Dear Salt&Light,

I find that my workplace is still doing many things in an archaic and unproductive way. I’ve tried to tell my supervisor that we need to improve some of our processes, but he just shakes it off and tells me to keep my head low and follow status quo. I want what is best for my workplace, and we are called to pursue excellence in whatever we do (Philippians 1:9-10). What should I do? 

 Janet P, 30, human resource executive 

First of all, it is great to hear that you are engaged enough in your job to want to make positive changes in your role. It is also great that you approached your supervisor before you tried to make any changes.

So what does excellence mean for us? Dictionary.com defines it as such: To surpass, to be superior to, to outdo. When we pursue excellence, what are we trying to surpass, be superior to and outdo?

Society dictates excellence as how much we outdo or outperform those around us, rewarding those who accumulate the most glory for themselves.

We need to keep our eye on the biblical pursuit of excellence and not let society’s definition derail us. Let’s explore what the Bible says about excellence.

In the passage you pointed to, Paul’s exhortation and prayer for the Philippians is that their love would grow with knowledge and discernment, and with this knowledge and discernment, they would be able to approve what is excellent (Philippians 1:9-10).

The starting point is a growing love for God and His creation (Matthew 23:37-8). Our pursuit of excellence needs to be motivated by our love for God and the people around us.

However, even more importantly, everything that we do, or want to do, needs to be done for the glory of God (Philippians 1:11; 1 Corinthians 10:31).

Simply put, our pursuit of excellence needs to be motivated by a love for God and a resulting love for people, and it needs to result in an increase in God’s glory.

In your situation, there is no simple, single solution. Perhaps we could reflect on some of these questions: How do we show love and respect in this situation? What can we do that will show Christ’s glory most greatly, and embody Christ’s character and love the most?

From a practical standpoint, there could be several ways of approaching the situation:

1. Try to understand why things are done the way they are. Change your perspective to the processes, rather than label the processes as archaic and unproductive, try to understand and evaluate fairly why they are done in the current way.

Approach other stakeholders, or more experienced colleagues, to help you increase your knowledge of the processes and perhaps even build some new friendships along the way. One might discover that there are some valid reasons that are specific to the company that require some extra steps.

2. Try to think of specific and small improvements that are easily implementable. When we suggest solutions and include the input of others, it means that we have put thought and due diligence into trying to improve a process rather than just complaining that there are problems that need to be fixed.

Suggesting implementable steps may be more palatable from a time and resource perspective compared to a complete overhaul.

3. Schedule a time with your supervisor to speak about it. Scheduling time for a conversation shows that you respect your manager’s time, and gives him an option to reject the meeting if he is busy and reschedule it to a time where he is committed to meet with you.

This time will be more purposeful and thoughtful, rather than mentioning changes on the fly as they pop into our heads.

Again, doing these may not guarantee a positive response from the supervisor, but it certainly would demonstrate excellence in wanting to improve processes within the boundaries of the authority and a proper understanding of the circumstances.

Regardless of the outcome after discussions with the supervisor, we need to entrust our work to God (Psalm 20:7, Proverbs 3:5-6, Romans 15:13).

Our eight to 10 hours at work each day belong to God as well; there is no dichotomy.

The Bible has examples of “extreme” workplaces.

Take Daniel and Joseph in the Old Testament. They had employers who had control over their lives, literally, but God in his power and wisdom kept Daniel from physical harm (Daniel 6:23) and gave Joseph favour in his different workplaces, as a head servant, as a prisoner, and as vice-head of state (Genesis 39: 2-3, 21-22, 39-40).

As we continue to entrust ourselves and our jobs to God, He will fill us with joy and peace, overflowing with hope by the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:13).