“But he promised …” or “she said she had a buyer lined up” are not good excuses in my business for failing to address a borrower’s delinquency. Compassion and reasonable forbearance may be acceptable within reason, but simply taking a borrower’s word for it – particularly when most of our borrowers are real estate speculators – isn’t considered to be very smart business practice.
"Love … always trusts” says 1 Corinthians 13:7. Always? Isn’t that a recipe for being walked all over, being constantly hurt or disappointed, and opening ourselves up to being ripped off by all and sundry? On a business level, it just isn’t how things are done is it? Gone are the days when deals were struck with a handshake and the “word of a gentleman”. So what on earth is Paul talking about?
Perhaps a good place to start is asking whether Jesus took this approach? Did He always trust what was said to Him, or entrust Himself to others? How about John 2:23-25 (emphasis mine)? “Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the miraculous signs he was doing and believed in his name. But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all men. He did not need man's testimony about man, for he knew what was in a man.”
So most likely this isn’t about blind, naïve trust – we need to know what is in a (wo)man. Perhaps Jesus’ statement to the disciples “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves” (Matthew 10:16) is helpful. Trusting in this context involves looking for the best, expecting others to be honest and ethical, but still taking the necessary precautions in case they are not.
In business, the precautions involve legal documentation of the consequences of non-performance in a contract. For example, if a borrower doesn’t make the loan payments promised, they stand to lose the property against which they have borrowed. I’ll take a shot at the current residential foreclosures debate in an upcoming Justice @ Work post, but the key here is that it is prudent to in some way insure against dishonesty or failure to keep promises to minimize the damage.
On a personal level, there are precautions we should take too. “Love always trusts” suggests that we should expect the best, but prepare for the worst. Some people have been hurt and disappointed so much that they have become gun-shy, and feel that they’d rather never take the risk of trusting another person. I have been fortunate on the other hand, and have suffered relatively few personal disappointments and as a result tend to assume another person is trustworthy regardless of evidence to the contrary. Either extreme has its dangers. Trust without precautions may be an unnecessary risk, but failure to trust runs all sorts of other risks (failure to build relationships, loss of business opportunities, etc). If we are “shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves” we will have our eyes open, and take all reasonable precautions, but at the same time we will believe in the other person and take the risk of allowing them to show their trustworthiness.
With this balance, it is indeed not just possible, but mandatory, for love to always trust.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Friday, October 15, 2010
Vacation @ Work – Return
Why is it that vacations seem to lose their effect so quickly? Just an hour back at work and it’s as though I was never gone! In fact, it’s a real struggle not to spend the last couple of days thinking about what might be waiting for me on my return to work.
Am I the only one who feels like nothing got done while I was away, and that the clear instructions I thought I’d left somehow didn’t get followed? Or that no old crises were resolved but several new ones have arisen? Or that the activities that had plenty of time to complete have now become emergencies because no progress was made.
No wonder returning to work is so hard sometimes. In my case, I found a complex deal not advanced, a legal issue not noticed, negotiations with a tax authority on a go-slow, and hold ups for a cash influx that would cover our end of October payroll. None of this is really so out of the ordinary. The question is how do we handle it?
In theory, I returned from vacation refreshed, reinvigorated and ready to go. In practice, I must confess that this deluge of disappointment got me down within an hour of my arrival back. When I say it got me down, what it really did was to drag my eyes down – looking at the immediate challenges and issues and no longer looking to the sovereign, gracious God who called me here in the first place. How easily we can fall sometimes!
Where was my gratitude to my colleagues for keeping things going (even if not in the way I would have done them) so that I could take time off? Where was my acknowledgement that if things didn’t get finished, they wouldn’t necessarily have done if I’d been here (certainly true of some of them)? Why was I not prepared to admit that it was my poor preparation and delegation that had led to some of my disappointments? You’d think I’d learn.
OK enough self-flagellation! There are several lessons here to be learned I think.
Am I the only one who feels like nothing got done while I was away, and that the clear instructions I thought I’d left somehow didn’t get followed? Or that no old crises were resolved but several new ones have arisen? Or that the activities that had plenty of time to complete have now become emergencies because no progress was made.
