What does it take to create a dynamic team?

In 1992, an energetic team from our church launched night life, an up-tempo, casual Saturday evening service for secular people. Everything about this service differed from what happened Sunday morning.

Of course, not everyone in our land of the Psalter hymnal appreciated using secular music to make a spiritual point. Often criticisms were blatant: "The atmosphere in night life is closer to a bar than a church." Other pressures to conform were subtle: "Why not design the service to have a wider appeal, making it more comfortable for all ages?"

I championed the vision of the team making the launch, but looking back, I can see I missed a crucial need of this innovative bunch: protection. I should have shielded the launch team rather than highlighted concerns about the service.

This was driven home for me recently as I read Organizing Genius (Addison-Wesley, $24, to order: 800-822-6339). Its authors, Warren Bennis, author of Leaders and On Becoming ...