Principals vs. Methods

Last week I was talking with a friend who mentioned some discontent for how some of his co-workers were responding to directives from their leader.  Basically, people were simply ignoring or down right refusing to do what was asked of them.  Upon him finishing his story I jumped in with my view of principals and methods

Principals are those things that we hold fixed.  These are closed hand policies that are non-negotiable.  As a teacher some of these would include: every child can learn, we need to meet kids where they are, we must continue to improve, etc.  As a children's leader at my church some of these principals would include: we teach the Bible, kids will feel known, we will pray with the kids, etc.  Principals are what form our core values.  When asked to go against a principal it feels as though we are committing a moral wrong.  In fact, it is when our principals are threatened that we tend to plant a flag and declare that we will defend the principal, and we should!

Methods are simply the means to fulfilling a principal.  These are open hand policies and will often change over the course of time.  For example, in the Sunday School program I lead it is a principal of the team to teach from the Bible.  The methods of doing that between Sunday School teachers is extremely different.  Some will stand and read directly from the Bible and some will project the reading on to a screen.  Although these methods are different they are not at odds with each other as they are focused on the same principal.  Methods come and go and should not be the grounds to start an all out war because someone is suggesting, telling, or doing something different.

So, how does this fit into a work place environment where a leaders is asking someone to do something?  In my experience it is very simple.  If a boss or leader asks me to do something that is in direct contrast with a principal I must hold my ground, state my case, and stick to my core values.  This doesn't happen often as I have never been asked to go against a principal that I have.  If a boss or leader asks me to change the method of which I am doing something I should, state my case, and depending on what the leader says follow their direction. 

Today I feel that to many people are unwilling to change their methods of doing things.  I see it to often where relationships are destroyed over a difference in methods.  Simply put, if we are working toward the same principal certainly our methods can vary!  By holding your principals tight and being willing to negotiate the methods we will be much more efficient team members in all aspects of life.