Mission First: People Always

As far as attention to detail and an ability to pick up on the smallest of hints, humans are not at the top of the food chain. Dogs. Domestically speaking, dogs are way up there with their 300 million olfactory receptors (vs. humans' 6 million), 250 degree field of vision, and tapetum that reflects 130 times more light than a human eye. Cat lovers would argue that they are the most attentive, but science might disagree since cats' smell tops out at 80-200 olfactory receptors, depending on the science, and their 200 degree field of vision is still impressive. However, cats top dogs in the number of light-sensing rods and their hyper-adaptive vertical pupils, which allow them to be better predators at night - at least up close. (Cats are near-sighted!)

Still, despite these intelligent design differences, humans are adept at noticing the little things. We are also adept at noticing whenever someone misses the little things. In the Marine Corps, we called this "attention to detail" and any Marine will agree, you don't want to lack attention to detail when the Drill Instructor or the enemy is at hand.

Every now and again I catch myself being hyper critical of a mistake or an omission from one of my coworkers or even my supervisor. I have to admit, it's not one of my more honorable qualities. As Christians, we're taught to forgive, not to hold a grudge, and that whenever we realize we have a grudge, to settle it with our begrudged party or give it to God. He knows any grudge simply clouds our sight of Him and muffles our ability to hear His voice. Still, I get that nagging little thought in the back of my mind that says, "He should have known better," or "She missed her chance there."

Servant Leader, let's turn those tables a minute. Let's consider for a minute that God, who is a huge fan of attention to detail, wants us to use our detail oriented skills to build up those He's placed in our charge. Let's consider His example, how fearfully and wonderfully He made each of us uniquely, as an instruction on how to listen to those we lead.

"Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows." (Luke 12:6-7, NIV)

As a servant leader, it is our job to pay attention to the little things our co-workers, supervisors, and subordinates need. We do that by first listening, then understanding (truly understanding, not just superficially understanding, which takes application of wisdom), and then and only then, once we've heard and understood the nuance, then we speak or act.

Listen.

Comprehend.

Speak or Act.

But what happens when we're the one offended? What happens when we're the one who needed someone else to listen, to pay attention to the little details?

Well, we really only have two choices, because all the others are incongruent with Christian living. We can either confront the alleged offender and set the record straight with the intent of repairing the relationship, not punishing or belittling the accused (notice my tone here because it is deliberate). Or, we can let it go and look for the next opportunity to teach if applicable or praise if warranted. These are our only options because our role as servant leaders is to first serve, then to lead, and we should seek opportunity to do either of those first, even when our responsibility to the company includes disciplinary actions. The U.S. Military has a saying, "Mission First. People Always."

God's take is different. "People first. Mission always."

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34-35, NIV)