Managing in the Manner of Jesus
We all remember having a manager, supervisor, teacher, mentor, etc, that was a huge source of inspiration in our lives. They were like the sages that saw who we really were, and inspired us to also see, and move in the direction of being.
Such people are treasured, unfortunately, because of their rarity. On the other hand, what ends up being common are those in the same positions that lead in ways that cause the soul to shrivel and die by degrees. Under their leadership the only dreams one has are of spreading their wings and breaking free.
I was reminded of these two kinds of leaders when I was listening to someone describe how the company they work for transitioned during the pandemic. Like most companies, theirs immediately moved to a work from home model. It was during this shift that many of the employees began to realize that management was more interested in the workers getting things done: meeting objectives, hitting numbers, etc, than creating a culture that would inspire workers to be the kinds of people that do great work.
In an incredible display of mistrust, this company put trackers on employees phones and computers to monitor how long they were away from their computers and off of their phones. Now, rather than being inspired to work, employees were threatened with punishment if they didn't.
Photo by Luis Villasmil on Unsplash
I’m sure those leaders didn’t want to lead in a way that dampened creativity. Often times, those in supervisory positions are also trying to meet the expectations they’ve been given; indeed, their jobs depend upon it. So, as they feel the pressure weighing down on them, they find the fastest and easiest possible solution to achieve the end result. This usually involves fear as motivation.
Here’s an example: A parent might threaten punishment if their children don’t do their chores, and because of the threat those chores might get done. However, since fear was used to motivate, the children will probably not become the kind of people that clean because of the positive aspects. Rather, they will do exactly what needs to be done to avoid punishment, and nothing more. “That’s not my job,” will be the constant refrain in the home. The same is true on the job.
The leaders must choose a path that doesn’t view employees as people who have to be threatened in order to work; instead, they should view them as those who, if inspired, will produce beautiful results. This will be hard work at first, the same way the hardest part of a flight is getting the plane off the ground and into the air, but once it’s in the air it can coast efficiently towards its destination.
How can leaders become like this? Well, since Modern Magi is about helping people see things in the light of Jesus, we will answer the question by learning from him. Besides, there has never been a leader that inspired the kind of movement and achieved the kind of results that he did. In addition to being the smartest person that ever lived, he is also the greatest leader that ever lived, and he is still alive and willing to help those who turn to him. So let’s do that now.
See Humanity in the Light of God
One of the most important things in life is where one receives their identity from? We all receive our identity from somewhere, and we all spend our days living according to that identity. Our received and accepted identities set us off on a path to be who and what the identity says we are. Consider how the ministry of Jesus began.
“And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased’” (Matthew 3:16-17).
This should not be glossed over, but learned from. Because with those identity shaping words Jesus began his movement, acting as if he were the Son of God. He started doing things his Father would approve of. In other words, he lived from his divine identity. This is not only for him, but for us, too. In the same way God spoke creation into existence, he continues to speak our identities into existence. The question is, Do we want to hear it?
If would hear it, we will not only see ourselves in the eyes of God, but we will see others in the eyes of God. We will see that we are, as Dallas Willard says, “unceasing spiritual beings with an eternal destiny in God’s universe.”
Whenever something is valued highly, be it a car, jewelry, baseball cards, etc, we usually treat that thing with more respect and consideration because of its worth. The same will happen as we value what a human is, because we’ve seen them through the eyes of the Creator.
One way to do this is to read the stories in the Bible. Take in the costly investment that God has made to redeem humanity. You’ll walk away in wonderment, asking the same question the psalmist asked, “What are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?” (Psalm 8:4 NRSV)
Related Article: Receptacles of the Divine
See Your Job in The Light of God
After seeing humanity in the light of God we will endeavor to see all else in relation to that vision, including our work. After all, when a queen does something that seems insignificant it becomes significant because she does it. The same will happen to our view of work. It will become significant, because significant people are doing it. And those significant people will work for the right reasons; not to merely make money, or to please their bosses, but as an opportunity to make God happy.
This was how Jesus lived; as he said in John 8:29, “He who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.” It is also what the apostle Paul encouraged Christians to do; “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Colossians 3:17). When we work in this way it will help us focus, not only on the outcomes, but on the manner in which the work is done. Because that’s part of what makes God happy.
For example, if a baker made a cake for God, but stole the ingredients and abused their employees during the process, would God be pleased simply because it tasted good? We all know the answer. Indeed, we wouldn’t be shocked when God asked this baker, in language that might’ve been pulled from the Old Testament, “is this the kind of cake I desire?”
So, as we see our job in the light of God, it will have a clarifying effect on all of our work, and we will desire to have the end result and the manner of our work be pleasing to him.
Get to Work
With these perspectives in place the leader is now ready to engage their employees to work. But because these two perspectives are in place they will not begin with the end goal and simply choose the fastest and easiest way to get there — which is usually fear based — instead, in consideration of what it is that they are working with — namely, creative people made in the image of a creative God — they will work to inspire the people to work towards that end result.
This approach is summarized perfectly by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (Antwon de Sant-Ejuparry), who said, “If you want to build a ship don’t drum up people to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.”
Imagine how the work force would change if the valuation of the human person shifted upwards in priority… I actually believe this could trigger the next great revolution. A shift in leadership like this would free people to once again think, dream, experiment, explore, and eventually invent things that will carry humanity into a new sphere of life.
To do so leaders must endeavor to see human beings in the light of God, taking his identity as primary, and they must see work as an opportunity to please God. This being done, everything else: good products, successful company, great culture, etc, shall be added unto you.