Leaving a Management Position – Part 3

Colossians 1:9-12: … we have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God. May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. 

In Part 2 we recognized that change is not easy and can often be very challenging to our faith life. In this final segment, I want to discuss how challenging times can always result in growth—if we let it. 

Times of physical, emotional, circumstantial and spiritual challenge give us the opportunity to learn the lessons we need to in order to move on.  Our control issues, which were nicely hidden (thank you) in big jobs, come out full-force when we are insecure because of change.  Our sense of time changes dramatically:  we become acutely sensitive to time when we are waiting to hear from future employers, clients, buyers, investors or others. We are not used to having the time to go to the gym, catch up on reading or correspondence, bake or be with children.  When we do not know what the future will bring, or–more specifically–when that future will arrive, we forget that we are the reflection of divine light.  We need to live in the unknowing.  We do not like doing that. And so we are cranky, or in overdrive, don’t sleep, challenge the spending of every penny, or start to indulge in our addictions—a chocolate fudge sundae, anyone?

To ignore the change in circumstances is to ignore reality.  It is good to mourn the past, at least briefly.  But by focusing on the future, we can proceed on our path.

Rather than praying for certain outcomes (“Please, God, I just need this one contract to come through!”), we need to pray for the lessons to be learned.  The outcome will take care of itself.   For example, rather than praying to get a certain project or piece of work, our prayer needs to be that we always be grateful and ready to learn from life.  Such a prayer allows us to see that Divine Right Action is always at work in our lives.  Divine Right Action is the presence of God in our lives…even in the mysteries and challenges we face. In other words, it is not time to see this development as a punishment from God; no, God is always there and present in our lives, even when it is hard to see his face

If we are very used to a structured life, and now have unstructured time at home, we need to pray for the skills, abilities and talents to live in an unstructured world. We may impose certain structures in the form of routines; we may also learn to float through time for a while. 

If we are changing jobs, or beginning to free-lance, we need to pray for strength.  If I submit a bid for a particular job, I do not pray to get it.  Rather, I pray to be ready and grateful for the right work for me.  Not getting a particular job does not mean the end of the world; rather, it creates an opportunity to be available for something else, or to do other work.  More will be revealed as time goes on. 

If we have moved to more meaningful work, the power and prestige we left behind still may tempt us.  We need to pray for the strength of our conviction. We need to devote real energy to our new work to learn if this is where we belong.  Short-circuiting that process will do us no good.

It is necessary to be in tune with our God, and pray for knowledge of God’s will for us in this time.  We pray so that our path can be revealed to us. We pray that we make the appropriate decisions regarding that path and that we interpret the signs appropriately; that we serve others, love others and walk humbly with our God.   We need to ask that our faith not be shaken in the face of the apparent adversity or major change.

 

 

A PRAYER WHEN LEAVING A MANAGEMENT POSITION:

Lord and Giver of Life, you know that I am facing a transition.  You also know I do not handle the uncertainties of life with the aplomb that I wish I had.  So please guide me so that I do not miss the lessons and opportunities you present to me.  Help me to see the apparent setbacks as part of your divine plan for me.  Help me to release the blocks that hold me back from realizing every opportunity that you present to me.  Help me to grow during this stage, and to become the person I want to be. And while all this wonderfulness is going on, please help me not to be jealous of those whose lives seem to be easier than mine.  I am your unique creature; I am your Love.  Help me to know this fact and dispel any temptations I have to think anything else.  Amen.

 

Essay and Prayer by Kathleen Whiteside Langdon

On Leaving a Management Position – Part 2

Colossians 1:9-12: … we have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God. May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. 

Part 1 briefly discussed some of the very real reasons for both leaving a position and the personal implications such a decision may have for us. I especially emphasized that we need to be prepared to grieve the changes, and to welcome the opportunities for learning.

