May 2
When They Do It Differently
We explain a service job to the member taking over and offer to be available. Soon they change something we always did a particular way. Nothing has gone wrong, but we are uneasy. We begin checking details, offering frequent reminders, and asking other people whether they have noticed. Our offer of help is slowly becoming an unofficial requirement that the job still look like ours.
Entrusting responsibility involves more than handing over a key or a folder. The new person needs the information necessary to do the work and an honest understanding of the group's expectations. Within those expectations, their judgment has a place. We can raise a real concern without supervising every preference. Our experience remains available, even when it is not consulted on every choice. It takes some adjustment to discover that a service we cared about can continue well without continuing in our style.
Which of my instructions protects the work, and which protects my preferred way of doing it?
The new person has a part to learn and make their own.
For the A.A. nerds: Twelve Concepts for World Service, Concept III.