How I Recruit New Team Members
The Five Faders is Ad Lib Music’s development system that gives you language and awareness to unlock your team’s potential to be its best version. We are all driven by one of five motivations: Artist, Shepherd, Priest, Educator, and Producer. They are why we do what we do
Artists notice nuance.
Shepherds consider the individual.
Priests overflow with simple love and pure devotion to Jesus.
Educators bring out the best in people.
Producers plan to exceed usual limits.
Today begins a 10-week series to teach you how each of the Five Faders accomplishes the tasks in our to-do lists. You can think of the Faders as, well, faders on a soundboard that you slide up and down to achieve an appropriate balance.
We’re starting with recruiting because we all need more people on our teams.
While every team has people, what kind are on your team is up to you.
The dysfunctional team is infested with:
Rock Stars who are Perfectionistic and Contemptuous
Gatekeepers who are Oversensitive and Mistrusting
Judges & Juries who are Critical and Isolating
Know-It-Alls who are Lecturing and Debating
Dictators who are Micromanaging and Controlling
But the Five Faders team is full of:
Craftsmen who create Beauty and Usefulness
Pastors who develop Community and Belonging
Prophets who foster Devotion and Depth
Mentors that embody Wisdom and Capability
Architects that design Excellence and Transcendence
As we begin exploring how to recruit, let me give you this disclaimer: This is not “best practices for recruiting,” but “How each Fader thinks about recruiting.” Let’s dive in!
Artist.
I look for the exact kind of musician we’re missing and describe their skill and approach in detail until we’re all clear about what we’re praying and looking for. Then we start inviting that kind of player to guest with us on a Sunday.
Because I’m always thinking about how we can create a beautiful and powerful sound, I listen “in tracks” to songs. In other words, rather than just taking in the recording as a whole, I listen to instruments in solo mode to see what they are doing and how they affect the whole. I can tell if there are one, two, or five electric guitar parts and can rank them in their level of importance to the overall sound.
So when I’m thinking about my team and who I need to recruit, I get real specific. Suppose I’m looking for an electric guitar player. Do I want one that can play a steady, chunking rhythm with power chords, one that can articulate those soaring leads, one that can mimic pads and play underneath everything, or one that has a vast chord vocabulary and can add lots of color?
(I know, many of us would be happy with just one decent electric guitar player who doesn’t sound like a 70’s blues player, but remember, we’re learning to think like an Artist!)
So once I determine the precise kind of player I’m looking for, where do I turn next? I may invite one of my friends I’ve played with over the years (outside of church) to join the team for a week. He or she may not stick, but it gives the rest of my team a better idea of what we’re looking for.
Shepherd.
We talk about it as a team and decide who we want to invite to consider joining our community - friends from work, acquaintances from our kids’ sports, garage bandmates from college.
We do recruitment as a team, and if we’re adding new people, we must make sure the chemistry will work. After all, we’ve worked hard to create a culture that is honoring, fun, and offers a true sense of belonging for each person.
I know that just because you’re a good player doesn’t mean you’ll fit. You need a similar approach, shared values, and a common vision to genuinely help the team.
As part of our connecting time at rehearsals, we pray and discuss who we’ve been thinking about that could be added. Then we decide what the next step could be in bringing them along to a rehearsal. We create opportunities for new relationships to develop and get curious about getting to know them.
If the team feels like it’s a good fit, we take the next step.
Priest.
I’m always watching for the expressive worshipers in the congregation and, after praying for direction, casually open conversations with one of them to explore their interest in learning an instrument.
The essential qualifier to me is that we are a team of worshipers. Of course, quality and skill matter. But I want my team full of people who authentically and expressively love God.
That’s why I keep an eye out for them in the congregation. I’m guessing that God is stirring something in their hearts, and if they have the desire to serve and the capacity (or desire the capacity) to play or sing, I open a conversation with them.
Educator.
Since I work with the youth to develop their worship bands, I’m always inviting ones that seem ready for the next level of learning and have them join a team to shadow a more seasoned musician.
Rather than trying to recruit out of thin air, I develop a “farm system.” In baseball terms, the minor leagues prepare players for the majors. I create opportunities for untested musicians to build in situations with appropriate pressure that match their skill level.
The best way to recruit is to grow them internally!
Producer.
I’ve created a chart of how many singers and instrumentalists we’d have when our teams are “full.” I use this to systematically work on looking for the players we lack to fill all the teams. I occasionally leave “gaps” in the schedule to folks who will notice a need and coordinate it with announcements inviting folks to audition for that role.
Sure, I’d welcome a musician that isn’t “next in my chart,” but I find that being intentional in who I’m looking for produces excellent results.
When we started, we didn’t have a drummer, and I had two keyboard players, a guitar player, and two singers. My goal was to reach four full teams with drums, bass, electric 1 and 2, acoustic, keys 1 and 2, an aux instrument (like violin, mandolin, flute, etc.), and three singers.
We’re only six people away from being full. How? Put a producer in charge of recruitment. :)
Next week, we’ll learn how each Fader thinks about auditions!
-Dave Helmuth
(purchase my book, "Worship Fertilizer: (the first hundred)" HERE)
How I Recruit New Team Members (Nº 322)
