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Pull Your Weight – Remember that someone else's energy may pull you through a difficult time in the future. Many times in ministry, we are like a team of horses pulling a large wagon. We will take turns being the lead horse and carrying the greatest weight. Whatever your current position in the team, do your part! When someone fails to pull his/her weight, someone else must do double duty to compensate.

Be a Mentor and Be Mentored – Be a mentor to younger or lessexperienced staff members, and be willing to allow others to mentor you. Perhaps you may mentor a younger staff member on pastoral skills while he/she mentors you regarding computer usage. We each have skills and abilities through which other's ministries can be enhanced.

Discuss Aspects of Your Team – Periodically, the ministers should discuss the strengths and weaknesses of their team. Through this honest evaluation, the team can be strengthened and become more effective. A retreat is a good time for such a discussion. Recognize the different personality types, learning styles, leadership styles, and other traits of your colleagues. Do your best to understand their past experiences and to let your understandings inform your working relationships.

Don't Be a Lone Ranger – Because a music minister has spent much time alone practicing or doing many of the solitary things that musicians must do, many music ministers have a tendency to work alone without receiving appropriate input from others. Recognize this tendency and consciously work to compensate for it.

Learn About Each Other – Ministers can learn about each other by participating in a learning styles seminar, personality profiling exercise, or other assessment that helps them identify various patterns of communication. Workshops such as these are extremely valuable in helping us respect the differences that each of us brings to the group.