Seeing your teammates through God-tinted glasses

By Jolly Mokorosi

For some of us our natural inclinations are towards tasks over people. I frequently wonder how many people would still choose to work for or with me without serious misgivings if they were preview to my thoughts. And as I discovered on numerous occasions this is not necessarily the most effective and efficient approach to tasks in any case. Even more importantly – it is not God’s standard. The Bible is clear on how Christians are called to view and work with their fellow man.

Hebrews 12:14 calls us to “Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord”. Further to this Philippians 2:4 implores us to “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” And if most of us are really honest with ourselves we know that some of the approaches we use to interact with others do not necessarily “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.”(Matthew 6:33).

Hard teachings, right? Fear not. Here are some ways we can make relationships work better.

Image courtesy of freedigitalimages.net/stock images
Image courtesy of freedigitalimages.net/stockimages

Read books that help you understand and cultivate relationships with people

I once read a Harvard Business Review article that asked several several executives what suggestions they had for people wanting to progress in their careers. One stuck out for me as unusual. A CEO that suggested reading fiction to understand human behavior. Although my current read is not fiction it fits the bill in a sense. My current read is a John Maxwell Classic – Be a people person: Effective people through effective relationships. I find that to keep people front of kind I need to get into the habit of reading at least 1 book every 6 months or so that addresses an aspect of being intentionally relational. This helps me ‘transform’ my mind by ‘renewing’ it.

Ask God to show you what He sees

One year I felt the Holy Spirit prompting me to write personal Valentine’s Day messages to my team. It was relatively easy for some but I really agonised over others. I had to ask for help. So I prayed for God to show me what I had been failing to see. It was an eye opener and really humbling. Especially when I realised what I had been missing out on from the more quieter members of staff.

Reading people’s prophecies

I listened to a sermon by Kris Vallotton once when he spoke on a member of staff who loves to read prophetic words given to others. He asked her why does she do this. She responded so that she may see and respond to people in accordance with those prophecies, how God sees them? It is certainly not always possible to read the prophecies of others in the normal corporate setting but God is sure to show you and give you glimpses into what these may be.

Taking Psychometric tests and sharing the results

Wikipedia describes psychometrics tests as the field of study concerned with the theory and technique of psychological measurement. One part of the field is concerned with the objective measurement of skills and knowledge, abilities, attitudes, personality traits, and educational achievement.

There is no doubt that God has created us as unique individuals. However psychometric and personality tests frequently allow us to see others whilst subtracting the subjectivity with which we view others.

Question

What deliberate steps have you taken in an attempt to cultivate healthy relationships at work?

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