The aspect of team leadership that I have always found challenging is bringing different people together to foster collaboration toward a goal. For the sake of its financial viability and stockholders, a company’s goals must be collectively achieved through a team of individuals who collaborate. Sometimes, however, people prioritize their achievements over the group’s. Other workers are biased and pass judgment on others for holding different views. Still, others are perfectionists, which stifles flexibility and collaboration.
I am sure we have all experienced these obstacles while working in an organization; we can probably think of coworkers with these qualities! The challenge, then, is to shift the group from an “I know it all” attitude to a “Let’s learn together” mentality, which would change the focus from individual achievements to the collective success of the team.
Jesus encountered many strong personalities in his team, as well; in fact, we hear in today’s Gospel about his beloved disciple, John—one of the brothers Jesus named the “Sons of Thunder.” Ouch! They must have been a handful for Jesus! John became disturbed because someone other than the disciples was performing miracles in Jesus’ name. In his mind, he and his fellow disciples were chosen by Jesus, so they were exclusive in doing the work. We see the same idea in the first reading, in which Joshua complained to Moses about Eldad and Medad. Joshua wanted Moses to exclude them because they were not among the group present at the tent to receive the Holy Spirit. However, the Lord sent them the Holy Spirit anyway.
Through scripture, the Lord urges us to stop finding differences and faults in each other when, really, everyone has the same goal. Working to realize the goal of producing the kingdom of God on Earth requires us to foster collaboration with others in the spirit of Jesus. We need to cut out elements that hinder genuine connection and mutual growth, such as our self-centered tendencies, judgments, prejudices, and perfectionist desires. By letting go of these elements, we can start to focus on our similarities in spreading the Gospel. We can play to each other’s unique strengths and come together as a team despite our differences. Our society tells us to “cancel” people if they do not believe as the mainstream group does. As disciples, we must resist this approach, for it brings hurtful division and keeps ourselves and others from deeper relationships with God. Working together creates a space where genuine collaboration and understanding can thrive, reflecting the love and unity that Jesus calls us to embody. I believe that this Gospel message is something we should seriously reflect on, especially as we approach November!