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Followership: How to Be a Great Team Member

Three. Pay attention. Everyone should learn the lessons of faithful  and effective followership. Like leadership, it’s a never-ending project and the lessons keep on coming.

Watch the great quarterback or running back for a successful football team. They will pay tribute to the blockers in front of them. Ask any fan. When no one is running interference for Mark Ingram or Jerry Rice(!), he turns in a dismal record at the end of that game. And yet, few people know the names of their offensive line. They are the grunts. But nothing much happens without them. A good coach knows this.

Four. Pray for your leader. Ask the Lord to lead, to show the way, to protect the leader, to bless him/her with wisdom and discernment.

Five. Pray for yourself. There will be moments when you are tempted to go rogue, to jump ship and rebel against the leadership. Ask the Lord to give you wisdom. Sometimes, His will is for you to learn to submit to the authority over you for the greater good. (See Ephesians 5:21)

Six. Honor your leader and bless the other members.

Seven. Be supportive. Do your work well. And be sparing in your criticism of other workers or the leadership.

Eight. Keep your ego out of it. Read Luke 17:7-10 until its lesson becomes part and parcel of your makeup. When you have served excellently—when you have done all the things the Lord commanded of you!—then instead of expecting appreciation and recognition, say to yourself, “I am only an unworthy servant, just doing my job.” Doing that from time to time will drive a stake through the heart of a runaway ego and make you a much better servant.

Btw, never tell other people “I’m just an unworthy servant. I’m just doing my job.” That smacks of self-righteousness. Say it to yourself and no one else. Neither should we say that to others. “Pastor, I know you’ve been here many years and worked hard. But pastor, you are an unworthy servant, just doing your job.” That would be a major league putdown. Instead, scripture says we are to honor each other and appreciate those who serve well. (See Romans 16, the entire chapter; I Corinthians 16:18; and Philippians 2:19ff.)

Nine. Show yourself faithful. Never criticize your leader. Do your work well, and encourage the leader who has been assigned the most difficult task of all: to set the direction, make a lot of hard decisions and deal with team members, each one with his/her own opinions on how this work should be done.

Value the other team members. Do not compete with them but encourage them. Be loyal, both to the organization as well as to the leadership and to your fellow team members.

Ten. Learn well the lesson of I Samuel 30:24 and teach it at every opportunity.

To chase down the Amalekites and take back their families and cattle stolen by these fierce enemies, David and his band had to make a decision. Weighted down by their supplies and baggage, they assigned some of the group to remain behind with the “stuff.” This enabled the warriors to travel light and catch the bad guys. They did, and made short work of them, and recaptured everyone and everything. “Nothing was missing, whether great or small” (I Samuel 30:19). And then they returned to the team members left behind.

Some in David’s group—described as “wicked and worthless men”—wanted to give a pittance to the guardians of the baggage. “After all, they didn’t face the Amalekites and risk their lives.” David was ready with an answer, giving a principle which verse 25 says became the rule of law in Israel “to this day.”

“As his share who goes down to battle, so shall his share be who stays by the baggage;  they shall share alike.” (I Samuel 30:24)

Smart man. Wise leader. Grateful people. A lesson well taught.

For good reason the citizens of the country appreciated King David as no one before or after him.

It’s a smart leader who appreciates the team members—most of whom will go unnamed and unnoticed—who make him look like a champion.

This article originally appeared here.