No wonder returning to work is so hard sometimes. In my case, I found a complex deal not advanced, a legal issue not noticed, negotiations with a tax authority on a go-slow, and hold ups for a cash influx that would cover our end of October payroll. None of this is really so out of the ordinary. The question is how do we handle it?
In theory, I returned from vacation refreshed, reinvigorated and ready to go. In practice, I must confess that this deluge of disappointment got me down within an hour of my arrival back. When I say it got me down, what it really did was to drag my eyes down – looking at the immediate challenges and issues and no longer looking to the sovereign, gracious God who called me here in the first place. How easily we can fall sometimes!
Where was my gratitude to my colleagues for keeping things going (even if not in the way I would have done them) so that I could take time off? Where was my acknowledgement that if things didn’t get finished, they wouldn’t necessarily have done if I’d been here (certainly true of some of them)? Why was I not prepared to admit that it was my poor preparation and delegation that had led to some of my disappointments? You’d think I’d learn.
OK enough self-flagellation! There are several lessons here to be learned I think.
- Vacations provide an opportunity not just to relax and rest, but also to refocus ad recharge. This is done by taking time with God, extending devotional times, walking or sitting with Him, talking through difficult spiritual matters, and sharing love with others.
- Preparation for vacations is important – providing clear statements of expectations from others (and making sure they’re reasonable)
- Preparation for return to work is more than just forcing stress and worry under the rug till we get back. We must expect surprises and approach them with the healthier perspective our vacation should have provided.
- While we are on vacation, others are trying to take up the slack – their stress and workload have gone up. Recognizing this with gratitude is far better than complaining about shortcomings.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Vacation @ Work – Camping
Just two work days to vacation – I can’t wait. I need this break so badly. But why? Aren’t vacations a modern invention? Not according to the Bible.
The stress level lately has been so high that even 11 hours on a plane to London is amazingly attractive. But part of me feels like if I was “giving everything to God”, if I was fully experiencing His peace, then I wouldn’t need a break so badly. However, since I’m no paragon of virtue, vacation is very much a necessity.
As it turns out, this is quite biblical. I was recently researching the Jewish feast of Succot, known as the Feast of Booths or Tabernacles. (This was for a sermon on Nehemiah 8 and John 7, both of which occur around this festival). It lasts 8 days, starts and ends with a party, and in the middle everybody goes camping. Seriously! Take a look at the instructions in Leviticus 23: “Celebrate this as a festival to the LORD for seven days each year. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come; celebrate it in the seventh month. Live in booths for seven days: All native-born Israelites are to live in booths so your descendants will know that I had the Israelites live in booths when I brought them out of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.” (v 41-43). This vacation is a time to refocus on God’s gracious provision for us, a time to get our perspective back – our Sovereign God is in control and will provide for our needs as we fit into His plan. The Jews were to live out the memory of their wandering in the wilderness when they were absolutely dependent on God, but He came through with everything they needed.
We need a break from our daily work for several reasons. For some of us, the work environment is very stressful due to business conditions, or difficult boss or co-worker, or a sense of being out of our depth. For some it is very tedious and mind-numbing. For some it is physically exhausting and for other mentally exhausting. In all these cases we need a break, a rest – a time for our bodies and minds to heal and to be rejuvenated. In our vacations we should be seeking re-creation – renewal of minds, bodies and spirits.
But just as much we need to be restored spiritually. No matter how hard we try it seems as though work concerns swamp our relationship with God, and vacation allows us to step back from it and put God firmly back in the center of our lives. There is time to reflect, to rebuild relationships with Him and with friends and family. There is time to simply enjoy Him and His creation.
Some people don’t take their vacations, and think they’re heroes. I am not supportive of this attitude in my staff – I strongly encourage them to take decent vacations and not to carry over a whole lot, because I haven’t met anyway who couldn’t benefit from a good vacation. How the vacation is spent will of course impact its value – but I can’t influence that.
As for me, I’m off to England in autumn – camping of course – not!
The stress level lately has been so high that even 11 hours on a plane to London is amazingly attractive. But part of me feels like if I was “giving everything to God”, if I was fully experiencing His peace, then I wouldn’t need a break so badly. However, since I’m no paragon of virtue, vacation is very much a necessity.
