R&R is usually about rest and recuperation. In my world it is all about roles and responsibilities! Far too often we confuse our R&R, focusing on doing what is another’s responsibility, performing a colleague’s role, and losing site of what it is that we are accountable for delivering. As a result the process breaks down, teamwork cannot be leveraged, and amazing results lie in the potential box.
There are several questions that always come up. Usually everyone wants to start with who failed and why. It is as if they are saying that we should get the “bad” guys, weed out the ones who did not play their role. The problem that always comes to mind is who knows what about the various failings. If we are going to take that route then all the ugliness must get on the table! As a manager with access to a lot of information, I often find myself in the awkward of deciding how much I should reveal. Does everyone want to air his or her dirty laundry? Do they really want to lay out the complete story, all of it?
The alternative is to decide who is on the team and who is not. Choose your friends, those who are going to live, struggle, and work together. In the choosing decide on the roles and responsibilities. Commit to the shared set of values that will drive your motives. Shared values do not mean cookie cutter behavior. Quite the contrary; shared values applied against different situations in the context of specific roles and responsibilities results in a wide range of diverse actions! What binds the disparate actions together is common themes and leveraged commitment to a shared end-state.
What happens when one fails? The best advice is I can give you is that you “don’t ever say, ‘I’ll get you for that!’ Wait for God; he’ll settle the score.” (Proverbs 20.22) Stick to your role. Focus on your responsibility. Remember the values that your share. Compassion, mercy, and nurture are far more important than judgment in these moments.
