morning I was sorting through my many thoughts from last nights meeting as I also sorted through silverware, pots, pans and plates.

Last night was really fun! There is something to be said for sharing conversation around a meal rather than around a conference room table

Here are some things I noted:

1. One of the most important actions I could participate in was listening. Leading, like everything else has a time for speaking and a time for listening. Last night some of the ways I felt we made the most progress was for me to listen.

2. The guys around my table are deeply invested in making the arts at Cypress work. These are folks who don't stop short of investing not only their skills and time but often even their funds directly into making things in the arts at Cypress better.

3. They had great ideas. I walked away from our meeting with two pages of implementable ideas. Ideas that will improve our services and improve our serving.

What have you done to hear from your team members on their thoughts for the team? I would strongly encourage sharing a meal and some laughs together. It's a great use of time and energy and hopefully a way to not only make a meeting not look like a meeting but a way to show your appreciation for your team.

[image by E.A. Sanabria]

Tools of the Trade

Today my tools of the trade are MS Entourage - my out-of-body brain, my china and a pan of baked ziti.

Ok, I realize this is a less than normal combination of items, but it is exactly what I believe my team needs.

Entourage as I've explained before, is a magnificent tool that I use to organize not only my time and contacts, but the Project Center truly rocks at helping me stay on top of large projects involving lots of people, events and tasks. Today I must have spent more than 1/2 my work day in just that software.

Tonight however, I'm hosting a meeting of a different kind. I want to have a chance to get to talk with team members, get to know them better, understand their hearts for our ministry, empower them to serve and lead even better. That kind of conversation feels odd to me surrounded by flip charts, laptops and budgets. Instead it feels like a dialog around my dining room table.

I'll let you know how it goes.

In the meantime, do you have any of your meetings like this? How do they work for developing your relationships with your team members? What is the long term impact on your team?

Well... I'd better go, can't let the garlic bread burn!

[image by joebeone]