Likes to be Liked

Everyone likes to be liked. We want to be favored by those around us at work. It's biblical to be in good standing with our peers. In fact, the Bible says about young Jesus that He "grew in favor with God and man."(Luke 2:52) One sign of a good leader, however, is the willingness to make the hard decisions at work that you know will be unpopular and unfavorable.

Popularity is something that most people desire but not something that can be used as the guiding light when making difficult decisions for the company. It can be very tempting, however, to make decisions based on how others will react because of the accolades and positive cheers of the office gang that often accompany such a practice.

Herod ruled Galilee and imprisoned John the Baptizer for John's strong preaching and stand against adultery. Entertaining the Who's Who Crowd of Galilee at his own birthday party, Herod beheaded John even though he knew he shouldn't do so. He was "very sorry" that he had put himself in such a position. He was king. He could have done (or not done) anything he wanted. So why did he go through with the beheading?

”Because of his dinner guests." (Mark 6:26) He had publicly promised his niece whatever... Subsequently, she had asked for John's head. Feeling that he must save face and please his guests, Herod had it done. He was a king but not a leader. He pandered to the crowd in his royal workplace (or is that work palace?) instead of doing what was right and sensible.

In reality, your long-term workplace reputation and professional credibility take real hits when you make your decisions based on popular opinion.

Today's Workplace Challenge:

- Decide on courses of action that support the goals and philosophies of your workplace, even if it means taking heat today in order to achieve the company mission tomorrow.

- At times, you must be to be a leader at the expense of being unpopular. It doesn't mean that you are rude or insensitive to those around you. And it doesn't mean that you have to be first cousin to an angry drill sergeant. It simply means that you must be a leader. Your co-workers are counting on it.

- Furthermore, your Lord is the author of wisdom and He will direct and lead you. Don't cave in to popularity. Make the wise choice. Do what is right. It may be that in the end you really are appreciated for the tough call you made.

- And even if the admiration society doesn't show up when you have made a wise but difficult choice for your company, doing what is right carries with it its own reward. Remember, making decisions based on personal popularity is like eating a bowl of banana pudding: it tastes good at the moment but if you make a regular habit of it, you're not going to like the results!

Serve Christ and your workplace today!

Posted by: Will Ravelob at the PHIAA e-group