Manage Up

This week fun bit o’ information comes to us courtesy of Lynn Taylor, author of the book “Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant: How to Manage Childish Boss Behavior and Thrive in Your Job”. Let it be known for the record that I love my boss (God), I don’t think anyone in the office is childish, and I haven’t even read Lynn Taylor’s book. (I don’t read nearly as much as I would like to)
According to a survey issued by Taylor, employees spend 19.2 hours a week worrying about what their bosses say so or do. 13 of these hours come during the workweek and 6.2 of them come during the weekend. Taylor states, especially in this economic climate, that employees “have to set limits as you would with a child.” Her approach comes in form of a handy acronym: “C.A.L.M.”.
First, you must “Communicate with your boss bravely, openly, honestly, and frequently.” You must Anticipate – “be aware of problems before they escalate and have solutions ready”. One must also Laugh to relieve tension and create “a better atmosphere”. Finally, an employee should “Manage up by using negative and positive enforcement for certain behaviors.”
Reading the article about Lynn Taylor on walletpop.com, several principles from scripture came to mind. The one regulation that one might believe stands in opposition to scripture is “Manage up”. While we can’t manage God, we can certainly manage our view of Him and how we interact with Him. God isn’t constantly waiting for us to make mistakes so that he can issue punishment. (Jer. 29:11) God is not looking for blind, fearful devotion. When Jacob wrestled with an angel in Gen. 32, he was rewarded. We should constantly be wrestling with our concept of God, re-examining why and how we dedicate our lives to Him.