Thursday, December 14, 2006 at 12:12am
Waiting for God to show his hand
Column: Executive Soul
The Christian season of Advent is a season of waiting for God, listening to God, looking for the new thing that God is doing. Advent holds a lesson for all of us in this busy world, especially a lesson for organizational leaders.
While leaders often face enormous pressures to make decisions quickly, premature decisions are the leading cause of decision failure. This is primarily because leaders respond to the superficial presenting issue of a decision rather than taking the time to explore the underlying issues. A leader practicing spiritual discernment, listening to God, needs to exercise patience in allowing different viewpoints and underlying issues to surface.
Bob Carlson, board member and retired co-CEO of Reell Precision Manufacturing (a manufacturing of hinges and clutches in the Twin Cities in Minnesota), is a good example of a leader exercising patience in the face of underlying issues. In the economic downturn of 2001, Reell faced a 30 percent drop in revenues. Some members of the senior leadership team favored layoffs, and some favored graduated salary reductions, with a 6-5 split in the then 11-member cabinet.
While it would have been easy to push for a decision or call for a vote in order to ease the tension of the economic pressures, then-co-CEO Carlson helped the team labor together and examine all of the issues. For example, while layoffs would ease the immediate budget crunch, what would be their impact on morale? How would each course of action further Reell's mission and square with its Direction Statement? The team finally agreed on salary reductions, deciding not to lay anyone off, knowing that, to the best of their ability, they had thoroughly examined the implications of both possible decisions.
Further, successful discernment relies on the "contemplative pause" when the discernment nears its conclusion. Leaders ask themselves, "What does the fruit of this decision seem to be? Do the leaders and other members of the organization feel an increased sense of freedom to live into their callings and to live out the organization's calling? Is morale higher? Have energy and creativity increased?"
When the Reell cabinet decided to take salary cuts rather than do layoffs, they paused to notice the implications before implementing the decision. Comparing their decision to past similar decisions in the company helped them to anticipate the fruits of their discernment. And they continued to pay attention once they carried out the decision. Bob Carlson reported increased energy, increased morale, and an increased sense that "we're all in this together." Several months later, revenues increased and everyone was restored to full pay.
Perhaps the most important confirmation Carlson noted was from those who were initially skeptical: "Several of the people who were for the layoffs have come back, 12 to 18 months later, and said, 'You know, I think the salary reductions were the right decision.'"
Waiting and listening, exercising discernment, helped Reell make a better business decision.
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Dr. Margaret Benefiel, Ph.D., author of "Soul at Work: Spiritual Leadership in Organizations" (from which part of this column is drawn), works with healthcare leaders, nonprofits, and Fortune 500 companies to help them develop spiritual leadership. Visit her website at www.ExecutiveSoul.com. © copyright 2006 by Margaret Benefiel
While leaders often face enormous pressures to make decisions quickly, premature decisions are the leading cause of decision failure. This is primarily because leaders respond to the superficial presenting issue of a decision rather than taking the time to explore the underlying issues. A leader practicing spiritual discernment, listening to God, needs to exercise patience in allowing different viewpoints and underlying issues to surface.
Bob Carlson, board member and retired co-CEO of Reell Precision Manufacturing (a manufacturing of hinges and clutches in the Twin Cities in Minnesota), is a good example of a leader exercising patience in the face of underlying issues. In the economic downturn of 2001, Reell faced a 30 percent drop in revenues. Some members of the senior leadership team favored layoffs, and some favored graduated salary reductions, with a 6-5 split in the then 11-member cabinet.
While it would have been easy to push for a decision or call for a vote in order to ease the tension of the economic pressures, then-co-CEO Carlson helped the team labor together and examine all of the issues. For example, while layoffs would ease the immediate budget crunch, what would be their impact on morale? How would each course of action further Reell's mission and square with its Direction Statement? The team finally agreed on salary reductions, deciding not to lay anyone off, knowing that, to the best of their ability, they had thoroughly examined the implications of both possible decisions.
Further, successful discernment relies on the "contemplative pause" when the discernment nears its conclusion. Leaders ask themselves, "What does the fruit of this decision seem to be? Do the leaders and other members of the organization feel an increased sense of freedom to live into their callings and to live out the organization's calling? Is morale higher? Have energy and creativity increased?"
When the Reell cabinet decided to take salary cuts rather than do layoffs, they paused to notice the implications before implementing the decision. Comparing their decision to past similar decisions in the company helped them to anticipate the fruits of their discernment. And they continued to pay attention once they carried out the decision. Bob Carlson reported increased energy, increased morale, and an increased sense that "we're all in this together." Several months later, revenues increased and everyone was restored to full pay.
Perhaps the most important confirmation Carlson noted was from those who were initially skeptical: "Several of the people who were for the layoffs have come back, 12 to 18 months later, and said, 'You know, I think the salary reductions were the right decision.'"
Waiting and listening, exercising discernment, helped Reell make a better business decision.
— — —
Dr. Margaret Benefiel, Ph.D., author of "Soul at Work: Spiritual Leadership in Organizations" (from which part of this column is drawn), works with healthcare leaders, nonprofits, and Fortune 500 companies to help them develop spiritual leadership. Visit her website at www.ExecutiveSoul.com. © copyright 2006 by Margaret Benefiel