In Part 2 I want to talk about how we need to recognize that the change will not to be easy, although there may be a honeymoon period during which we are really, really glad the hassles are behind us.  We need to be prepared for the transition time.  The conversion from regular paycheck to occasional work can be trying for the hard-chargers among us who have always measured ourselves by our annual salary.  For those who move from a big job to a little one, perhaps in order to work for our church or a non-profit organization, the difference in the size of the paycheck can be astounding.  And if we are starting a business, the reality of “cash flow” as a problem can be paralyzing.

As we grow in our spirituality, we have to understand the faith reality of moving away from all that we have known and going into the unknown.  There may well be very trying times where we lose our spiritual compass, lose our trust in God, or lose our faith that we will be taken care of. We might become very competitive, we might be tempted to “fudge” or lie to clients or vendors.  In short, this transition can create a dark night for our souls.                                                                                                

However, challenging times can always result in growth—if we let it.  We’ll talk more about this in Part 3. 

Byour  Guest Blogger, Kathleen Whiteside-Langdon. Kathleen and her husband own the consulting business, Performance International; and Kathleen is presently authoring a book for Life Journey entitled Meditations for Spiritually-Centered Working Women!

On Leaving a Management Job – Part 1

Essay Thoughts  From Our Guest Bloggist, Kathleen Whiteside-Langdon…

Colossians 1:9-12: … we have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God. May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. 

As we move on in our journey through life–discovering our path–we may find it appropriate to leave a management job.  Although we may have left several jobs over the course of our career, we may now be leaving a large-scale, relatively powerful position. Maybe we were a partner in a law firm, or an executive with a large company.  We may leave for family reasons; we may be forced to leave, due to merger, acquisition, downsizing or layoff.  Or we may leave because we want work that is more meaningful, more spiritually-centered, work that allows more balance in our lives.  We may leave because we are burned out, or tired of the politics, or the glass ceiling. The content of the work may now bore us to death.  For any of these reasons, we are leaving a job that has attached to it certain privileges, perks and conveniences.

The perks we are saying good-bye to may range from stock options to parking spaces, but they are signs of a changed station in life.  Other perks, such as having a secretary or health insurance, cause us to work differently.  Suddenly, we may need to follow up on promises or send out invoices ourselves.  We may have to purchase insurance, develop marketing plans for a new business or run copies for ourselves.  In other words, we will have to pay for some things for the first time in our lives, and we will have to do things that a legion of minions, hidden in the corporate world or sitting outside our office, used to do for us.

We need to be prepared to grieve the changes, and to welcome the opportunities for learning. I’ll talk more about this in part 2.

Lay Offs, Firing and the Demotion of Others: Moral Leadership in Corporate Settings – Part 3 Our Behavior

 

HOW SHOULD WE ACT IF WE MUST BE THE INSTRUMENT OF SOMEONE ELSE’S DISTRESS?

 If we conclude that we are indeed responsible for implementing The Decision to lay-off, fire or demote someone, then we have certain principles to follow.  Honesty, authenticity and utilization of all available support are the guiding themes. 

Honesty:

To remain spiritual, we need to be honest in our dealings with others.  This does not mean, however, that we talk endlessly about potentialities, or reveal every nuance of the situation with all parties–concerned or not. Such activity masquerades as honesty, but in fact is just gossip.  If performance is the problem, we are obligated to inform the employee that his performance is not meeting expectations.  This does not mean that we nag, or berate, or mock the poor performer.   It does mean that we send our messages clearly.   It means that we work to overcome our own hang-ups about authority, about not being liked, about giving bad news.  In other words, we are required to act with moral courage, even in the face of giving bad news. 

Being honest in times of uncertainty requires moral leadership.  A “softening” economy or potential mergers/acquisitions or impending restructuring of our organizations demand that we keep employees informed about the likelihood of different scenarios.  It is as dishonest to draw a totally negative picture (when chances are even-or-better that a positive outcome will result) as it is to prevent people from knowing that A Decision may be in the offing. As good managers, we provide moral leadership by helping employees to plan for the negative possibilities. 

