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"And let us consider
how to provoke one another to love and good deeds,"
- Hebrews 10:24 (NRS)
We at CEDA are in relationship with several
organizations that frequently provide us with "words of inspiration".
The following one is from the Marketplace Network Inc., which
can be contacted at www.marketplace-network.org.
We hope that you will enjoy it and perhaps, where and when appropriate,
put it into practice.
Performance Appraisals
Brethren, even if anyone is caught
in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a
spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you
too will not be tempted. -Galatians 6:1
Performance evaluations are about as much fun as an annual physical
exam for a fifty-year old male. At least the physical exam is
useful!
Few business activities create more havoc in the workplace than
the "how are you doing" sessions most companies require
their managers to foist on their workers. Managers hate to complete
them, workers hate to receive them, and even the best of them tend
to produce friction between the firm and the worker more often than
they produce results. Still, this pivotal ritual in employee relations
continues unabated, with companies trying out new systems hoping
to discover one that works across the board. Someday, someone's
going to do a scientific study that confirms the anecdotal evidence
that the ROI for performance appraisals is well into the negative.
Why? Two reasons surfaced in my own observations as an HR manager:
First, managers lack skills, information, temperament, or the inclination
to make the evaluations an honest assessment of the worker's effort;
and second, workers mistrust the manager's motives, or the manager's
skills, in evaluating their efforts. If compensation or rewards
is tied to the evaluation, this mistrust increases exponentially.
(And the information becomes secondary to a "get-to-the-bottom-line-what's-my-raise"
mentality.) The result is an employee appraisal session that closely
resembles a sumo wrestling match, with the two participants circling
the ring, eying each other suspiciously.
Beneath the surface of the evaluations, another problem erupts.
In a culture where many of us define our worth by our jobs, the
performance evaluation strikes at the core of our being. Criticism,
even on-target, well-intended criticism, hits us in the weakest
part of our armor, and we often react defensively, or go the other
direction and beat ourselves up.
The Apostle Paul recognized this about life, and taught Christians
that advice, evaluation, reproof, correction, etc. was best left
to those with a compassionate interest in their brothers and sisters.
Otherwise, he said, be silent, because absent this compassion, all
our activity is but "clanging cymbals".
Do we listen? Hardly!
Instead, we often consider it our duty to
go looking for ways to critique or reprove other Christians, judging
their actions based on limited information, and forming action plans
for them not steeped in love but in our own stern attitudes about
how they should behave. Couched in terms like "accountability",
"spiritual discipline" and "protecting truth",
we wreak havoc in the lives of people we care little about.
In business, managers should have to earn the right to give a worker
an evaluation, demonstrating over time their ability to set aside
personal agendas and be concerned with the worker's welfare and
ability to contribute. Otherwise, they should spend their energy
removing barriers, building trust and marshalling resources until
they've earned that right to offer assessment.
Christians must earn the right to assess the life of those around
them, Christian and non-Christian alike. Absent the motive of love,
even evangelism becomes a damaging activity. Absent the motive of
love, accountability and spiritual discipline become wrecking balls
instead of lifeboats. Until we've earned the right to speak, we
should spend our energies removing the barriers between them and
God, building trust by knowing them and learning to love them, and
marshalling the resources of faith to be available to them for self-discovery.
Then, when we speak, our words will be restorative, our actions
useful and our motives more apparent and more pure. Watch what
God does then!
- Randy Kilgore
Published by Marketplace Network, Inc.
Copyright © 2005 Marketplace Network, Inc. All rights reserved.
If you have a question
regarding this "Word of Inspiration" or would like
to contact us for additional information call us at 617-287-CEDA
(2332) or email us at ceda@cedaministry.org.
As well, we invite you to email us your
prayer request at ceda@cedaministry.org.
Please keep us in your prayers as we seek to provide you with quality
products and services.
Waiver of Liability:
The Christian Economic Development Association (CEDA) and its representatives
are not liable for any damage, loss or injury from the use of products,
services or information presented by a particular, company, organization
or individual. Users of the CEDA "Words of Inspiration"
are responsible for their claims. Inclusion of advertisements or
information does not imply our endorsement of a product, service,
individual or information shared any more than an omission would
imply the opposite.
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