Playing God is No Damned Fun

I will soon be interviewing and hiring for an available position in our department. One of the applicants is someone I have worked with and like and respect, but I won't know until the end of the process if he's the best person for the job. Hiring one person and turning down others always gives me the uncomfortable sense of influencing destinies. Knowing that in this job market my decision can have a particularly serious impact on the lives of job candidates and their families is a heavier weight than I like to have on my shoulders.

I can't hire based on who needs the job the most, which I consider fortunate. It's challenging enough to make a business decision based on the work I think each person can do and how I think he or she will interact with the team for the ultimate good of our department.

The other side of the Be a Manager/Play God coin is ending someone's job. Tomorrow one of my colleagues will be releasing an employee for non-performance among other issues. We have had several conversations about it, and I will be very surprised if he sleeps well tonight. It seems to be a good decision and based on sound business principles—but hard as hell to carry out.

I wonder if when I pray, God determines how to answer based on if it's good business. And if when making such celestial decisions, it makes Him itch when He has to say, "Sorry. Thanks for being on the show."