Monday, February 21, 2011
Working in Agreement!
Two men were riding a bicycle built for two when they came to a big steep hill. It took a great deal of struggle for the men to complete what proved to be a very stiff climb. When they got to the top the man in front turned to the other and said, "Boy, that sure was a hard climb." The fellow in back replied, "Yes, and if I hadn't kept the brakes on all the way we would certainly have rolled down backwards." Funny story and yet there are truths to be discovered in the story. In the book of Amos 3:3 it says, "Can two walk together, except they be agreed?" We have in the Bible the greatest guidelines for walking together and working together in agreement. All that we do, must be done in love all the while preferring the other person or the others. Does it sound impossible? Have you been in groups, christian or others, where the leader is peddling with all his might only to have others putting on the brakes creating great resistance. How could the back rider in the bicycle story have not seen what he was doing to the front or lead rider? Maybe fear blinded him or rebellion or maybe he was just mean spirited. What else can you think of that could have caused such resistance? Would you care to share your thoughts?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
This story just sounds like the second man was ignorant: he didn't believe they could really make it up the hill. He was sure they would fall back down the way they came.
ReplyDeleteIn Amos what comes to mind is passive aggressive behavior. A former boss tells me to drop everything and work on something that is very urgent. Assessing what it is that I am to work on, I realize it is unimportant and not worth doing. I work on it anyway. The next day he tells me to stop that and work on this other new thing. I remind him about the current "urgent" thing I am working on, and he says, "Leave that for now, I need you to work on this." I clarify with him what he wants me to do, and when he wants it. I also ask him when he wants the "other urgent" thing done. He can't tell me when the former urgent thing needs done, but the current one needs doing right away. I tell him when I can have it done, and begin working on urgent item number 2. A few days later, the same thing happens. I realize he is always in a panic. By now he has forgotten completely about urgent item number 1. He can't even remember what it is when I try to remind him about it. I then realize I'm spinning my wheels. Every time I start something, he puts on the brakes and gets me going a different direction. This makes him feel like he is in control, and he is making the project go faster. In actuality, he is making it go slower.
Now I could just confront him on how what he is asked me to do telling him it is unproductive. In fact I have done this, and I am told "I know you think this is dumb, but I really need this done." I can confront him on how he jerks me around, and it is unproductive, and he goes off on how we need to do things as if there is a fire to put out, that this really is the best way to develop a new product. So I have figured out he is not a team player. I could go to his boss, but his boss thinks he is the best manager that ever was, because my boss always hops and jumps to do whatever his boss asks him too.
So I take the passive aggressive approach, and don't do anything he asks me to do unless he asks for it 3 time. I go back to working on what is important. A few days later, he has something new. I clarify what it is, but unless he asks for it 3 times, I don't work on it. I don't tell him, I will have it when I could really have it done. I tell him when I think I will have it done, when he has asked me the 3rd time. He rarely asks me a second time. I am happier. He is happy, because he feels like he is really contributing to the project. The project gets done because what is really important is being worked on.
We were not aligned in our methods. We were aligned in our goal, to create a new project to sell and make money. I could have said "I quit", but I knew eventually he would be found out for the kind of manager he really was. And I was right: 2 years later, he was gone.
Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. Matt. 10:16 In this case, God showed me how to do what is right for the company, without tearing down my boss, or going behind his back, or bad mouthing him. The goal was accomplished, though not as smoothly or as efficiently as it could have been.