The leaders who work most effectively, it seems to me, never say ‘I.’ And that’s not because they have trained themselves not to say ‘I.’ They don’t think ‘I.’ They think ‘we’; they think ‘team.’ They understand their job to be to make the team function. They accept responsibility and don’t sidestep it, but ‘we’ gets the credit… This is what creates trust, what enables you to get the task done.
-Peter Drucker
Servant-leaders are team players. They don’t play the game for personal wins. They play the game to see the team accomplish something it could never accomplish without the cooperative discipline of others. One is too small a number for greatness… servant-leaders understand this and work selflessly to equip and empower every player on the team so that each person can give their best to the mission.
Perhaps, no other early church member embodies the term servant more than Barnabas. He was a sheer take-one-for-the-team player (Acts 11:22-24). He was available to mentor others, took initiative in serving, had a solid reputation as an encourager, and did whatever it took to build people, raise morale, and fundraise for the mission.
Every team needs a Barnabas on their roster. Here’s what a Barnabas looks like:
1. Models generosity and giving. The first thing we learn when Barnabas bursts onto the scene in Acts 4 is that he had recently sold a field and given the money away to help others. It seems that this wasn’t an isolated act. Stingy people tend to be the most threatened people. They protect and hoard. And it’s not just their possessions that they won’t let go of; they also hold tightly onto their prestige, power, and preferences. Stinginess of heart, if it’s allowed to remain, always sabotages healthy building. It’s no accident that Barnabas is introduced by a story highlighting his generosity. It’s an important window into his character and heart. It’s also a key trait found among those who excel at finding and empowering others. The first step to building a great team is not developing better people skills (as important as this is); it’s found in developing a heart of generosity. Once that’s in place, everything else flows much easier.
2. Secure in your own identity. He has nothing to prove. Barnabas wasn’t out to get his own spotlight. He didn’t need applause or affirmation from people. He knew WHO was holding the scorecard and played to the audience of ONE. This brought tremendous value to the team (the early church). When mentoring Paul, Barnabas invested himself in being the emerging apostle’s most loyal encourager even if it meant that Paul would later get more of the limelight. This didn’t seem to bother Barnabas. He was secure in his own relationship with God that it didn’t matter who got the credit, just that the team was winning. “It is amazing how much people get done if they do not worry about who gets the credit,” says a Swahili proverb.
3. No defensive posturing. Barnabas wasn’t out to guard his own reputation. He had nothing to lose. He didn’t fear losing popularity. He came to serve, not to be served. This enabled him to focus on giving, not getting. Whether it’s power, prestige, status, or material possessions, when our focus is on getting, we always have something to lose and our selfish nature becomes defensive. When you are out to give and not get, you live on the offensive. There’s no time for defensive posturing. Barnabas’ life was constantly on the offensive of being poured out for others. He gave himself away, and therefore, had nothing to lose… just a wealth of value to give.
4. Joyful over success in others. Barnabas genuinely celebrated the victories of others. He was stoked over the promotion of others because he had nothing to hide. No insecurities. When it comes to finding and empowering people for ministry, Barnabas had no equal. He loved to see other people win, knowing that when others become everything they can be, the organization wins as a whole. This meant he didn’t have to masquerade a false happiness for other people when they succeeded. He had authentic joy for their wins.
5. Sees value where others don’t. Barnabas had compassion for outsiders. He advocated for Paul when the other apostles were skeptical of the converted church persecutor. He convinced other church leaders to meet with Paul and get to know his heart. A Barnabas sees value where others don’t. He values people that may be shunned by others. He sees value IN people even when they haven’t yet discovered that value in themselves. And he helps to bring that value to the surface.
Every team needs more than one Barnabas. Servant-leaders are team players. No team can WIN without them!