“Work gravitates toward competence until failure”
It is a curious proverb reminding us
that sometimes competence can lead to failure. How? Because in organizations and
institutions, (the church included), "work gravitates toward competence
until failure." When there is more to be done who gets asked to do it? Do
the incompetents get asked? Not usually. Its
the competent people who usually get the extra work. Work piles up until the
competent person simply has too much to do and they start slipping, forgetting
things, cutting corners on excellence and finally they fail with a big
belly-flopper and every says, That’s too bad—they were so
promising.” Thus, the
practical corollary of this proverb (if you are one of those competent people)
is, “Only you can control the amount of work you accept.” If you
don’t, your own competence may lead you to failure.
Perhaps this is why life seems so
much easier for incompetents. ("Incompetent" professionally, that
is.) Incompetents seldom burn out. They rarely get extra assignments. They go
home early, take evenings off, and always seem to have extra time to pursue
their interesting hobbies and leisure time activities of the balanced life. But
a competent person can have this too—but only if they learn to say “no.”
So, are you an especially competent
person? Do you seem to be a magnet for new assignments, new jobs, additional
responsibilities, extra work? Then beware. You may be lining up for a big
failure in the future. The very excellence with which you do things now may
eventually be the benchmark against which your downfall will be measured. When
you get spread thin enough you'll start letting your usual quality slip. At
first nobody will notice. Only you will know. Your reputation will carry you
for a while. But eventually others will notice. You will be slipping. As you
get spread thinner you'll start compromising your preparation and sacrificing your
quality. You won’t be as good as you used to be—simply because you
are trying to do too much. You will become like the thorny soil—trying to
grow too much. Then people will be disappointed and start talking about how
promising you were, but how much you’ve slipped. Assignments will quit
coming your way. They’ll start asking someone “more reliable.”
So, how can you avoid
"Competence failure?" Learn to say no. You can't count on the church,
your senior pastor, your district, or your institution to control the amount of
work coming your way. They'll load you up straw-by-straw until the "final
straw" breaks your back. Only you
can guard against this overload. By learning to say no.
Saying no to a good thing is hard. But it is the only way. Everyone should
learn to say no of course, but competent people especially must learn it. Especially competent ministers. Better to disappoint people
a little now, than disappoint them a lot later. "Only the camel knows how much
straw he can carry."
What have you learned in life about trying
to do too much?
So, what do you think?
Responses to this column are welcome
at Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/profile.php?id=161502633
Keith Drury
January 10, 2012
www.TuesdayColumn.com
Original 1984 recording:
http://www.drurywriting.com/keith/strategetics/leadership/49.mp3