Sep 07 2005
Current Leadership-Thoughts Blog: Obeying Orders or Saving a Life, Following Process or Sacrificing Process for the Sake of a Life…the Tough Choice Leaders Often Face: The New York Times, September 7, 2005
One of the “leadership intensive” stories emerging out of the hurricane Katrina disaster relief effort appeared in the New York Times, Wednesday, September 7…Navy Pilots Who Rescued Victims Are Reprimanded (A21).
“Two Navy helicopter pilots and their crews returned from New Orleans on Aug. 30 expecting to be greeted as lifesavers after ferrying more than 100 hurricane victims to safety. Instead, their superiors chided the pilots, Lt. David Shand and Lt. matt Udkow, at a meeting the next morning for rescuing civilians when their assignment that day had been to deliver food and water to military installations along the Gulf Coast. “I felt it was a great day because we supplied the people we needed to and we rescued people, too,” Lieutenant Udkow said. But the air operations commander at Pensacola Naval Air Station “reminded us that the logistical mission needed to be our area of focus.”
After reading this piece from the NYT, I immediately thought of the story in Mark’s Gospel of Jesus healing on the Sabbath. Jesus, in response to the condemnation of the religious experts (Pharisees) due to Jesus violating the Sabbath because he “worked” (or healed a life), says, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” Translated into the language of leadership, I believe that leaders are continually asked to make these kinds of “preserving the life, dignity and esteem of people within the organization” decisions when there are competing agendas. When given a choice between following protocol, policy and process or ensuring that people are honored, esteemed and encouraged (and, at times “rescued”), I believe we are called ultimately to attend to the needs of the human spirit….people. I realize this is a complex issue. What happens when the very existence of the business is at stake in this decision? It is not easily solved. Nor can one decision stand as “the” decision that casts the die within an organization. However, leaders must always exercise timely judgment and wisdom given the unique situation. If we take the words of Jesus to heart, then we are forced to acknowledge that the organization exists to serve the well-being of the person “first” rather than itself.