Workplace Wisdom
A fit leader must attune to the variations in persons.
A gentle person may be led by persuasion, while the rebellious by more
exacting means.
The true leader should never value things above the value of attitude.
The worth of right perspective is beyond measure.
Those who chose to follow bear the responsibility for their choice of leaders.
When any significant action is to take place, or any important decision
is to be made, counsel should be taken in all cases where it is possible
to do so. Our actions always affect others, and the persons affected should
participate in determinations that influence them.
We each see the world from divergent viewpoints, and we are equal participants
in the cosmic game. For these reasons, it is both efficient and right that
consultation occur in all matters of substance.
Those who are consulted should give their insights without argument, and
should accept the ultimate decision with good grace when it diverges from
their point of view.
Once the advice of those involved has been obtained, the person whose responsibility
it is to choose a course of action should take counsel alone, and then act
as is best in the circumstances. Frequently, all that can be done is to
choose from several less-than-optimum alternatives. In those cases, we must
accept the limitations imposed on us as the natural result of things as
they are, and avoid the paralysis that comes from wishing for different
circumstances.
In all things be governed by the sense, not the letter, of right principles.
© Reprinted with permission from Always We Begin Again: The Benedictine
Way of Living, John McQuiston II, Morehouse Publishing,
P.O. Box 1321, Harrisburg, PA 17105. © 1996 John McQuiston II. All
rights reserved.
