Managerial Tidbits from the Lord
“God, it is one thing to look at making the right decisions using the right data. I know it is hard to find the right data and to make the right decisions, especially if people might be hurt by the decision. However, besides analytics, what are some of the most fundamental skills a manager can have to run their unit in a holy manner?”
“Sam, some of the basic skills are things you hear about and read on a regular basis. So many of these foundation skills were highlighted by managers in the Bible so they are not anything new. It is not rocket science. For example, management by walking around sounds like a new approach. Instead of having a manager in their corner office, many managers have tried to move their operational base into the middle of the action to better know what is going on. Well, Moses managed by walking around. His tent was at the edge of the camp. He did not hide in the C Suites. He did not want to bother the people, but he wanted to be right there to help them out when they needed him.”
I never thought of Moses as being a hip manager, but maybe we all could learn from some 2,500-year-old wisdom.
“Anything else?” I asked.
“Come on Sam. Of course, there is so much more. For example, managers have to stop trying to be loved and friends with everyone. A manager cannot expect everyone to agree with them as a manager. They will make enemies. People will be upset with some decisions. Some employees might misread something and feel just because a manager is talking with one employee- that employee is the favored employee. Isaac constantly had battles with the dwellers in the land when he was digging wells. He just kept on digging wells rather than engaging in the conflict. At a certain point the people stopped complaining and he was able to live in peace.”
Up on the screen was a sped-up video of someone digging well after well. It seemed like tedious work, but life was more difficult back then…. there was no heavy equipment, so all that work was done by hand.
“There is an important lesson here Sam. You can’t always make everyone happy, nor should a manager try. They would then spend all their time trying to put out all the perceived slights and never get any real work done. With the same breadth, I have to say that managers should not consider anyone a true enemy. The way I like to see it is that they are not enemies, but potential friends. If a manager treats those who disagree as enemies, they might burn a bridge that can help save the manager in the future. Joseph had every right to treat the Egyptians as enemies. Yet he did not. He kept helping them out. The folks who treated him poorly ended up helping his career. Thus, don’t burn bridges, build stronger bridges.”
These were the short tidbits I knew my readers would love. Easy to understand and easier to implement. I was hoping for so many more of these quick soundbites as readers really like easy to digest pearls of wisdom.
“If more is what you want, I can keep going. Sam, tell them to stop it with all those big Policies and Procedure Manuals or Employee Handbooks. I created one. It is called the Bible. If you wanted to narrow it down and cut out all the stories, then it still can fit on one page. The ten commandments and directives such as being holy, treating others as you would like to be treated, honoring others, treating the downtrodden well, those types of things would be all that is needed. Trying to address every perceivable issue will require a manager to keep updating all the rules. The more rules- the more problems. Short and sweet is so much more effective…and it will save millions of trees for manuals that will only be opened once when hired and maybe a handful of times over a ten-year stint with a company.”
That was simple for me to convey. If a company is overburdened by a huge policies and procedure manual they should go to the virtuous school of management, which entails following the ten commandments and living by the mantra treat everyone as you would like to be treated. Sounds simple, but if everyone is not on the same page and with a holy mission, people will push the limits and that is when a strong manager needs to lay down the law. I remembered the Bible was not all about great rules, it allowed for punishment for those who violate the rules, and the punishments could be severe.
The Lord nodded his head in agreement. Instead of adding to my thoughts, he continued with some quick hits. He was on a roll, and I was not going to stop him.
“I would warn people to tread carefully with a smooth-talking manager. A smooth talker might be skilled at covering up problems with their words rather than solving problems with their actions. Bilam was a smoother talker. He would try to find the right words to cast a curse. I had to intervene to protect the Israelites from his smooth-talking treachery. You can also look at the snake in the Garden of Eden. Oh, those smooth talkers think they are so wise and clever. I have a special place for them.”
“Lord, quality control is a great term I keep hearing. What do you think about quality assurance or what they call QA?”
“My angels were my ultimate QA team. They helped me from the very beginning. I wonder what belt I would have with Six Sigma?”
