Reflections
MEET THE PERFECT MANAGER
By James F. Hind
It's one of those Sundays. The words of the sermon echo over my head. The "stained-glass" saints look my way, but there is no eye contact. The longer the choir sings, "Nearer My God to Thee," the more my thoughts wander. My mind is racing to itemize a "to be done" list for the coming week. Nothing said, sung, or shown to me that day in church seems relevant to my world the world of business. Driving home, I feel guilty for not being more attentive, for not trying to relate biblical principles to my world to make them work in my work. I want to feel what that church hymn is saying. But the more I ponder my dilemma, the more I realize how wide the gap is between church and business. What has Christ dying on a cross early in the first century got to do with my trying to achieve economic growth for a company in the late twentieth century?
As a businessman, I have wrestled with that question for thirty years. And I find that I am not alone. Most of my peers also fail to see a close connection. There is an attitude common to professional people that church and business exist in two unrelated worlds a Sunday one and a workaday one. Christianity is not viewed as an integral part of the business culture.
The chief executive of a large American corporation once remarked, "I don't like to go to church on Sunday because it makes me feel soft and generous with too much feeling and not enough tough-minded objectivity." This attitude is not too surprising since most companies reward competency, not caring. Qualities of the head-tough-minded, realistic thought are reinforced, while qualities of the heart-softness, feeling and generosity are negated.
This means that whether we're monitoring a machine on the factory floor or addressing a board of directors, Christians are confronted with stresses, strains, and temptations. We often have to compromise in order to succeed in a survival-of-the-fittest environment. We "go along to get along."
The dilemma for the Christian business person, then, is how to combine tough-minded, realistic thought (which is successful business) with softness, feeling, and generosity (which is successful Christianity).
I believe this can be done by studying and emulating Jesus Christ in His role as a manager. Granted, running a business cannot compare with ushering in the kingdom of God but surely the timeless principles of human understanding we gain from studying Jesus are applicable to managing people everywhere.
First of all, Jesus didn't see His disciples as objects to be manipulated for His success, but as human beings to be inspired and developed. He paid close attention to the individual weaknesses of the disciples and tailored His counsel accordingly, always addressing the issue and never "dressing down" the person.
He interested them in what they could be, changing their expectations of success. In doing so, He helped them achieve far beyond their abilities.
Jesus was a master at spotting the key potential in His disciples, seeing their strengths and weaknesses, and shaping and modeling them into greatness. In Peter, for example, He recognized leadership strengths, but He also saw that Peter was too self-assertive, too demanding of recognition and too prone to overreach his abilities. Jesus pointed out to him that a person may stand high in the world's judgment, but find that God's evaluation is very different.
Despite Peter's weaknesses, even his betrayal of His master, Jesus never condemned him or said, "I told you so." He simply continued to lovingly support Peter's strengths until he gradually became what he was meant to be the recognized leader of the church.
In Andrew, Peter's brother, Jesus saw and nurtured a sharply different potential. He appreciated Andrew's selflessness. Here was a man who didn't seek after the leadership of the disciples nor the limelight of fame. Andrew embodied the essence of Jesus' teaching on servanthood. So, Jesus helped Andrew develop into a "facilitator," one who would assist others in accomplishing their work. The Christian world today remembers Andrew as a saint who served to his fullest potential.
Jesus must have had His hands full with the ambitions of James and John. They were overly ambitious managers who, in a power play, tried to organize the disciples' power structure so that James would sit at Christ's right and John at Christ's left in heaven. It was office politics at its worst.
But Jesus knew that power can be good or evil, according to the heart of the person who used it. He redirected the brothers' testy temperaments, teaching them that real power lies in being selfless. Transformed by Jesus' technique, they became pillars of the early church.
Finally, Jesus showed Matthew the futility of a life which aimed only at heaping up riches. Instead of collecting taxes and using his pen to keep a ledger, Matthew had his talents redirected. He collected the sayings of Jesus and penned a gospel account of His life. Jesus apparently knew the distinctive talents of Matthew and how to put them to the best possible use.
The key point here is that despite the many shortcomings of His management team their diverse personalities and internal disagreements Jesus Christ molded this group of ordinary men into a "glorious company." They initiated and organized Christianity, which today is the largest religion in the world.
