IN HIS FOOTSTEPS: Leadership and Teamwork

TEAMWORK

A Guide to Effective Leadership

Devotion Twenty-Four. July 24, 2025

SCRIPTURE: 1 Corinthians 12:12-31 

Have you ever heard the saying, “Two heads are better than one”? This phrase highlights the importance of teamwork and collaboration. In 2017, I was the coach of a football club, and our team logo displayed the slogan “Together We Win.” With this slogan, I motivated our team to work together, score goals, celebrate collectively, and even organise our lineups as a unit. It contributed to our winning many matches, including several championships. Our success was rooted in our teamwork. 

This experience underscored the value of teamwork in achieving success. In leadership, teamwork is vital for effectiveness. The apostle Paul reinforces this principle in his letter to the Corinthians, using the human body as a metaphor to illustrate the importance of diverse members working together in harmony. Just as the body has various parts with unique functions, the church has diverse members with distinct roles and responsibilities. To foster effective teamwork, each member deserves to be treated with integrity, respect, and honour. 

Leaders should treat each member as an asset that adds value to the church or organisation they lead. Like the body parts working together, members contribute value, strengths, and efforts to the church when treated with respect and honour. Leaders who do not appreciate teamwork often stress themselves and ultimately fail in many ways. In football, the team that works together wins the game, but when a member becomes selfish in passing the ball, their team is likely to lose because they are not cooperating with others.

Paul, a bondservant of God and an experienced leader, calls us to work as a team through respect and honour for every member under our leadership. If leaders build on this principle of teamwork, they achieve great success, as members feel a sense of belonging, contribute, and strengthen the work. He emphasised that no one should feel superior or more special than another, but rather embrace the sense of unity and avoid schism. This promotes effective leadership. 

In light of the principle of teamwork as stated above, where do you think you need to adjust in your leadership for effectiveness? When do you involve all members in your leadership? There are church leaders who do not engage other members because of their poor status. How will you help them rethink what Paul is saying about teamwork? Who will you share the importance of teamwork with? 

May this teaching find a space in your life as a leader, and treat all members with respect and honour equally. Effective leadership requires teamwork, valuing each other’s contributions, and promoting unity. Embracing this principle creates a way for success and builds a strong, harmonious team.

Dear God, thank you for teaching me about the importance of teamwork in leadership. Help me to value every member of your church as we work together in building your kingdom. While there are diverse members with diverse gifts and talents, give me the wisdom to work with them with honour and respect. All this I ask in the name of your Son. 

Amen.