As it turns out, this is quite biblical. I was recently researching the Jewish feast of Succot, known as the Feast of Booths or Tabernacles. (This was for a sermon on Nehemiah 8 and John 7, both of which occur around this festival). It lasts 8 days, starts and ends with a party, and in the middle everybody goes camping. Seriously! Take a look at the instructions in Leviticus 23: “Celebrate this as a festival to the LORD for seven days each year. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come; celebrate it in the seventh month. Live in booths for seven days: All native-born Israelites are to live in booths so your descendants will know that I had the Israelites live in booths when I brought them out of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.” (v 41-43). This vacation is a time to refocus on God’s gracious provision for us, a time to get our perspective back – our Sovereign God is in control and will provide for our needs as we fit into His plan. The Jews were to live out the memory of their wandering in the wilderness when they were absolutely dependent on God, but He came through with everything they needed.
We need a break from our daily work for several reasons. For some of us, the work environment is very stressful due to business conditions, or difficult boss or co-worker, or a sense of being out of our depth. For some it is very tedious and mind-numbing. For some it is physically exhausting and for other mentally exhausting. In all these cases we need a break, a rest – a time for our bodies and minds to heal and to be rejuvenated. In our vacations we should be seeking re-creation – renewal of minds, bodies and spirits.
But just as much we need to be restored spiritually. No matter how hard we try it seems as though work concerns swamp our relationship with God, and vacation allows us to step back from it and put God firmly back in the center of our lives. There is time to reflect, to rebuild relationships with Him and with friends and family. There is time to simply enjoy Him and His creation.
Some people don’t take their vacations, and think they’re heroes. I am not supportive of this attitude in my staff – I strongly encourage them to take decent vacations and not to carry over a whole lot, because I haven’t met anyway who couldn’t benefit from a good vacation. How the vacation is spent will of course impact its value – but I can’t influence that.
As for me, I’m off to England in autumn – camping of course – not!
Monday, September 27, 2010
Love @ Work Always Protects
There’s nothing better than a juicy piece of gossip at the water cooler is there? Except, of course, when it’s about you. Then harmless gossip suddenly looks like hateful slander.
The NIV translation of the first part of 1 Corinthians 13:7 says that love “always protects”. The King James and many derivative translations have “bears all things”. Apparently the original Greek word stegei actually means “covers” – it is derived from a root word meaning “roof”. There are a few ways in which love covers all things. God has shown us what this looks like with His own example toward us.
The NIV translation of the first part of 1 Corinthians 13:7 says that love “always protects”. The King James and many derivative translations have “bears all things”. Apparently the original Greek word stegei actually means “covers” – it is derived from a root word meaning “roof”. There are a few ways in which love covers all things. God has shown us what this looks like with His own example toward us.
- Love holds secret those things that would have a negative impact on others, unless it is essential for some reason to share them with someone else. Love does not gossip. Period! God’s example: He covers all of our faults, failings and sins because of His grace. In other words He forgives us so thoroughly that He acts as though we had not sinned (even though the consequences of our sins will generally still get played out).
- Even deeper, there is an allusion to the Hebrew concept of covering as a form of redemption. Love will carry the burden (hence “bears all things”) and will protect others from the implications of their actions (“always protects”). This appears in the idea of the kinsman-redeemer (Leviticus 25:25) which is better known in the story of Ruth (4:1), who provides a cover for Ruth by purchasing her from poverty and loneliness to be his wife (and a direct ancestor of the Messiah Jesus!). God’s example: He provides a Redeemer – one who will take the most serious consequence of our sin, which is eternal separation from God, and buy us out of it.
- The word is also used with the sense or bearing with, or forbearing (e.g. 1 Thessalonians 3:1,5). God’s example: it is obvious that God is constantly bearing with us – our rebellions, our tantrums, our stubborn pride. We’d need to be pretty self-delusional to deny this!
- We will not gossip about other employees, whether we’re sure of the facts or not. We will in fact restrict our communications to those that are strictly essential to the good of the employee and the company. This isn’t always an easy judgment, but it is much narrower than most people’s practice would imply.
- We will forgive and in that sense cover over wrongs done to us, on the grounds that we have been forgiven far, far more by the gracious God who made us. (See e.g. the parable of the unforgiving servant in Matthew 18:23-35).
- We will bear with the ongoing faults of others, just as we need God (and actually other people) to bear with ours. Oh boy this is hard isn’t it? How hard must it be for God to love us though – surely in response it makes sense for us to seek through the Holy Spirit in us to move in the direction of doing the same?
