Starting a new
project. Starting a new position at
work. Starting with a new company.
Starting a new business. Starting
a new goal or objective.
All of us have
started something. Sometimes with
excitement. Many times with
apprehension, hesitation, and some level of anxiety. However, as it is new, we begin with high
energy and high expectations. As hours
go by, and days go by, and weeks and months go by, and sometimes as years go
by, we become discouraged. We all ask
why.
I have heard about a
particular parable many times in my life, "Pushing Against the
Rock". I recently came across it
and have included a copy below (thank you R.K. Owen, Ph.D.) It is not found in the Bible. However, it does speak of God and faith, and
I will refer to later in this posting.
Pushing Against The Rock
Author Unknown
There once was a man who was asleep one night in his cabin when
suddenly his room filled with light and the Saviour appeared to him.
The Lord told him He had a work for him to do, and showed him a
large rock explaining that he was to push against the rock with all his might.
This the man did, and for many days he toiled from sunup to sundown; his
shoulder set squarely against the cold massive surface of the rock, pushing
with all his might. Each night the man returned to his cabin sore and worn out,
feeling his whole day had been spent in vain.
Seeing that the man showed signs of discouragement, Satan decided
to enter the picture - placing thoughts in the man's mind, such as ``Why kill
yourself over this?, you're never going to move it!'' or ``Boy, you've been at
it a long time and you haven't even scratched the surface!'' etc. giving the
man the impression the task was impossible and the man was an unworthy servant
because he wasn't moving the massive stone.
These thoughts discouraged and disheartened the man and he started
to ease up in his efforts. ``Why kill myself?'' he thought. ``I'll just put in
my time putting forth just the minimum of effort and that will be good
enough.'' And this he did or at least planned on doing until, one day, he
decided to take his troubles to the Lord.
``Lord,'' he said, ``I have labored hard and long in Your service,
putting forth all my strength to do that which You have asked of me. Yet after
all this time, I have not even budged that rock even half a millimeter. What is
wrong? Why am I failing?''
To this the Lord responded compassionately, ``My friend, when long
ago I asked you to serve Me and you accepted, I told you to push against the
rock with all your strength and that you have done. But never once did I
mention to you that I expected you to move it. At least not by yourself. Your
task was to push. And now you come to Me, your strength spent, thinking that
you have failed, ready to quit. But is this really so? Look at yourself. Your
arms are strong and muscled; your back sinewed and brown. Your hands are
calloused from constant pressure and your legs have become massive and hard.
Through opposition you have grown much and your ability now far surpasses that
which you used to have. Yet still, you haven't succeeded in moving the rock;
and you come to Me now with a heavy heart and your strength spent. I, my friend
will move the rock. Your calling was to be obedient and push, and to exercise
your faith and trust in My wisdom, and this you have done.''
Thoughts - we are
often told that it is OK to call out what is wrong. We should do this without hesitation and
without fear. The man in the story above
calls out to God and essentially says he believes his efforts are foolish given
that he is not making any progress with moving the stone. We as leaders, managers, and owners need to
welcome these types of discussions and not discount what our staff is sharing
with us. We need to embrace the feedback
and respect the individual for their courage.
What they share with us is their perception. And, as we have heard and said many times,
perception is reality.
Challenge management
to provide a venue to hear what is wrong in anonymity, and what we all believe
could be better. PSC has done this with
their Tiny Pulse feedback loop. Challenge
management to provide a venue to discuss concerns, issues, and recommendations
openly. Challenge leadership to positively act, truly addressing the concerns
that have been shared. And most of all,
as leaders, managers, and owners, ask clarifying questions. Dig deep into understanding why this point
has been brought to your attention.
If
your desire is to build a world-class team, practice, branch, company, etc.,
completing a single task will not provide you the results you are looking
for. Remember, it is not necessarily the
task at hand that needs to be completed, but the culmination of many tasks to
reach the end goal. As Lone Watie (a
Character in the movie The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976), "We thought about it for a long
time, 'Endeavor to persevere'. And when we had thought about it long enough,
we. . ." . What will your decision
be when it comes to calling out what is wrong, or righting the wrong that was
call out? Whatever your choice, be
persistent in doing the right thing.
