Eagles Vantagepoint The Friendly Boss?

Andrew Han Where does the notion of work come from? Before venturing into the question of what are suitable relationships between bosses and their employees? especially in this fast-paced and ever changing marketplace, where the newer generation is demanding work to be a lifestyle choice rather than painful work as in past generations, it is useful to understand where work comes from. In reading Genesis 2:15 (NASB), Then the LORD God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it, we recognize that work is given by God and that it is Gods intention that man should cultivate or look after the garden God has placed him in. We should also note that Gods commandment allowing Adam to eat of any tree in the garden except the fruit from the tree of good and evil follows right after this verse, and unfortunately in Genesis 3 we discover the consequence of not obeying Gods commandment which is finding the ground to now be cursed and burdensome to cultivate, making Adams work hard. The boss-employee relationship in many ways is a reflection of the relationship between God and man where God gives man work to do for purpose and is an expression of his creativity as it was with God when He created the Universe and Man. In the case of bosses and employees, bosses run a business that is an expression of themselves and hire employees to be part of that expression and contribution to the purpose, growth and expansion of the business. Indeed, if we take our bosses to be acting as a proxy for Himself and whom God has appointed over us, then there should be an appreciation in that the work we have been given is from God. How are we to approach work? We also see that being given responsibility is a part of stewardship (Parable of the Talents, Matthew 25:14-30) and given out by the boss to individuals according to his/her skill level to which some sort of return or output of work is expected. Fair but not necessarily equal compensation is expected as a result from the individual and/or through collective efforts. Work is part of life and is to be respected and valued as much as if not more than rest. For God worked six days and rests only one day (Genesis 2:2). Where does friendship show up in the discussion about work and the relationship between bosses and employees? So far we have established that work is from God, that we need to be good stewards of what we have been given, and that it has been made hard because of the fallen nature of man because sin is in the world and has affected our relationship with God and each other. What are the implications then for bosses and employees? Firstly, we can explore what the Bible says about friendship with God.

In James 2:23 we read about Abraham being called the friend of God and John 15:13 where those who obey Jesus are called My friends. In these verses, the context of God seeing us as friends is in response to obedience to God which had been initiated by Him, You did not choose Me but I chose you (John 15:16). So friendship with God then has to do more with the restoration of a relationship between God and Man which He initated. Does this then mean that friendship with God precedes a working relationship with Him and does that mean the same in todays work context? It is clear that a relationship of trust must exist for any relationship to begin. The definition of friendship should then be thought through. What does friendship mean and what does it not? In the case of John 15:13, Jesus lays down His life for His friends. Is your boss that type of friend? Are you that type of boss? At work, you probably do not have that type of relationship that demands that type of commitment. In the military, you may need to demonstrate that type of commitment because of the reliance you have on each other in the battlefield where it is about life and death. (Act of Valor) However, various levels of commitment can be demonstrated being a supportive boss for someones promotion who deserves it and who has worked hard for it and demonstrates his/her capabilities. Acknowledging someone who has done well. Coaching someone who is facing issues whether it be interpersonal with others or with the work itself. All of these takes some level of interpersonal relationship between a boss and employee, it takes a level of knowledge that the boss has to have about his/her employee in order to support them at the right level. Therefore, if we define friendship as being a positive and stable relationship with someone, then all bosses need to be in a friendship with their employees subject to the direct connectivity within the hierarchy and the bosses capabilities (CEO may have a photographic memory and remember everyone and be able to connect in that way, but another may not be able to engage at that level and so does so via some other means letter, video, drop by once in a while, etc). This comes to another key issue that commonly occurs which is to do with perceptions of favoritism. As the story of the Prodigal Son illustrates, there at times can be a sense from one son that the other is being shown more favor than the other. As human beings, I am sure we have all felt that at some point in your life. A bosses responsibility then is to ensure that his/her relationship with his/her staff is appropriate for that person. To expect yourself to engage every employee equally at the same level is not only impractical, it is also not necessary as different employees want/need engagement at different levels. Some may not even care/deem it necessary. At the very least, an annual performance review can be expected. But through the course of a year, to not engage in some way over the phone or a conversation in the hall way about how the employee is doing is bound to occur and again may be sufficient for that time. Then at some other time, it may be