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Justice @ Work – Rationalizing
What is the biggest challenge to justice in the workplace? Is it greed? Or selfishness? Or hunger for power? Much less obvious, but insidious and almost universal is rationalization. I suffer from it – so probably do you.
Raymond Chandler says “However toplofty and idealistic a man may be, he can always rationalize his right to earn money.” How true! Rationalizing is a technique we use to convince ourselves that some action or outcome that we might otherwise find morally questionable is in fact OK. For example a person evades paying taxes and then rationalizes it by talking about how the government wastes money (and how it is better for people to keep what they can). Or I excuse the difference between what I earn and what our receptionist earns by any one of a number of things:
My point here is that we can find an excuse for any action whatever if we want to. So how do we catch ourselves from going down what my boss calls “the slippery slope”. I am fortunate in having a boss who is very ethical (almost to a fault in that he pushes an ethical point so far in favor of one group that it damages another group – it is often a zero-sum game). Given the extreme financial challenges we’re facing – he as owner and I as his operations executive – we have plenty of scope for going down a path that is expedient but not ethical, that skirts the law, or that benefits one party at the expense of another.
There are rarely straightforward answers. He is open to my perspective on Biblical justice (though doesn’t necessarily agree) – but that’s not always clear-cut either. What we do have is a willingness to challenge each other, pointing out the beginning of the “slippery slope” and pulling one another back. I’m very blessed. So my recommendation is that, whatever your work situation, you try to find someone with whom you can talk through business decisions, large or small, to challenge you and hold you accountable to stop rationalizing.
The other approach is always to seek to see situations through God’s eyes. This sounds impossible, but to a degree I’m convinced it is not. “Pray continually” (1 Thessalonians 5:17) means keeping our communication channels with God open in everything at all times. Combined with daily, in-depth, Bible reading and study we can truly see God’s perspective to the extent our limitations allow. And God does not rationalize!
Raymond Chandler says “However toplofty and idealistic a man may be, he can always rationalize his right to earn money.” How true! Rationalizing is a technique we use to convince ourselves that some action or outcome that we might otherwise find morally questionable is in fact OK. For example a person evades paying taxes and then rationalizes it by talking about how the government wastes money (and how it is better for people to keep what they can). Or I excuse the difference between what I earn and what our receptionist earns by any one of a number of things:
- We’re in a capitalist society in which prices (including labor) are driven by supply and demand
- The company would be impacting far more by my leaving than hers
- She’s become accustomed to living on much less than me
- And so on
My point here is that we can find an excuse for any action whatever if we want to. So how do we catch ourselves from going down what my boss calls “the slippery slope”. I am fortunate in having a boss who is very ethical (almost to a fault in that he pushes an ethical point so far in favor of one group that it damages another group – it is often a zero-sum game). Given the extreme financial challenges we’re facing – he as owner and I as his operations executive – we have plenty of scope for going down a path that is expedient but not ethical, that skirts the law, or that benefits one party at the expense of another.
There are rarely straightforward answers. He is open to my perspective on Biblical justice (though doesn’t necessarily agree) – but that’s not always clear-cut either. What we do have is a willingness to challenge each other, pointing out the beginning of the “slippery slope” and pulling one another back. I’m very blessed. So my recommendation is that, whatever your work situation, you try to find someone with whom you can talk through business decisions, large or small, to challenge you and hold you accountable to stop rationalizing.
The other approach is always to seek to see situations through God’s eyes. This sounds impossible, but to a degree I’m convinced it is not. “Pray continually” (1 Thessalonians 5:17) means keeping our communication channels with God open in everything at all times. Combined with daily, in-depth, Bible reading and study we can truly see God’s perspective to the extent our limitations allow. And God does not rationalize!
Friday, September 17, 2010
Love @ Work Rejoices with the Truth
“You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32).
“There are few nudities so objectionable as the naked truth.” (Agnes Repplier).
Discuss.
The Truth is a tricky beast. Yes I know I’m supposed to love it, but there are times when (a) I’d rather not know, or (b) I’d rather nobody else knew. Whether it’s truth about me or you, both apply.
