If you want to reach the nations, your team structure has to work for people from different cultures. It can’t just put up with diversity. It has to make room for it. Our mission is to make God known among all nations, so how we set up leadership really matters.
We start with your own story. Think about the leadership structures you’ve been under, good and bad. What worked? What hurt? Then we talk about why a clear structure matters so much for a movement like ours, with people from so many backgrounds serving all over the world.
Who reports to whom
Our reporting structure is built to keep people accountable while keeping leaders easy to reach. We look at why it’s set up this way, and why leaders at every level need to stay approachable no matter their title.
Then we ask everyone to share from their own culture: what makes a reporting relationship work? How do people view authority? How do they communicate and make decisions? Those answers show us what we have to think about when we build a structure for a team from many nations.
How many people one leader can carry
Every leader has to balance oversight with giving people room to lead. This lesson looks at “span of control,” the number of people who report directly to one leader. Too many and the leader gets overloaded and stops being effective. Too few and you end up with extra layers that slow everything down.
We share stories and talk through the pros and cons. Some cultures expect close supervision and some want more space. Some roles are complicated. Some team members are new and some have years of experience. All of that affects the right number.
This connects to our core value of valuing each person and their gifts and calling (1 Corinthians 12:4). When we get span of control right, leaders have the time to actually develop the people on their team. People get to be who God made them, and the team still moves together.
Talking across cultures
On a team from many cultures, honest communication between leadership levels is a must. In this lesson we talk about what gets in the way: power distance, saving face, and different ways of communicating.
From there we talk about how to keep communication open up, down and across the team. Set clear expectations for how we communicate. Make ways for people to give feedback and safe places to raise concerns. Use tools that fit how different people like to communicate, whether that’s written, spoken or something else.
This comes from our value of communicating with integrity, truthfully and relevantly (Ephesians 4:15). When we’re open and honest with each other, our teams get stronger, and we live out the Gospel: reconciliation and unity across every culture.
Lead through relationship
How we set up our teams has a big effect on how well we lead across cultures. When we have clear structure, a manageable number of people per leader, and open communication at every level, leaders from different backgrounds can grow, bring what they have, and push the mission forward together.
I want each person to make one personal commitment to improve communication in our leadership. Maybe that’s finding a mentor from another culture. Maybe it’s using a tool that helps close a communication gap. Or maybe it’s just staying humble and really listening.
In the end, it comes back to our core value of being relationship-oriented (Romans 12:10). Structure helps, but real relationships across cultures and titles are what make it work. That’s how we raise up cross-cultural leaders who will boldly carry the Gospel to the ends of the earth.