As the next few days go by, many people will be cracking eggshells. For some, it may be to make a breakfast for family; perhaps visiting for the holiday, perhaps while on a family vacation for Spring break. For others, it may be breaking the shells of those pretty colorful eggs that were left in a basket on Easter Sunday, perhaps to eat the eggs right out of the shell, or maybe to make some egg salad for a light Springtime lunch.
Think about the eggshell for a moment.
How fragile is it? What care we take to handle them gently. We lightly place them in a pot. We slowly bring them to a soft, rolling boil. We perfectly time the cooking. We very carefully handle them as we drain the pot. If we are just refrigerating them for later use, we lightly place them in a bowl in the refrigerator. If we are going to color them, we carefully lower them into the coloring solution.
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The goal, of course, is the perfect hard-boiled egg and the most beautiful egg in the basket. We treat the eggs with much TLC so we don’t ruin their potential through our own carelessness. Even as the shells are cracked, whether purposely or not, we still are very careful with them, so we don’t mix pieces of shells into the still useful white or yolk.
Now, think about your team members.
How carefully do you bring them along? How gently do you, coach and counsel? Do you handle each individual person with the right amount of attention, time, and TLC so their potential isn’t sacrificed? When they are in “hot water” are you out there to carefully lift them out?
And, what if one of them cracks in some way? They break a rule, miss a deadline, ask a few more questions than you would have liked. How do you respond? Are you frustrated by their imperfections? Or, do you simply look at them a new way, realizing that your gentle handling must continue, even if in a new direction?
Eggs are very fragile but, when lovingly handled, can be developed into something even more beautiful that represents new life and great joy. We can say the very same for people.
Pay attention to how you handle eggs. Then pay attention to how you handle people. Shouldn’t they both be treated the same? How are you doing in viewing your team as valuable and worthy of TLC?
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