Reality. The dictionary would say that reality is something that resembles what is real. It is what we all know. But is it where we start from? For instance do we parent from reality? Do we teach our kids that we ourselves often know what we should do, and then don't. Or, do we teach them that we often have good intentions but unintentionally screw things up? What about our inherent selfishness? Do we teach our kids this principle too? Do we say to them, after all I'm only human, just like you?
Let's go to our work place now. Do we lead our companies, the people that we have below us by saying, I often mess things up. Sometimes I know what the right thing to do is, but I just can't seem to get it done.
I contend that often in the workplace we pretend as if reality does not exist. The key to being successful is to be like me and never make mistakes! The key is to work hard and double check everything you do so that nothing can come back on you. Or the key is to never stick your neck out for anything, that way it can't come back on you. Make the man who makes the big bucks stick his neck out!
Is this how we navigate our work place? By avoiding responsibility, or pretending that we never make mistakes?
When we pretend that we are not sinners we often have to deal with guilt. We deal with the guilt because we know its not so, we know we are part of the problem, we know we ourselves are partly to blame. And then often the way to deal with guilt is to avoid it by either blaming others, or avoiding taking any risk that might be deemed as wrong. Our society is full of people who like to blame. If the war in Iraq is going bad, someone must bear the guilt and be fired. If a goverment department is caught in some mistake, often the department head is expected to take the fall, forced to resign. Our beauracracies are full of people who live in the pretend world that some of us aren't sinners and some of us are. So when mistakes are made, it must be because of some faulty person.
But what if when a mistake happened we viewed it as realtiy. It's what happens. You will never have effort without mistakes. What would happen to that group of people if mistakes were admitted to and owned by those that made them. Would it be possible for that team to come together to find better ways to do things, processes that might catch the mistakes when they happened, processes that found a way around a requiremnet of human perfection to function well?
What could be possible with a team of people that wanted to own what they did, own their own realities and at the same time be committed to grow, find ways to not make the same mistakes? Find help from each other and not attempt to be a lone perfect ranger, which is no reality at all?
I wonder what the potential coudl be.
7 comments:
Not only is it possible for a team to come together, admit mistakes, talk openly, but mandatory. Typically, a team needs to be on the same level of management to be able to speak and share without fear repercussions or without leadership losing respect for those under their supervision.
Once a team is established, is communication is not open, then it’s closed. Gossip begins. Secrets are told. Alliances form. Agendas arise. In short, the team is in name only.
Scott, I would like to read your definition of 'sinner'. It seems subjective - with almost as meanings as there are readers.
I like to use a broad definition of sinner, because I think the topic is broad. But before I give you mine, I would like to offer definitions that I have heard.
The first would be a sinner is someone who breaks the ten commandments. This is a definition that defines sin as the breaking of a law or commandment.
Some have said that anything that is done apart from faith in God would be sin. A much more broad view, but one that is less helpful in what I am trying to get at.
C.S. Lewis in "Mere Christianity" stated that sin could be defined as missing the mark. This is the definition that I like best, because it describes our human nature in a fashion that I think is most accurate. We are famous for New Year Resolutions that we don't keep. The gyms are always full in January and empty in September. We miss the mark in all kinds of ways. We are put in a circumstance where we break a promise to our children, we don't meet a deadline for a client, we make mistakes. We are inherently flawed and we express that most clearly in our culture by saying, "I'm only human". This character trait that exists among us is the trait that must be addressed for teams to come together and grow.
So my definition of being a sinner, is that I can often miss the mark that I am aiming for. What ever mark it is.
Russ Duker,
The last statement in your first paragraph is who I am trying to reach with this book project that I have been working on. You state that teams have to be on the same level otherwise leadership will loose respect for those under their supervision".
Leadership that believes they must not admit mistakes and can't talk openly or they will loose respect from their teams, in fact loose their teams. They loose the teams they are leading because if they don't do these things, don't lead with humility acknowledging that they miss the mark they will become viewed as a hypocrits. Gossip has no choice but to begin as other team members feel the outrage of the facade the leader is carrying on with. And then because the leader sets the example, being closed and not open with his broken parts, the whole team follows the example and there is no team.
Scott, thanks for the definition. The C S Lewis discussion is helpful. It gives me a better reference for your use of 'sinner'. It seems that most uses of sinner is in a context of inadequacies vs. a mix of inadequacies and unimaginable possibilities.
I really like your response R D. Makes for a topic discussion.
The last few posts have been great. I think you are getting closer to drafting your book.
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