Up on the screen popped up an image of the karate kid star with my face superimposed on him.
“By the end of this interview Sam, you will be a black belt.”
The Lord continued, “the problem is that quality cannot be imposed on an operation. If there are people involved, quality can only be established if it permeates the entire organization and resonates with all the personnel therein. Thus, managers cannot force quality. For example, I have seen those signs saying a workplace has been injury free for several months. That is great. I hate when people get injured at work, those workers’ compensation forms were designed by the devil himself. However, it is more than just a sign. It is more than lock-out devices on machines. It is about creating a culture of safety. That is what a manager needs to do- create the right culture where safety, harmony, holiness, and righteousness can thrive and be strong even without the manager being present. That is the true key to when these programs are working, they are working even when management is not present. The employees want to have a quality environment for themselves. That is the reward they want and what will help them feel great rather than being forced to do something to make a manager happy.”
I was struggling to keep up with all the ideas I had.
“What do you think of individuals versus teams? All the management gurus are talking about teams.”
“It is hard for one person to make decisions alone. They are often missing some key pieces of insight or information. That is why having more stakeholders involved is so important. I like teams and think teams are great. However, there needs to be someone who will make the final decision. I once had a committee of angels to help build an animal. I was looking for a beaver-type creature and what they gave me was a duck billed platypus. Everyone was throwing out ideas. Their brainstorming in teams was crazy. Why do you think I have so many bugs? Every team of angels thought they knew best. Thus, teams need to be managed or all heck will break loose. Poorly managed teams bug me.”
The Lord elbowed me as to say that was a good zinger.
God continued his analysis of teams.
“Sam, if you look through my Bible you will see dysfunctional brothers and how they evolve. Cain and Abel were a disaster. Isaac and Esav saw some improvement after a very rough start. The twelve sons of Jacob initially had poor relations and then improved. Then we had Moses and Aaron. That was two brothers who worked well together, complemented each other- they were a team. When I discussed the lineage of Aaron and Moses, I first listed Aaron as the older brother and then Moses, but at the end of the sentence I mentioned Moses and then Aaron (Exodus 6:20-27). I wrote the description in the third person singular to indicate they were one single team. Yes, they spoke to Pharaoh as a team, but they were like a single entity. That is how a team needs to function. They need to be the “us” and “we” rather than “they” or “them.” Teams must include all key stakeholders to truly work as a team.”
I was enjoying hearing all these great little insights, but each one related to a Biblical example. I was seeing that the Bible really covered all topics. Thus, I kept on prompting the Lord for more insights. “Are there some basic tests that help highlighted the best qualities for future managers?”
“Sam, besides the judges I talked about earlier, I also appointed other leaders in the Bible. Another group of leaders I appointed were the legislators. In Numbers 11:16, I asked Moses to gather 70 men who were elders and who Moses knew to be elders of the people. This means that they had to be old, and they had to have people’s respect. Most people get the respect part, but often do not appreciate the older part. Why older? Well, there is a famous Spanish saying….’why is the devil so wise? Because he is old.’ The devil is wise because he has been there, he has seen everything, time is what has exposed him to all the tricks. Yes, a smart person can be young and do well. However, an older person who has made a point to learn from their life experiences will have contextual framework younger leaders often lack.”
“I hope you noticed the distinction I made there Sam. Judges do not need the respect of people to be a judge. They need to be God fearing. That is being holy and following the Bible. That is why I love it when court houses have the ten commandments posted. Those are the foundations upon which a judge needs to know to judge correctly. In contrast, for a leader to supervise the people, and develop rules for people, they need their respect. The people need to know the leader has their back. Thus, having the respect of employees is critical for a manager. That does not mean they have to be friends; they just must respect a manager’s decision making with the understanding and knowledge that the manager will make the right decision. Managers always make mistakes, but with respect, a manager who makes a mistake will normally have a group behind him or her to help make the wrong right. If there is no respect, there will not be anyone who has the manager’s back.”
“That sounds great, but how can you earn respect?”
