Morality

 “Morality is doing what is right regardless of what you are told. Obedience is doing what is told regardless of what is right.” (H.L. Mencken)

I believe it’s a good thing my cancer retired me from actively being employed at a job in the working world. Blind obedience (which is a behavior where people do as they’re told without thinking for themselves about whether what they heard was true, or whether they should obey orders) has never been an easy concept for me to grasp at any phase in my life in regards to obeying any kind of authority (sometimes including God).

In my past when I didn’t agree with authority, I ignored their directive, which never goes well in a work, personal, or church environment.  I believe people who have the ability to think through a situation can struggle with blind obedience if their opinions differ from an authority figure in charge. There is nothing worse than obeying an authority figure, and having that decision backfire on you so that you are the one left in trouble because you did as you were told.

Obedience is a form of social influence where an individual acts in response to a direct order from another individual, who is usually an authority figure.  Obedience occurs when you are told to do something (authority), whereas conformity happens through social pressure (the norms of the majority). The Bible often communicates to us what you would prefer not to hear. What does it say in regards to submitting to authority?

Romans 13:2 (TPT) says: So to resist authority is to resist the divine order of God, which results in severe consequences. I don’t see any exceptions to that rule in scripture.  This leads me to believe that all those times I have fought against authority in my life that I’ve been fighting against God’s will, which is a dangerous and unintelligent thing to do. I despise admitting this, but in this case I was wrong. That was unpleasant (and kind of painful) to admit that. Maybe I should do it more often so I get more used to doing that.

 

If you happen to be in a place of leadership where work, and are dealing with an employee that challenges and undermines your authority. Below are four general guidelines you can follow in dealing with this challenging employee:  

Listen: When an employee is being difficult, the first reaction that some leaders have is to simply form an opinion of the employee and stop paying attention to what’s going on. You feel irritated, and the situation seems hopeless. Great leaders know that the best way to deal with this situation is to become extra attentive. They make an effort to develop the clearest possible understanding of the situation – this includes understanding the point of view of the difficult employee.

This is typically the first step towards improving the situation. In fact, you can resolve the problem in itself simply by listening and paying attention. It’s possible that the employee in question is facing legitimate problems that you can address. You may find out about a real workplace issue that’s not the employee’s fault which needs to be resolved. The difficult employee may even start behaving differently once they feel heard and acknowledged.

Feedback: When an employee undermines your authority, you often end up thinking about the employee’s negative behavior and complaining about it to others. Some authority figures spend months griping about difficult employees without ever giving them actual behavioral feedback in a straightforward manner. Giving hard-hitting and sensible feedback is one of the most uncomfortable things that you will have to do as a leader.

It is one of the most critical skills that you must develop as a leader. Great leaders learn to do it well, and they are ready to do it if and when a situation calls for it. It’s worth becoming comfortable and proficient at giving corrective feedback to your employees. The best approach to giving this type of behavioral feedback is to lower the other person’s defensiveness, and provide them with the specific information they need for improvement and success in their job.

If the employee acknowledges their negative behavior and begins to apply the corrective feedback, then consider the problem resolved once you’ve taken these two steps. If the situation does not improve, you’ll need to consider the following further steps.

Document: It’s at this stage that the employee is being difficult despite your efforts to reach out, listen, and share corrective feedback. Now that you are having significant problems with this employee, don’t forget to write down the key points. This can’t be stressed enough. Many authority figures do not document incidences of misconduct in the hopes that this will be an isolated incidence.

Great leaders understand that it’s practical to create a record of this sort of behavior. Even if you are able to resolve the issue before it comes to suspension or termination, you can simply put the documentation back in the drawer. But, if it doesn’t exist in the first place, you will have no grounds to base your next actions on.

Consequences: If you have been noting a pattern of negative behavior and insubordination for an extended period of time, despite having shared clear feedback, it’s time to get specific. If you have identified an individual on your team who is not meeting standards, give them eight weeks to change (in some way). From weeks one through eight, make sure that the employee has your full support and attention. Feel comfortable sharing corrective feedback during this time when it is needed.

Hopefully, before the end of week eight the employee will proactively acknowledge their incorrect job performance, and correct it. If by the end of week eight you are still noting unsatisfactory behavior to you or unacceptable work performance, either relocate them. This doesn’t necessarily mean job termination. If possible, you can also consider switching them to another team in the organization. Look for creative ways to ensure the employee can’t affect you or the team. If things are going down a road where termination is inevitable, in the weeks following up to it, let the employee know that their insubordination may have a real negative impact on their position in the company.

Laying someone off is one of the most difficult tasks for every leader. If it does get to this point, do it right, without making excuses, or putting it off, or making someone else do it. If things do turn around, then be courageous enough to accept that someone you thought wasn’t salvageable is now working hard to prove you wrong.

“There is a difference between being a leader and being a boss. Both are based on authority. A boss demands blind obedience. A leader earns his authority through understanding and trust.” (Klaus Balkenhol)[i]

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[i] Adapted from:

·        “How to Manage Employees Who Undermine Your Authority” by Paul Keijzer

·        “Is There a Mystery to ‘Blind Obedience’?” by Nasreen Pejvack

·        “Obedience to Authority” by Dr. Saul McLeod

Happy Birthday, Bobbi