necessary to engage that person more frequently if say for example they want to move on and you have to spend more time supporting their career move and understanding it better. Who says managing people is easy! Just ask Moses & Aaron! So bosses need to consider how they are engaging their people at various levels and gauge for themselves the most basic level they need to engage people at and where there is a need for more attention or less and develop their own engagement strategy which may include taking people out for coffee, lunch, drinks, playing sports, hosting an evening out, supporting an event together, doing some fun thing or common interest together, etc. The purpose however for all of this is not so much because it will benefit the companys bottom line, but because you have a sense of value for people and relationships with people, and that you value them because God values them, the work they do, and who they are as Gods creation. Within all of this bosses still need to ensure performance and the delivery of results as expected by the company. It should not result in dysfunctional or inappropriate behavior. If it does, then something is wrong, because the work we do is also about stewardship. God has also given us the work we do and so we should not take that lightly. Bosses will benefit with establishing good relationships with their employees at various levels of engagement appropriate to establishing trust. Naturally these relationships may lead to various levels of friendships, but which wisdom and common sense needs to govern to protect against decisions that are inappropriate and unfair to other employees or to the company. A clear separation of the use of personal funds and company funds should be maintained for example to separate more personal friendships and dealings. Clarity in who makes decisions and the basis of the decisions on promotions and the like also should be made clear and to ensure no undue influence is given. With the multiplicity of permutations possible, it will be wisdom that will need to prevail. We cannot please everyone, but we can approach each other in ways that show people we value them as people first of all, then as employees. Through this approach to your people will you be able as a boss to express Gods character and serve as a witness to your employees believers and pre-believers alike. Employees Viewpoint You have a bad boss who treats you like dirt, is unreasonable, unappreciative and acts in ways that you do not want to know or be friends with them even if they were actually nice outside of work.

=> The question we need to be asking whether we are a boss or employee is not so much about friendship, rather do we have good relationships that reflect the character of God. Are we treating people fairly, are we valuing people as people, are we running our business with the right purpose or is the world subtly making us focus on self enrichment that we forget the real meaning of what we do? Do

we see work in the way that we are meant to as an expression of God and ourselves as His creation? Or has it become materialism, money and power focused that work has lost it meaning?

Work can be difficult enough as it is, whether you are out in the field farming the land, working in an industrial plant, in an office or service industry, and when it comes to managing people, another dimension of complexity comes into the picture. No everyone likes to lead or manage people who have a range of expectations with regard to their own career aspirations within the organization and personal life outside of the organization and which do not always align themselves in an individuals experience of life To those who have had a boss or supervisor, what type of person did you resonate with the best? What did not? Who do you consider the best boss you have had or not? What made them like that and what did you expect? If you are a boss or have been a boss, what type of boss were you? What expectations did you have of yourself? What expectations did the organization have of you? What did your people expect? Moses, Joseph, God, Jesus What are your values? What are you trying to achieve? Money? Giving back to society via building better citizens?

As a boss, our role should be firstly to establish respect through the right and friendly treatment of the people entrusted to us to lead which is an act that you must perform for your people. In other words, you must be the one to initiate and establish the foundation of trust. For if we are followers of Christ, we have Him as our Master and need to treat our people with justice and fairness, the same as God deals with us, but with an even greater grace and mercy. Following this establishment of respect and trust comes the position of friendship that is extended and then reciprocated.
Masters, grant to your slaves justice and fairness, knowing that you too have a Master in heaven Colossians 4:1 (NASB)

Ephesians 6:5 (NASB)

Slaves, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, as to Christ; Colossians 3:22 (NASB) Slaves, in all things obey those who are your masters on earth, not with external service, as those who merely please men, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord.

We spend 2,000 hours a year at work (given an eight hour day and 250 days of work) out of 8,760 hours a year or approximately 23% of our time with work colleagues. The remaining 77% is sleeping 33%, weekends 9%, and 35% on other activities. Given the majority of our time is at work and interacting with colleagues, the time spent with our boss would be expected to be a portion of these 2,000 hours annually spread amongst you other colleagues. Intuitively, the amount of time spend really depends at the end of the day on the cultural factors of the organization and personal leadership style. However, is time a factor for being friends with your colleagues and boss? How is being a friend to your colleague different to your boss? What is the context of a business relationship verses a personal friendship and what is the dividing line? Should there be a dividing line?