“What makes a manager a great person with respect of those they help lead? They are a mensch. You might not speak Yiddish Sam, but a mensch is a great person. They are great not because they think they are great, but the exact opposite. They are great because they do not think or act like they are great. Moses was a great leader because he was so humble. I mean when I tried to reach out to him and get him to work for me, he kept deflecting. I’m not good enough, I’m not good with words. I’m not… I’m not…. I’m not. He kept saying no because he was not interested in being in the spotlight. It was never about him, but always about others.”
“Sam, doing your job without fanfare is a good example of humility. It is not about the money, the promotions, or the accolades…it is about helping others. When you put others ahead of you…you are humbling yourself. That is one reason why I called Moses the humblest person on the face of the earth. What made Moses great was he was more than a leader; he was a teacher. He had no ego, and he was merely a messenger who channeled my truth. Even on the one big holiday focused on his exploit of leading the Israelites out of Egypt, Passover, he is only mentioned in the Passover Haggadah once….and it is a story about him. So many leaders think they are defined by their strength, wealth, position, wisdom, pedigree, and schooling. How wrong are they, the key is humility. The focus should not be on what the leader is, but on what the leader is not. By humbling himself Moses proved that he had what was needed to be a leader. Managers who follow the same path emulate him and I likewise would consider them humble and the servants of others. That is how you earn respect.”
“What’s the difference between being proud of your accomplishments and being overly proud?”
“Don’t get me wrong Sam. When a leader does something great, they should be proud of what they did as well as their followers and colleagues. The key is to find a middle ground between being overly proud and being overly humble. A person whose characteristics are between the extreme is called by the sages wise. The sages also have said that if one leans more towards humility, they are considered pious. I agree with the sages. Always lean towards humility.”
An image of a person appeared on the screen.
“Who is that?” I asked.
“That is King David. A very handsome man. He and the other kings had a requirement set forth in the Bible. They were not to have too many wives, horses, or wealth. I knew that if a king had a focus on grasping too much power it would turn them against their charge of serving the people. So many of my kings failed because they focused so much on accumulating more and more- even King Solomon had too much of all three. It is hard to be humble when you spend your time making yourself greater. Thus, when I approached Moses, he did not react by extolling all his virtues. Quite the opposite. His first question was ‘Who am I?’ He wanted to know who he was to merit being my messenger. Does that sound like what you said when I asked you to be my messenger? That is being humble!”
Being considered in the same breath as Moses was indeed humbling. I did not think I was trying to be humble…I just did not think I was qualified.
“Moses was a shepherd; many prophets were shepherds as well. You are a shepherd…not of sheep, but of readers.”
I never thought of that before. With words and readers, I can help move them in a powerful way. That is why I was here. But that also meant I needed to finish the interview.
“Is that it on the basic skills for a manager?”
The Lord thought for a second.
“Managers need to have an orientation to action. There are numerous examples of action in the Bible. Sara removed Esav from the household. A tough decision, but she acted on what she thought was the best interest for Israel Inc. Rebecca jumped into action to help her son secure his rightful blessing. Moses knew what he needed to do in Egypt. When the Egyptian task master beat the Israelite slave, Moses acted and killed him to protect other. Immediate action sometimes requires an immediate step that might otherwise be outside of our traditional response. The next day Moses ran across two people quarreling and he spoke with them to try and resolve the issue. Sometimes all it takes are some words. In the next action Moses took, he stood up for Jethro’s daughters at the well when shepherds would harass them and delay watering of their flock. When Moses saw that there was abuse, he took a stand to protect the weak. What do you do when faced with a challenge? The options are to run, do nothing, avoidance, or act. If you act you can take a stand, say something, and/or take significant action. I am also a person of action. You would assume that, but in Exodus 15:3 I specifically wrote that I am a God of war. When I need to act- I act.”
I could not imagine the Lord during a war. But he defeated the Egyptians, helped the Israelites beat Amalek, helped Joshua capture the Promised Land, and helped David win his various battles. Of course, he could be a God of war.
“Sometimes I need to be a God of peace, but at other times I need to be a God of war. Managers need to wear multiple hats as well.”