Being honest also means clearing out our control, nurturing and care-taking needs before engaging in this difficult work.

 Authenticity:

Authenticity in the face of implementing A Decision means carefully sharing your own feelings and opinions.  If you are scared for yourself, but put on a happy face, you are misleading your employees and not being authentic.  But notice the word “carefully.”  Sometimes you are under obligation to keep information to yourself.  Other times you really do not know whether a given corporate change will affect your department.  In these instances, authenticity means acting with integrity.  It means helping people to prepare for any eventuality.  It means preparing people for change in general, helping them to become more resilient.  Help them to look beyond the organization at all times.  Help them to explore other options, preparing resumes, regardless of future outcomes. 

Never mislead employees.  Never experience one feeling but pretend to feel another.  Sometimes being quiet is the only appropriate response.  Other times silence will be misleading.  Thoughtful prayer will guide you.

Utilize all available support:

Utilization of all available support is the third ingredient in handling decisions that will negatively impact others: Be sure you understand the principles of change management yourself.  Perhaps arrange to have a seminar presented to your staff—or at least distribute books and pamphlets on the subject. Provide leadership to your group in the form of working through your own emotions, such as flight or fight, fear or need for control, etc.  Help employees to be authentic and honest as well.  You are not a therapist, but showing moral courage can create opportunities for growth. Growing during a period such as this is what living spiritually is all about. 

In a practical vein, identify services (involving others if possible)  inside the organization as well as in the community (outplacement services, re-entry programs at junior colleges, 40+ Clubs, Unemployment Insurance procedures, continuation of benefits services, support groups for the unemployed, bumping procedures) that will help people through the transition.  If possible, provide time and equipment to prepare resumes and begin job hunting, or identifying what a person is “good” at so that the next position is more in keeping with their skills, temperament, and personal path than this one might have been.  One fine executive I know has provided books and workshops to all her employees because downsizing of her department seemed inevitable.  She didn’t seek permission to do so; she merely made many resources available to help her employees develop the resiliency they need in times of change.

ONE FINAL NOTE:

This chapter was originally written in 1995—long before today’s economic crisis hit.  What may be different today is that whole companies are disappearing, and tens of thousands of jobs are being eliminated, never to return. But the elements remain the same. Railing against the economy (or even certain politicians) merely postpones the spiritual work we need to do.  As Americans, we have been blessed with a robust economy for most of our working lives.  That may be changing forever; but God’s love for us has not diminished.  It is just more important than ever that we be aligned with our God and what our God expects of us. 

PRAYER DURING LAYOFFS:

Dear God, give me the serenity needed to face this situation:  let me see clearly what I can change in this corporate activity that will disrupt the lives of many people.  Give me the moral courage to change what I can change.  Let me accept the things I cannot change, and provide leadership to my staff through my own honesty, authenticity, and support.  And please dear God, give me the wisdom to know the difference, so that I do not mislead people who are already disrupted enough by the rumors and uncertainty that moving this giant requires.

 

Essay and prayer written by Kathleen Whiteside, with thanks to The Serenity Prayer

Lay Offs, Firing and the Demotion of Others: Moral Leadership in Corporate Settings – Part 2 (The Decision)

The Decision

In Part 2, let’s talk about The Decision as any situation which affects the livelihood of another person: a layoff, outright firing, demotion, undesirable transfer, not awarding a contract, not giving a raise or a promotion, etc.

In order to know whether we should take a stand to “fight” The Decision or not, we need to use all our powers as managers.  This means that we need to analyze the situation carefully.

What are the business considerations involved in this decision?

• Is lack of revenue the reason? 
  • If yes, can you find an alternate way of saving money that will meet the business needs of the organization?
  • If no, is there another good business reason?  For example, poor performance, or insubordination?
  • Is the logic clear and straightforward about The Decision?  Or are politics, favoritism, or prejudice at work?
    • If yes, what is inevitable and what is clearly wrong and unethical?
    • Is the person affected by The Decision culpable in some way?
      • Has she committed an infraction? 
      • Has her performance been poor? 
      • Has he not changed in spite of counseling? 
      • Have you provided the support needed for good performance, but he has still not improved?

