10.09.2011 | By: Morgan

Efficient Manager or Control Freak?



Mrs. S is so laid back. She doesn't need to know what's going on all the time. Ask her to show up, she will, and she'll help.

Now I, on the other hand, thrive on feeling like I've got it all down. I want times, places, names, ideas, possibilities -everything- to be thought of and accounted for. I have a hard time with flexibility and I want things to go the way I pictured them, or I get flustered (or worse). Also, if I'm asked to do something, but don't feel I was given enough information, I gripe and complain. - Not very Christlike- I know :(

So I'm asking God to show me the balance. I don't want to be a control freak, but I also see from the way God does things and the Proverbs 31 woman that it's godly to be orderly and efficient. So I think it's a difference between being a manager and a controller.

Managers:
Know they don't "own" what they're working with, but are stewards for another.
They give their best to any given situation and think on their feet if something pops up they didn't expect, with creative thinking, they find a solution.
They think ahead/prepare thoroughly, but also take in advice from others.
They accept help when it's wise to do so.

Controllers:
Feel they "own" the situation or object.
Have a hard time accepting advice and loose it when things don't go as they planned.
When things start to go awry, they fall apart or complain/scream at others around them.
They think ahead, but it's often with a limited view, because they only take in "Their way."

These are just some thoughts right now. I'm considering looking up leaders in the Bible that display the different types but I think there would be a common theme:

Managers Seek God 1st and after prayer and advice from godly counsel, they do what they can to give work for God, with their best efforts. They don't worry about how things will reflect on them, but order their conduct in a way that eludes Jesus and draws people to Him. They depend on Him throughout the process and make it a heavenly offering.

Controllers, . . . . don't.

(At least for now,)
Morgan