After a few initial training sessions in 2019, we sat down with one of our TTC leaders, Rick Shallenberger, to answer a few questions about TTC, a training experience GCI is offering leadership teams in the coming year.
What is the purpose of TTC? TTC stands for Transformational Team Communication, and that’s exactly its purpose, to help teams communicate more effectively in order to be more effective. TTC focuses on the 5 Voices we all have (Pioneer, Connector, Creative, Nurturer and Guardian), and how to use them effectively in a team environment. Though each of us has access to all five voices – or methods of communicating ideas – we also have a foundational voice, one we use more than the others. Others in the team have different foundational voices and if we encourage each person on the team to give what their foundational voice offers, the team is stronger, more productive and communicates more effectively. TTC focuses on the strengths of each voice as well as the challenges – weapons system – each voice uses under stress.
How is it helpful for leaders? About 82 percent of people feel their contribution in a meeting is undervalued or unheard. This is because some voices are stronger – louder and more forceful – than others. Some voices are future-focused while others are present-focused. By listening to all the voices in a team environment, we make fewer mistakes, better team decisions, and all feel they are part of the decision-making process. Communication increases dramatically when you believe your voice is being heard and valued. Better communication leads to better relationships, which leads to healthier leaders, which leads to healthier churches.
Will it impact members? Absolutely! When the team is communicating effectively, members also feel heard and learn to trust the team. It leads to team-based, pastor-led congregations, and members all benefit from the greater communication and relationships being built. Another plus in learning how to listen to and appreciate the strengths of each voice is that there is an increase in feeling valued and giving value to others. The tools shared in TTC will benefit leadership teams, congregations, and pastors, as we learn to listen to and value what others bring.
Bill Winn, Pastor of the Hanover, Virginia, congregation, graciously gave us a review of his experience attending TTC Training.
TTC training was eye-opening for me. The value of this training for our ministry leaders and our general congregation cannot be measured in dollars, but it took a significant financial investment for GCI to provide it, and we are grateful.
The Father, Son, and Spirit desires that our churches and our leadership teams function as healthy as they are able. TTC engages the way we each naturally communicate and seeks to call out the best expression of our voices and then to call us up to the highest level of faithfulness to the church. We at Grace Communion Hanover are immensely grateful for GCI’s investment in Transforming Team Communication.
It was like looking in a mirror. The investment GCI has made in time, finances, and human resources to provide Transforming Team Communication is of such great value that to fail to take advantage would be a tremendous loss. Thank you GCI for providing such insightful training.
TTC is transforming the way my team and I communicate. I think that’s the point. So far we are finding liberating joy in learning how to best use our voices and how to hear others in love. The generous contributions to GCI make this sort of training possible and as a direct beneficiary of those donations, I wanted to write to say thank you.
This target training sounds positively quite intriguing to me. Working within a team context according to strengths is only sensible. Essentially, one tends to be best at what one likes to do. The right team synergy and use of gifts, talents and acquired skills is a vital success component in any organization, and certainly also in the church.