 First, ask these questions and answer them truthfully.  Having analyzed the results, you may be clearer about your next step. It may be appropriate for you to stop the flow, and take a courageous position, challenging the decision.  On the other hand, it may be that the tough Decision needs to be implemented.

 Certainly prayer, meditation, and turning the decision over to our God are ways of coming to the correct conclusion. 

 But we also need to look at the ways in which we are not being realistic, not seeing the reality of the situation.  Next week we will look at some of the ways reality can be obscured.

Lay Offs, Firing and the Demotion of Others: Moral Leadership in Corporate Settings – Part 1 (The Challenge)

Genesis 30:33 – and my honesty will testify for me in the future, whenever you check on the wages you have paid me.

 Women in responsible positions have to make decisions that affect other people’s lives.  Some of us are very uncomfortable with this responsibility; and it is easy to believe that being a spiritual person greatly conflicts with the responsibilities we have as corporate executives or business owners. This is not completely true, however.  History shows us that there are people who have been able to be good business people as well as good people.  One of my favorites is St. Theresa of Avila.  She founded 15 different convents, serving as a fine administrator and manager for each.  If it is our calling, we can be both a merchant and a saint. Proverbs (31: 10-31) also offers a model for us.  It just generally takes more work on our part.

 THREE CHALLENGES  in modern America include laying off people, firing or demoting a person.  Each of these can confuse us regarding our responsibility to an individual person versus our obligation to the enterprise.  This may be one of the most difficult moments in a spiritual woman’s life.  Before becoming spiritual, we could just say, “I’m just doing my job.”  But now we don’t just react, we act—thoughtfully and prayerfully. We act recognizing our own higher purpose in life.  And firing, laying off or demoting a person (particularly if we have invested in them emotionally) seems to contradict the higher aim directly.

 There are times we should take a stand to protect an individual.  Our spirituality requires that we act courageously and prevent an injustice.  But there are also many times when we cannot control the events and forces around us.  How can we tell the difference?  And how should we act if we must cause someone else’s distress?

 How can we tell the difference between a situation that requires a courageous stand and one where we need to “do what we have to do”?

The Difference Between Men and Women

I just finished reading Timothy Sahn’s fictional work, “The Green and the Grey.” It contains the following discussion of the difference between men and women:

“Let’s start with you,” Fierenzo said. “If you’re like me – and I think you are – you think in terms of numbers and facts and problems and solutions. We approach life as a set of difficulties and puzzles that have to be conquered. True?”

Roger thought it over. That did seem to be how he looked at things. “I guess so,” he said. “And Caroline doesn’t?”

“Nope,” Fierenzo said. “I mean, she probably can do that if she needs to. But most of the time she looks at the world in terms of relationships. Relationships between people; relationships between events; how individual parts combine to make the whole. You as a contract-Law paralegal probably see your job in terms of statute and case law and contract details. Caroline, if she was doing it, would probably see it in terms of who was in difficulty and how they could be helped and what the consequences would be for them and their families of her doing a good job. You see the difference? You’d both ultimately accomplish the same thing, but you’d have approached it from different mental angles.”

“Yes, I see,” Roger murmured, thinking hard. This was something that had never occurred to him before.

“Like I said, my wife’s the same way, and early on it sometimes drove me nuts,” Fierenzo went on. “But I’ve learned how to take advantage of it. Since she sees things differently, she can often fill in the gaps and blind spots in my mental vision. I can’t even count the number of times I’ve been discussing some brass walnut of a case with her when she’s made a comment that suddenly threw light on something I either hadn’t noticed or hadn’t considered the right way.”

