While the World Cup and “football,” as the rest of the world knows it, are not my passion, it is hard not to get caught up in the enthusiasm of the national crowds as they cheer on their country’s team. Pretty exciting.

I noticed something interesting in the matches I watched. The coach didn’t play. He wasn’t on the field. He didn’t defend the goal or score against the opposing team. Often, he just stood on the sidelines, watching. Yes, he was there at critical times to encourage, make substitutions, and make other key decisions, but he wasn’t a player. He was the coach.

The team didn’t look to him for direction during the battle. They played, usually with confidence and creativity. They had to think for themselves and function as a team without specific direction from the coach. Interesting.

Leadership coach Jason Murphey says, “If your team can’t function without you, you don’t have a team, you have a dependency.” He adds that too many leaders confuse supporting their team with carrying them. “They jump into every fire. Solve every problem. Answer every question.”

Murphey says that is a bottleneck disguised as leadership. Ouch. If you’re like me, you’ve probably done some of that as you have led organizations and ministries.

Two things that Jason Murphey points out are significant:

  1. Stop answering every question. I remember reading a little book called The One Minute Manager. It’s a classic, and I learned to move beyond answering every question to giving others the opportunity to make decisions, be creative, and learn to take ownership of their efforts.
  2. Coach the outcome, not the style. Yes, there are times the style matters. You may have a ministry brand to support. You also have standards to uphold. But give latitude to creative ways to accomplish a task. And celebrate that creativity. Someone may have a better idea than you.

I think about the time Jesus was with His disciples, and He asked them, “Who do the people say that I am?” Do you think Jesus didn’t know? He was leading them, prompting them to consider something important without dictating the answer. After their response, Jesus made the question more personal, more pointed:

“But who do you say I am?”

Matthew 16:15 NLT

Peter’s response was a defining moment for the disciple, and a gratifying time for Jesus:

“You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (v.16).

Give your team the opportunity to grow. Yes, there may be missteps and even failures. But as the coach of the team God has given you, you will have the opportunity to guide, encourage, and strengthen the whole team in the process.

You are not just standing on the sidelines. You are coaching a great team for the Lord’s glory.

God’s best,