EVER-READY REJOICING
This season is an exciting one for my family, my kids are getting older and it is time for my oldest son to apply for his first job. I told him he should apply at Chik-fil-A. But, guess what. He didn't. He applied for a job at the giant family entertainment venue with arcade, bowling, and go-karts. It wasn't defiance, but it wasn't my first choice. And guess what? He loves it.
I think one of the very best principles for organizational/team health is found in Romans 12:15. "Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn."
The temptation for me as a leader is to tell people what to do, but when they don't do what I say, to be bummed about it. Or, if they don't do what I say, and it turns out bad, to feel great about my decision-making skills and their poor choices. In other words, my temptation is to mourn the good and rejoice in the bad.
When people on your team win, what’s your first internal response?
I have been part of teams in the past where I was afraid to share good news because I knew that it would not be well received. I won, but I hedged and I hid my wins.
In your teams are you:
-Afraid to share good news?
-Afraid to hear good news?
-Afraid to share bad news?
-Afraid to hear bad news?
One of the quotes about this topic that stings is Jordan Peterson's idea, "Be careful who you share good news with. You want to share good news with people who will be genuinely happy for you. That's one way you can identify those people who are on your side."
One of the fastest ways to divide and alienate a team member is to mourn the good news.
In his excellent book, Parenting: Getting it Right, Andy Stanley poses a very powerful question. To check the temperature of your heart and your kid’s heart, ask:
“Is there anybody whose failure you would secretly celebrate?”
-ouch-
Imagine a culture of symmetrical rejoicing. Or imagine a culture of symmetrical mourning. When your team member wins, celebrate it as though it's a win for the team. And when they lose, mourn the loss as though it is your own.
The way to face this situation is EVER-READY REJOICING; that you have a ready response for your team.
For the people above, beside, and below you in the org chart, could you have rejoicing and mourning ready for them?
Have an EVER-READY REJOICING attitude….because your group cohesion depends on it.