What do you think? It feels fairly accurate to me! – CJS

The Breastplate of Work – Part 3

What the Breastplate of Work is really about, though, is the scope of God’s calling to workplace ministry. I’m not the only one He has asked to wear the breastplate of work. In fact, all working people have received the same call. We just don’t realize it! We have fallen into the typical belief that work is done out of necessity; but real spiritual ministry is done inside the church. Our scope of ministry is too small!

This story says something about the scope of the church’s ministry, as well. The church is the calling and sending body of Christ. The church especially needs to help us hear our calling to the workplace; and then commission and anoint us with the presence of the Spirit for that calling. If our congregations fully comprehended that their ministry is scattered throughout the community in people’s places of work; if congregations wore us workers and our places of work on their heart; they would begin to see and understand and perform their ministry calling in a whole new way, as well. They would see their ministries taking place in the public marketplace – and all other arenas of their people’s daily work – and not just within their church walls and programs! They would intentionally raise us to be Sunday People in a Monday World™! What a glorious vision that would be. Then we would see the coming of God’s Kingdom in a whole new way and to a whole new degree. Come, Lord Jesus, through us and our daily work! Help us to be Sunday people wearing the breastplate of your work in our Monday worlds!

The Breastplate of Work – Part 2

The second guiding resource for doing ministry in the workplace was a simple verse:   I PETER 2: ⁹ But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

I had no idea how to do ministry in the marketplace – especially as an entry level production worker. But I did know something about the Old Testament priesthood and its intermediary role between God and the people. Have you ever really asked yourself, how can I be an intermediary between God and the people with whom I work? What does that even look like? I experimented and prayed a lot!

It may sound crazy, but I even tried to reproduce some of the practices of the OT priests. I have always been interested by the breastplate the Priest wore. The breastplate held 12 jewels, each containing the name of one of the tribes of Israel. It served the function of reminding the priest that he was to carry God’s people on his heart. So that’s what I tried doing at Micron. I wrote the names of my supervisors and managers and co-workers on a certain undergarment we women wear. I thought of it as my Breastplate of Work.

I did it because loving and caring  and serving your supervisors, managers, and co-workers on a production line is not easy. No matter what you do it is never enough. Every mistake you make is documented and usually known by everyone. Frontline production work can be extremely boring; it can rob you of dignity; it can suck you into destructive competition, and make you dread even going to work! But when you allow God to work on your paradigms of how you see and understand both your work and the people with whom you work (including the internal and external customers you are called to serve) you begin to see and think and feel and behave differently.

When you see every person with whom you work as a person of value and worth in God’s eyes – deeply loved by the Trinity and redeemed by the blood of the cross – things change. You change. Your relationships change. Your work and how you do your work starts to change. Even the quality of the product you produce and the service you provide begins to change! You begin to meet, see and experience God in the workplace in a whole new way! You begin to worship God and co-operate and work with Him in whole new ways!

The Breastplate of Work – Part 1

“Carolyn, in order to be in the Masters of Ministry program here at NNU, you have to declare a ministry.” I gave it some thought and declared Micron Technology, Inc. (a maker of memory chips in the semi conductor industry). I had been working there for the past three months as an entry level production line worker. But it didn’t take long before I was confronted with a really big question: How do I do it? How do I do ministry in the public market place?

In those early years, two resources began to guide my work. The first was Luther’s Theology of Vocation. (I soon learned that Wesley and Calvin had a lot to say about this topic, as well; so it wasn’t just a “Lutheran” thing.) Luther saw every role we have been given in life and the work we do through those roles as a calling to and a means for serving God. When we dedicate whatever work we are doing to Him for His use and His glory – whether it is in the home, community, or our places of work – that is when it becomes a holy calling to vocationally be God’s presence serving Him and humanity. That is when whatever we are doing brings glory to God. Do you hear what that is saying? No matter who we are and no matter what we are doing, it is meant to serve God and the world in some form! Our daily work is not a necessity! It is a calling to serve and make a difference in the world while making God’s glory more visible. It is part of what we’re praying for when we say in the Lord’s Prayer, Thy Kingdom Come! This call made my front-line production work take on a whole new meaning.