Matt's Muzings
To help you think, ponder and reflect on the human side of leadership
January, 2008 Volume 10, Issue 83
Pity the poor leader who believes that he or she can meet the expectations of those they serve in such a way that everyone will be happy and content when the expectations are met.
I will paraphrase a long quote from Richard Farson below to illustrate this:
The paradox is that improvement in human affairs leads not to satisfaction but to discontent, albeit a higher-order discontent than might have existed before. This is what historians have labeled the theory of rising expectations. It fuels the fires of revolution and change because it creates a discrepancy between what people have and what they now see is possible to have. That discrepancy is the source of discontent and the engine for change.
Psychologist Abraham Maslow had an interesting way of describing this phenomenon as it applied to the health of organizations. He advised managers to listen not for the presence or absence of complaints, but rather to what people were complaining about -- that is, the quality or level of the complaint. He called them "grumbles." In the least healthy organizations, Maslow said, you can expect to hear low-order grumbles - complaints about working conditions, about what he called "deficiency needs." For example: "It's too hot in here." Or, "I don't get paid enough."
In a healthier organization, Maslow said, there would be high-order grumbles - complaints that extend beyond the self to more altruistic concerns for self or society.
There is the absurdity. Only in an organization where people are in on things and where their talents are being utilized would it occur to someone to complain about those higher-order issues. What this means to the manager is that improvement does not bring contentment but its opposite. Absurd as it seems, the way to judge your effectiveness is to assess the quality of the discontent you engender, the ability to produce movement from low-order discontent to high-order discontent. Easing the dress codes raises expectations for further change, and they now want more informal days, looser codes, clearer policies. Pity the poor manager who can't imagine how a well-intended action led to such grousing. The paradox of rising expectations helps us better understand why it is on the best campuses that there is the most restlessness and demand for change.
In everything give thanks!
If only I had...
In an introspective moment, we can see this in ourselves.
How many times have you and I told ourselves, "If only I had ___, I would be happy."
Then we get it and very quickly we move on in our expecting something else will make us happier. If you find this in yourself as I do, then we must get over it. If we can't be content where we are right now with what we have and are doing, nothing that we gain will give us anymore peace, love or whatever than we have right now. No matter what we get, we will just move to a higher level of discontent. This is not wrong, we just need to embrace this as a part of life in a fallen world.
Paul wrote, "Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need."
We must keep our eyes on Jesus as the author and perfector of our faith and not evaluate our leadership based on discontent, but learning how to read what kind of discontent and in a way taking some of it as an encouragement.
May your New Year be blessed and you find new life and release this year in God.
Matt & Celia
Family Matters:
Matt: I had a great time in Brazil at the staff conference down there. It was my first trip to South America and I really enjoyed the people and time spent there. I also, had a blast with my family. We were all together for Christmas for the first time in almost 15 years.
Celia: Oregon was a fun time for me visiting with friends and my brother and his wife and family. Thanks for the hospitality! Matt and I both celebrated birthdays and our 25th wedding anniversary in December. We are looking forward to a great year! My soul, wait thou in silence for God only; For my expectation is from him. Ps 65:2
Josh: Josh, my nephew and I went snow boarding and had a really good time. It was fun (cold) to be in the snow and hang out together. He is doing better but still finds it a challenge to find his place there in Oregon. Transitions just take time.