Agnes “Aggie “Sarthou is one of my dear spiritual mentors. She also teaches practical lesssons at the CCF Women of Worth Sessions at Tiendesitas and Makati sharing her expertise as an Organisational Development and Corporate Training Consultant for multi-national companies.
Would like to share with you her wonderful answer to the above question:
God has only one (1) standard: Excellence. He is completely perfect in every sense. He also commands us that we should dwell and practice excellence in the way we think and do because this pleases Him. “In whatever we do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men” – Colossians 3:23In contrast, “Pwede na” and mediocrity is man’s invention. It is natural for us to do “petiks” because it is more comfortable and easier to do.Excellence could have any interpretations, what is excellent to one may be mediocre to another. So what is critical is to set standards of work and deliverables. Once standards and expectations are clear and measurable, the more critical issue ishow I respond when the output/deliverable does not meet agreed standard.In pursuing excellence at work, I clarify expectations. I also clarify the standards/quality of the deliverable.If things don’t go well (and the employee commits an error, I resist from speaking harshly or speak in very high decibel!The first person I should handle is MYSELF. I need to calm myself first.When there is a mistake, I ASK… I don’t blame. I ask the person the basic questions the kindest way I could: What happened, why it happened, where did it happen, what procedure was not done properly, etc.Once the person realizes that there was an infraction in the work standard/behavior/procedure and he/she admits that he/she committed the mistake, then I ask how he/she will do it next time… This way, I am able to preserve the dignity and self-esteem of the other person but making it clear that he committed the error and there may be consequences to the error.In all likelihood, he/she will not repeat it again. Why, because we have clarified the reason why the mistake happened and he/she already knows how to do it better next time.The better way of responding to mistakes is to ASK, not to TELL… and then FORGIVE.
This is God’s way … remember, when Adam ate the fruit, God did not immediately strike them with lightning! He asked Adam: “Where are you? … Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” And then He clothed them with garments of skin … to cover their nakedness, sin and shame.
Wow such beautiful words of wisdom from Aggie. Thank you so much Aggie for your sharing!!!!
Please click here to see previous posts featuring Aggie Sarthou including her journey with Stage 4 Cancer thirteen years ago.
BUTTERFLY IN THE SPRING 