The corporate culture of Christ was built around concern and care for others, not Himself. He controlled His self-regard and promoted humility of the heart. That gave Him an overwhelming appeal.
This theme of putting self-importance aside and serving others was Christ's key strategy in making His vision, the coming of the kingdom of God, come alive.
Notice that Jesus didn't use the "hard sell," bulldozing people into His ways of thinking and doing. Nor did He use the "soft sell," hoping to influence them on the sly.
Rather, he wooed and courted His listeners, never forgetting their needs. He faithfully promoted and practiced the most important principle of motivation: People want to know how much you care before they care how much you know. Jesus understood that self-motivation is to be cherished and nurtured among others and it was with this management philosophy that He brought out the best in people, by pulling (not pushing) them along.
Of course, while Christ worked hard at being conciliatory, He was not always free from quarrels and disagreements. When confronted, He could be realistic and very tough-minded.
Jesus got very angry when He saw businessmen (money changers) charging exorbitant prices to exchange currency for payment of the annual temple tax. They were exploiting the poor and making excessive profits in the name of religion. He called them hypocrites and crooks and personally stopped their dealings. It was always clear where Christ stood on issues of integrity.
Like any leader with a sense of urgency to get the job done, Christ sometimes became impatient and irritated with His management team (the disciples). And He wasn't afraid to let them know it. "Do you not have eyes to see?" "Do you not have ears to listen?" "Are you as dull as the rest?" Jesus was bothered by His disciples preoccupation with prominence and survival. They either could not understand or failed to manage the issue at hand which was service for the benefit for others.
Notice too, that He never supported political behavior where people used power, cunning, or deceit to shade the truth or attack others from their "blind side." He had no time for what is often referred to as "office politics." Instead, Jesus managed His personal relationships openly and honestly. And He demanded the same of His disciples.
He stressed teamwork, promoting a spirit of cooperation, not competitive individualism among the apostles. He would not allow any "we/they" barriers. At the same time He recognized people's driving instincts to achieve personal success and greatness in their work. He promoted a spirited competition among the apostles, but not the kind where one jockeys for position against a standard of excellence the achievement of fullness of life.
Thus, Christ's disciples, men of different but special talents, were able to accomplish far more by working together than by working against each other.
Christ's strongest leadership trait, then, was His servant spirit. By being a servant leader, He was able to motivate people by helping them reach their fullest potential. This is management at its best, and it easily be translated into today's business world.
If modern managers followed Christ's example, they would view themselves as developers of people, not as "take-charge" heroes. They would help others thrive and flourish, and in doing so they themselves would succeed to their utmost.
Of course, you don't have to be subservient to be a "servant leader." Servant leadership is not weak and submissive. Rather, it puts self-serving interests and ego gratification aside with the goal of developing others.
Further, practicing servant leadership does not mean that you cast aside personal ambition. It recognizes your "driving instinct" to want to achieve success and greatness in your work. But remember, ambition is healthy only when worthwhile goals are achieved, not at the expense of, but with the help of, others. Ambition is the most mature, "not when we know what we want and how to get it, but when we understand what we possess and how to give it."
Finally, servant leadership does not abolish the tough demands a good manager must place upon others, such as discipline, excellence, and hard work. But it does make management more effective by giving it a new dimension by adding the insight of the servant heart to the toughness of the corporate mind.
Again, the keystone of servant leadership is concern for others and communicating this attitude through actions that say, "I'm for you." The Apostle Paul's instructions sum up the servant leadership message this way; you must see others as worthy of preferential treatment (see Philippians 2:2).
When management is dedicated to this higher spiritual purpose, it brings a sense of special significance to the workplace. It inspires and enlists the devotion of your people.
It is the "high touch" aspects of servant leadership that breeds quality productivity in people and makes for effective management. And it is through this concern for others that management can make its greatest contribution to the growth of people who will, in turn, contribute to the growth of your business.
James Hind is a business consultant in Knoxville, TN. This article has been adapted with permission from his book, The Heart and Soul of Effective Management (Victor Books), which develops these ideas in depth.
Reprinted from Marketplace Networks, Spring 1990, Copyright 1990, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, Marketplace ® Department, 6400 Schroeder Rd., Madison, WI 53711.
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