Maximizing a Small Team

Thought this was great advice from the 37 Signals guys if you are part of or leading a small team:

Less Money, more power

Small teams can make accurate observations since they are close to the action and DO something about it quickly. You may lose some wisdom or insight that larger teams offer but you can make up for it by quick and intentional corrections.

Less money, more value

Without money the focus can truly be on how well the leaders and followers live out the mission, vision, and values relative to their level of involvement. Aside: I created the ministry funnel to help leaders discern how to intentionally develop and grow those involved.

Less resources, better use

I’ve seen less resources limit choices in a good way–it forces the team to decide on what’s MOST important, and makes it easier to understand what’s good but not best.

Less time, better time

Those new to full time ministry people are often surprised by how hard it is to work on important but not urgent activities because they have so much MORE time than they are used to, and end up spending it all poorly. There is certainly a threshold and the prospect of burnout, but people with busier schedules often aren’t just busy but actually extremely productive.

The entire slides from this presentation are available for download here. Definitely a great resource to look over if you are leading a small team.