Does relational analysis precede action when you change team personnel? (115-4)

Effective leaders must exercise discernment when building and evaluating a team. Read Ezra 4:1-5.

The contingent of Jews who accepted the offer of Cyrus to leave exile in Babylon and return to Judah and Jerusalem to re-populate the land and rebuild the temple were now in the land and construction on the temple was well underway. During the 70-year exile absence of the Jews from the land others had moved into the area and for a generation established presence and ownership of the land. You can imagine the tension between the two groups as Jews struggled to establish control and those currently living there struggled to keep control.

The people that had been living in the land came to Zerubbabel leader of the newly arrived Jews and said, “Let us help you build because, like you, we seek your God and have been sacrificing to Him since the time of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us here.” Zerubbabel quickly recognized the offer for what it was; an attempt to stop progress on the temple from the inside through discouragement and poisoning the mind of the builders. His relational discernment kept these influences from infiltrating his team.

Leaders must practice discernment when adding to or evaluating their team. Relationships can get messy; people may harbor personal agendas and attempt to mask their true motives and make them sound nobler than they really are. Effective leaders must analyze the timing, the situation, and the stated and unstated priorities of individuals as they discern true motives. Wise leaders use these factors before they make team staffing decisions.

Does relational analysis precede action every time you change team personnel? Are you giving equal weight to a spirit match as you would a talent match when adding to your team? Is there currently someone on your team who has shown by their actions that they are not a spirit match? Is there another position in your organization that would allow them to function better or are the differences in philosophy and spirit so great that for the good of both the team and the individual it would be best to part company? Effective leaders protect their team from the outside and inside influences.