I have never seen geese in a circle. Probably, not ducks either! Geese know how to fly on course, but they never play, 'Duck, Duck, Goose." – Tom Sims
Management is hard on a good day under the best of conditions.. It takes skill, finesse, sensitivity, tough-mindedness, insight, and creativity. That is on a good day.
On a bad day, it can be derailed at any number of road blocks. Here are two that you can avoid.
Perfectionism – What's So Bad About It?
Perfectionism is a set-up because:
- It usually revolves around our limited understanding of perfection which is inordinately influenced by someone else's limited understanding of perfection and even deeper misunderstanding of us.
- It is generally just imperfect because perfection is essentially completion and if our vision of the finished product is flawed our outcome will be even more flawed.
"The thing that is really hard, and really amazing, is giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming yourself." -Anna Quindlen
The road to perfection is allowing God to make us who we truly are and were made to be.
Control Issues – The Kiss of Death
Now let's talk about control issues because the two go hand in hand.
If you have control issues, it may be for a variety of reasons, good and bad. Let us assume that you are not a "control freak," but that you prefer to tightly control every aspect of your organization or project. What are the repercussions of this?
- You will wear yourself thin and wear yourself out.
- You will limit your potential, your reach, and your overall effectiveness because you cannot be everywhere doing everything. All that will ever be accomplished will be what you can personally touch, control, and supervise.
- The people you lead will never develop to their fullest potential. In fact, your best people will move on because they want more challenges and autonomy in their lives.
- You will miss out on the synergy, ideas, and creativity of a team working together and bringing all of their gifts and ideas to the table.
- If you are engaged in kingdom enterprises, you will be ignoring basic kingdom principles. While these apply especially to churches on mission, they are principles that can also benefit any business or entrepreneurial effort. The genius of a body with many parts and functions is that no person has every skill set necessary for great initiatives. Coming together, the sum of the whole is great than the sum of the parts.
There is no need to sacrifice quality to move from linear thinking to team thinking However, it requires trust and relaxed energy that allows mistakes and diversity of ideas.
Unwillingness to let go of control issues is the kiss of death for any organization. Without letting go, you will never progress from an entity to a movement.
At least for one day, hang loose!
Pastor Tom's Community 
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