Not to long ago I walked up to Lee McDerment to ask a question and before I could open my mouth he said, “The answer is ‘yes’, now what’s the question?” Wow! As I walked away from that discussion his “yes” (before the question) really got me thinking about my attitude and the attitude of my team as we interact with the other areas in our church.
Consider this…
If you lead a team that provides a service (of any kind) to other teams in your church or organization, I bet you (or those on your team) spend a good deal of time dealing with requests for new project ideas. This is a good thing, of course, because it proves your team is needed. This can be a frustrating thing, though, because time and energy are limited and everyone believes their project should be the priority.
Then comes the dilemma… to say “yes” or to say “no” to the request. If you say “yes” you’re everyones best friend… if you say “no” you are the bad guy and “don’t even care at all about anyone but your own team”… or something like that.
The word “no” immediately causes any of us who hear it to begin to defend our position and fight for a “yes”. This, of course, leads to conflicts that just frustrate everyone… even the person who is saying “no”.
So, I offer a solution… just say “yes” to everything.
Think about it. If everyone who submits a request to your team gets an immediate “yes”, how do you think the tone of the ensuing conversation will go? Their defenses will be down… they’ll be open to listening to the obstacles (costs, resources, outsourcing, better solutions, etc) their project presents and the reality of how much time it will take to deliver it. Once those facts are known, the one making the request is then put in a position to offer their own “no” instead of getting one thrown at them.
If your church or organization has clear vision, then each request you receive has some level of merit. If you have confidence in your team, then you know that they can do anything. So, if we empower our team to be purveyors of “yes”, then they can let down their defenses and simply analyze each request and provide the requester with options.
Clear vision followed by clear communication is the key to a successful organization. I believe communication gets clearer right off the bat when as many “no’s” as possible are eliminated. Here are the immediate wins with this philosophy:
1. Our team is pushed to find “yes” answers and the other teams are given solid solutions.
2. Our team doesn’t feel the pressure of being the bad guys and other teams see our team as a valuable resource.
3. Our team is forced to recognize priorities and manage resources better and other teams are as well.
4. Our team and other teams begin to see each other at The Team and lose the “us vs. them” mentality.
The answer is “yes”, now what’s the question?