Of course Jesus was talking about a different kind of Truth wasn’t he? Wasn’t he? Well at least it was Truth about God, about life, and about reality. His Truth goes so much deeper than factual stuff. But it is hard to deny that the factual stuff is a part of Truth.
OK so let’s explore this idea that “love … rejoices with the truth” (1 Corinthians 13:6). First it is in opposition to last week’s phrase “love does not delight in evil”. In a sense it is like one of those proverbs that uses poetic parallelism to give a positive and a negative way of saying the same thing, like “A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish son grief to his mother” (Proverbs 10:1). It emphasizes the point, just as our present clause does.
We should expect, therefore, that this is the flip side of the coin from not delighting in evil, and so I believe it proves to be. Not only do we not have little internal parties when our rival falls flat on his or her face, but we DO have such a party when our rival has pulls off something that improves their position. OK it was hard enough damping down our enthusiasm for the other person’s failure, but surely we don’t need to get all pumped up because they did something well do we? Or do we? Well of course we know the answer.
I don’t know about you, but I often draw the line when their success impacts me negatively. It would be like a soccer team all jumping for joy when the other team scores on them! I mean, come on – have you ever seen that?
The other aspect of this is in our truth-telling. I’m not sure about “the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth” (I have some sympathy for the “naked truth” quote at the beginning) but truth without embroidery, exaggeration, or avoidance. There are times the truth, particularly about someone else, is unnecessary. If it is necessary there are ways to tell it – compassionate, confidential and constructive would be good words to apply. Without these, the truth easily becomes the “evil” of the previous phrase.
Underlying all these, though, is Jesus quote – “you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free”. His Truth shows us the reality of who we and others are, how much we are valued and loved, how rich are God’s plans for us (both together and individually), and just Who is really in charge. Now that is truly Truth we can rejoice in, Truth that transforms every action, word and even thought in the workplace.
“There are few nudities so objectionable as the naked truth.” (Agnes Repplier).
Discuss.
The Truth is a tricky beast. Yes I know I’m supposed to love it, but there are times when (a) I’d rather not know, or (b) I’d rather nobody else knew. Whether it’s truth about me or you, both apply.
Of course Jesus was talking about a different kind of Truth wasn’t he? Wasn’t he? Well at least it was Truth about God, about life, and about reality. His Truth goes so much deeper than factual stuff. But it is hard to deny that the factual stuff is a part of Truth.
OK so let’s explore this idea that “love … rejoices with the truth” (1 Corinthians 13:6). First it is in opposition to last week’s phrase “love does not delight in evil”. In a sense it is like one of those proverbs that uses poetic parallelism to give a positive and a negative way of saying the same thing, like “A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish son grief to his mother” (Proverbs 10:1). It emphasizes the point, just as our present clause does.
We should expect, therefore, that this is the flip side of the coin from not delighting in evil, and so I believe it proves to be. Not only do we not have little internal parties when our rival falls flat on his or her face, but we DO have such a party when our rival has pulls off something that improves their position. OK it was hard enough damping down our enthusiasm for the other person’s failure, but surely we don’t need to get all pumped up because they did something well do we? Or do we? Well of course we know the answer.
I don’t know about you, but I often draw the line when their success impacts me negatively. It would be like a soccer team all jumping for joy when the other team scores on them! I mean, come on – have you ever seen that?
The other aspect of this is in our truth-telling. I’m not sure about “the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth” (I have some sympathy for the “naked truth” quote at the beginning) but truth without embroidery, exaggeration, or avoidance. There are times the truth, particularly about someone else, is unnecessary. If it is necessary there are ways to tell it – compassionate, confidential and constructive would be good words to apply. Without these, the truth easily becomes the “evil” of the previous phrase.
Underlying all these, though, is Jesus quote – “you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free”. His Truth shows us the reality of who we and others are, how much we are valued and loved, how rich are God’s plans for us (both together and individually), and just Who is really in charge. Now that is truly Truth we can rejoice in, Truth that transforms every action, word and even thought in the workplace.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Justice @ Work – Restoration
I had dinner at an amazing restaurant in Charlotte, NC on Saturday. The King’s Kitchen employs solely the “unemployable” and devotes all its profits to feeding the poor in Charlotte. The employees are typically people trying to reenter the workforce after prison, or addiction recoveries or other major problems, or else at-risk youth. It was opened by a local master chef (Jim Noble) earlier this year and is an amazing picture of the merging of gifts, talents and resources for God’s Kingdom. Appropriately it is a “Soul Food” restaurant – providing far more for the soul than the eponymous Southern cuisine. See http://www.kingskitchen.org/ for more information and, if you’re ever in Charlotte, visit – you’ll find that the service in particular is quite outstanding!
