How do I build my team?

When you're starting a new spiritual innovation, it’s tempting to try to do it all yourself—especially when the project feels close to your heart! But spiritual leadership isn’t a solo act; it’s an invitation into co-creation. Whether you’re working with volunteers or a small staff, the goal isn’t perfection—it’s to build something bigger than any one person could carry alone. That means sharing leadership, listening deeply, and letting people bring their own wisdom and skills to the table. 

You don’t have to be good at everything. In fact, the best teams are made up of people with different strengths—visionaries and implementers, deep feelers and detail trackers. Your job is not to hold every piece, but to hold the center with clarity and care. Spiritual innovations sustained by a well-rounded team with trust, vision, and skill are those that fulfil their highest potential.

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Tools

• Start by building a “deep bench” of people who you can turn to. Invite people to a one-on-one conversation in which you share your story and learn what draws them to this kind of work. Check out the Find Your People resources for more ideas.
• Rather than noticing what you’re lacking, try and see what gifts the people around you already have. Learn about Asset Based Community Development or watch this conversation between De’Amon Harges and Mike Mather about their work putting it into practice. 
• Once you’ve got a team, understanding their strengths and work styles is a great way to build successful collaborations. Check out the Enneagram or CliftonStrengths as helpful tools, or listen to a podcast like the Muslim Enneagram or Suzanne Stabile’s podcast about the Enneagram. 

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Deeper Learning

• Starhawk’s Empowerment Manual is a comprehensive guide for groups seeking to organize with shared power to foster vision, trust, accountability and responsibility. 
• If you’re looking for courses to support you, PSR Collective is a community-based learning platform dedicated to equipping rising faith leaders with a variety of group-paced and self-paced courses.
• Or learn from Peter Block’s classic book Community: The Structure of Belonging which has great tools and sample questions to guide your team's strategy and work together.