A prayer 

Dear God, I want a team  of coworkers made up of people who…

1. They take ownership of their job.
   • They see and understand how their job fits into the agency mission. 
   • Their first thought is, “if it is to be it is up to me.”
   • They supervise and lead with the motto, “I won’t ask anyone to do anything I am not willing to do myself.”
   • Their first instinct in a problem situation is not to look for who to blame but rather think “how can I be the solution?”
   • They refuse to leave their work undone for someone else to clean up.
2. They think “team”  before “self.”  
   • They speak in terms of “we”versus  “me .”
   • They know there is no “I” in the word “team”.
   • Their first thought is “How do my actions affect everyone else?”
   • They believe “I want to do my part and a little more to make sure the team is successful.”
3. For my coworkers in leadership roles:
   • They take ownership of their team’s performance. 
   • They realize if you don’t take ownership you are not leading.
   • They know what conversations are part of leadership problem solving and aren’t ready to be shared with co-workers.
   • They know what is confidential and keep it confidential.
   • They can handle and participate in leadership conversations about money, benefits, staffing patterns, policies and procedures through the lens of the whole organization rather than the lens of self or their small part of the organization.
   • They know what to say and what not to say in meetings and to staff who are not managers. 
   • If they have an issue they bring it to their supervisor and do not share it with staff (causing gossip…drama).

But God, I realize this list does not represent everyone on my team. What if you have put some of my frustrating coworkers on my team to teach me how to work with difficult people. Could it be that you are teaching me something through them? Could it be…

• Some are there to teach me how to do confrontation in a humane restorative way.
• Some are there to help keep my expectations of people realistic.
• Some are there to help me grow in my capacity to understand how people’s life experience, past and present,  impacts their work
• Some are there to teach me how to coach people step by step.
• And some are there to teach me how to lead and manage a team by having hard conversations and making difficult decisions. 

In the midst of all this you call me to be a servant leader. Help me to do this with love, compassion, truth, and honesty.