Thursday, April 12, 2012

Consensus Rather Than Competition

"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." -- FDR

Our country is seething with fear, and we seem intent on destroying all that we don't understand. The unknown is always a source of stress, but not all stress is to be avoided. A seed doesn't become a tree without the stress of change and growth. A society, like a plant, either grows or dies. I'd like the people who are at the ends of their lives to stop attempting to drag society backward because of their unwillingness to continue growing.

One great thing about the societal changes that have transpired in this era of equality and revisiting of all the values that had come before is the new understanding of management. Where leadership used to be based on fear, it is now seen as more effective to manage through team building. Team building requires open minds in all  parts of the team. I hope this is simply the tip of the iceberg of what future generations of organizations will experience.

Even our understanding of The Almighty has been affected by these changes. We now see ourselves as partners in the master plan of the universe, maybe not equal partners, but, nonetheless, partners with strengths that matter. I would love to see all scriptural references that allude to "fear of the Lord" to be reworded to read "awe of The Almighty." Maybe then, we'd all be more invested in doing that at which we excel than in avoiding making the honest mistakes necessary to the learning process.

Fear paralyzes me; awe inspires me. I am in awe of the knowledge and skills of many people; this makes me want to learn how to be part of their teams. When confronted with those from whom I fear ridicule or punishment, I spend much of my energy trying to hide my failings and protecting myself from harm. I don't believe that fear is the best way to run an organization, much less a universe; therefore, I don't believe that fear is meant to be the driving force of humans.

Even pets and work animals perform their best when approval of those to whom they're bonded is their motivation for success. Isn't it about time that we humans stop treating each other like less than animals? Isn't it time that we seek to build teams through consensus rather than continuing our mindless competitions?