Setting Team Member Expectations
You can't expect what you don't specify. Three questions every musician needs answered — what's expected, what success looks like, and why it matters — and the discipline of communicating them constantly.
So far we’ve focused on how you can be musically excellent. That’s critical, but it’s only one part of the equation. This module turns to the factors that help your whole team get there — and it starts with clear expectations. Whether you’re entering a new ministry or relaunching your current one, your musicians need to know exactly what you’re aiming at.
Answer three questions for your team
Every musician on your team needs you to answer three questions:
- What is expected of them?
- What does it look like for them to be successful?
- Why does it matter?
1. What is expected of them?
Spell out the musical expectations precisely. That includes the basic standards of musicality required to be on the team, how many hours you expect them to practice when scheduled, how they should learn the album parts for their instrument, the level of preparedness you expect before they walk into rehearsal, and the style and tone they should reference in their playing.
If you don’t specify it, you can’t expect it.
If you don’t tell them what you want, they can’t deliver it. Paint a clear picture of what it looks like and sounds like to be a successful member of your team.
2. What does it look like to be successful?
One of the best ways to make this concrete is to show them. Photographers use a lookbook — a series of example images that tell other photographers exactly what to shoot and what to avoid. Do the same for your musicians:
- Show them video footage of other churches you respect.
- Take them to a worship concert to inspire them.
- Say plainly, “Here’s where we are now, and here’s where I want us to be in two years.”
When they can see, hear, and experience what you’re after, it moves from abstract concept to concrete target.
3. Why does it matter?
Telling and showing still won’t convince people to do the hard work — they need a strong why, rooted in a bigger purpose. Draw on the reasons from the first module: God deserves our best because he gave his very best for us; worship always involves sacrifice and offering something that costs us; excellence is an act of service to others; excellence points people to a God who is excellent; and excellence eliminates distractions.
If people don’t understand why something matters, they won’t be willing to sacrifice to achieve it.
Communicate it constantly
It’s not enough to have these three answers in your head — you have to get them out and in front of your team, over and over, through every channel you have:
- When you bring on a new team member
- At your annual meetings
- In subtle ways in the weekly set notes you text out
- In an end-of-month email recap
- Before rehearsal or at your pre-service check-in
Keep the why in front of your people relentlessly. And when a team member is excellent, be able to name it and communicate it to them directly.
Application
- Can you clearly articulate, right now, your musical standards — practice hours, preparedness, how to learn parts? If not, write them down before your next gathering.
- What could show your team your target — a video from a church you admire, a concert, a recording? Pick one and share it this month.
- Where could you weave the why into your existing rhythms (set notes, recaps, check-ins) so it stays in front of your people without a special meeting?