INTENTIONALLY GROWING TEAMS NATALIE DUCHESNE
| North Island Camps Facilitator, SUNZ
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eams at their essence are a collection of people gathered for a common purpose. I believe we should be weaving ‘intention’ into these relationships. Intention, however, doesn’t always have to have an awkward rigour to it. Rather, once acknowledged it can happily sit under the surface as you navigate your way in building, growing and deepening your team. Conversational questions are a great example of how intent can flow into the interactions you have with those around you quite organically. I’m someone who always has at least one question that I’m intrigued about and will ask almost everyone I encounter. Asking someone whether they’re past-, present-, or future-oriented, for instance, can give a beautiful insight into a person. It’s amazing what you glean, whether you’ve previously known them or not. Sometimes they are taken aback as if you’ve asked a deeply personal question. The internal processors sit in silence for a moment, consolidating their thoughts before answering.
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Others launch into a stream of consciousness as if nothing could be excluded. If you pay attention, you can learn a lot about someone asking questions even before they answer. Here are some of the conversational questions I enjoy using in the process to help me better understand the people within the teams I facilitate. What are your passions? In the context of building a team, I find this question helps journey towards a close-knit, safe environment of flourishing relationships. You get a sense of your team members’ values and gifts and start to see how their passions overflow into ministry—whether it’s a passion for communication, theology, knowledge, or being active and engaging with creation… Then, you can build on this passion. A great example is people who value inclusivity. I free up these people on the first day of a camp so they can put their gift of inclusion into action. They will identify campers who are on the outer or feeling outside their comfort zone, and will get alongside them,
