Balancing duty and excellence

Balancing duty and excellence

The tricky thing for teams and organizations is to find the sweet spot between reasonable minimum expectations and encouraging excellence. Too much focus on minimums can breed mediocrity; too much pressure on achieving excellence can breed burnout.

Like music, too much rest is just boring silence; too much sound is just noise. The music analogy can also help us understand how to balance duty and going above and beyond.

In a music group or in a band, every member has spaces to fill. It is everyone’s duty to stick to the agreed timing so everyone can groove. There is a time for a particular member to shine – a guitar solo, a high note for the vocal, an iconic drum pattern, a groovy bass fill, or a playful keyboard riff.

Doing one’s duty should be appreciated but not necessarily commended, because doing one’s duty is to let others shine. It is through good faith that we find ourselves opportunities to shine without depriving others of their spotlight.

Luke Luke 17:5-10. “We are useless servants: we have done no more than our duty.”

[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 275: OCTOBER 2, 2022]