Freedom and Boundaries

This is very relevant to the staff meeting yesterday - thought I would post it and share.  It is by Os Hillman.  If you would like to study this more, go to the main site (http://www.kaleidoscopebutterfly.org/) and look up the archives on Genesis or God's story being told -

Kisses, Candace

"And the LORD God commanded the man, 'You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die'" (Gen 2:16-17).

Everyone needs the gift of freedom and boundaries in their work to succeed. God set up the ultimate work environment in the Garden of Eden. He gave Adam and Eve responsibility to manage the animals, the agriculture and every activity. He gave them specific instructions as to how things were to be done but gave liberty of expression for fulfilling their tasks.

He also told them what was off limits. They could not eat from the tree of good and evil because He knew it would be bad for them. He was not trying to withhold from them; He was trying to protect them.

If you are a manager it is your responsibility to clearly define the job responsibilities of those under your care. They should know clearly what the freedoms and the boundaries are in carrying out their duties. They should be given adequate freedoms with authority to enforce their decisions that will impact whether they can be successful or not.

Once freedoms and boundaries are established, this allows a healthy accountability to take place between management and worker. Both can have healthy expectations of each other.

Do you have a clearly defined job description with measurable goals outlined? Are your freedom and boundaries clearly defined so you know what you can and cannot do within the scope of your job? If not, you are setting yourself up for failure.

Today, evaluate your job function and make sure you have clearly defined expectations and the way in which you are expected to accomplish your tasks.