Chef Noble was determined to combine his great culinary and restaurant management skills with his passion for justice. Unfortunately I just missed the opportunity to meet him – a broadcaster friend had interviewed him and been blown away by his faith-driven passion for the marginalized in society.
It raises for me a really significant question of justice in the workplace – that of restoring those who have in some way failed in their duties to society. Our faith is all about restoration isn’t it? Without God’s mercy and grace we wouldn’t have a chance. Paul’s letter to the Romans is particularly clear on this point, but really it is one of the key messages of the whole of Scripture. Who are we, then, to deny restoration to those who have failed in the workplace?
It isn’t always that simple though. How do we balance business risks against grace? If someone has failed in the past, aren’t we risking our company’s money by giving them another chance? I recently supported the hiring of an attorney who had been suspended by the state bar association, had gone through all his required rehabilitation steps, and was trying to reenter the legal profession. Unfortunately, he isn’t performing well at all. There was a risk that doesn’t seem to be paying off – does that make my decision wrong?
In a more general sense, we face this challenge all the time. In a way it is related to the question of forgiveness, which I’ve written about elsewhere (http://faithatworkplace.blogspot.com/2010/08/love-work-keeps-no-record-of-wrongs.html). We face the same tension of our business responsibilities and our desire to show love to the individual. As managers we have a responsibility to our employers, our employees and ourselves to do everything we can to coach through challenges, to address performance issues and to overcome weaknesses before we give up on someone. As colleagues, peer coaching is equally important (and often terribly underestimated in value).
Bottom line – nobody, thank God, is beyond redemption. But redemption may involve a change of job or responsibilities. For those staff at The King’s Kitchen, who are doing such an amazing job, restoration means a completely new career, a new way of living. For us as managers and colleagues, the same may need to be proposed and made to happen. Even if we are forced to part ways with an employee because there is no alternative in our company for them, the approach must be one of helping them to see and seek true restoration in a different environment. In our loving actions and prayers, may we be able to help!
Chef Noble was determined to combine his great culinary and restaurant management skills with his passion for justice. Unfortunately I just missed the opportunity to meet him – a broadcaster friend had interviewed him and been blown away by his faith-driven passion for the marginalized in society.
It raises for me a really significant question of justice in the workplace – that of restoring those who have in some way failed in their duties to society. Our faith is all about restoration isn’t it? Without God’s mercy and grace we wouldn’t have a chance. Paul’s letter to the Romans is particularly clear on this point, but really it is one of the key messages of the whole of Scripture. Who are we, then, to deny restoration to those who have failed in the workplace?
It isn’t always that simple though. How do we balance business risks against grace? If someone has failed in the past, aren’t we risking our company’s money by giving them another chance? I recently supported the hiring of an attorney who had been suspended by the state bar association, had gone through all his required rehabilitation steps, and was trying to reenter the legal profession. Unfortunately, he isn’t performing well at all. There was a risk that doesn’t seem to be paying off – does that make my decision wrong?
In a more general sense, we face this challenge all the time. In a way it is related to the question of forgiveness, which I’ve written about elsewhere (http://faithatworkplace.blogspot.com/2010/08/love-work-keeps-no-record-of-wrongs.html). We face the same tension of our business responsibilities and our desire to show love to the individual. As managers we have a responsibility to our employers, our employees and ourselves to do everything we can to coach through challenges, to address performance issues and to overcome weaknesses before we give up on someone. As colleagues, peer coaching is equally important (and often terribly underestimated in value).
Bottom line – nobody, thank God, is beyond redemption. But redemption may involve a change of job or responsibilities. For those staff at The King’s Kitchen, who are doing such an amazing job, restoration means a completely new career, a new way of living. For us as managers and colleagues, the same may need to be proposed and made to happen. Even if we are forced to part ways with an employee because there is no alternative in our company for them, the approach must be one of helping them to see and seek true restoration in a different environment. In our loving actions and prayers, may we be able to help!
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