SCRIPTURE: “The armed men went before the priests who blew the trumpets, and the rear guard came after the ark, while the priests continued blowing the trumpets” (Joshua 6:9 KJV).
QUOTE: “Highly effective teams have clearly articulated roles and responsibilities. – The Team Approach” -CMOE Press.
NOTE:
A dog fed by ten men will ultimately die of hunger! How does that statement sound to you? Confusing? It was indeed confusing to me until I got the amazing explanation. The dog in question will die of hunger because each of the ten men that should have fed the dog will each be assuming that someone else should or would have fed the dog. And at the end of the day, no one will – and the dog will die out of the irresponsibility of ten men! Everybody’s job is actually nobody’s job. No more, no less. Team work is therefore more about oneness – unity, than it is about sameness – uniformity.
When a leader assigns a role to a team member, he/she has actually assigned at least two things; authority and responsibility. And that makes the team member answerable and accountable on that specific assignment. Stop giving generic instructions and assignments as a leader. There must be an assignment for everyone and everyone must be for a specific assignment. Specify expectations, timelines, and reporting lines etc. Anywhere there is so much of “I don’t know” and there is lack of ownership to responsibilities, productivity will be below optimal and entropy could be the end result of such organizations.
ILLUSTRATION:
Many people still wonder why a “good man” was struck dead when Uzzah attempted to help the ark of God from falling off the cart. In the same vein, what is the big deal about Saul offering the sacrifice when Samuel delayed in coming? Both scenarios are about knowing and staying on your role. They are about maintaining your lane!
REFLECTION:
Can you relate with the ‘ten-men-one-dog’ concept to any experience(s) you once had? Share with someone.
TWO YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN: 2 Kings 21, Psalm 30