When Employees Become “Independent Contractors” in the Workplace

In today’s professional world, whether in business, education, or athletics, it seems more and more employees are stepping out on their own, acting like independent contractors rather than team members. They make decisions without proper communication, manipulate systems to serve their own interests, and assume their way is better than the direction given by their superiors.

We see this trend vividly in collegiate football right now. High-dollar coaches are being fired across the country. Some of these dismissals stem from not winning enough games. Others may have deeper causes. Are these coaches being terminated because they failed to meet expectations set by their superiors, or because they failed to follow direction? There’s an important distinction between the two.
If a head coach is doing exactly what leadership asked of them and still falls short in the win column, perhaps the goals were unrealistic. If there is a preponderance of evidence that the coach ignored institutional direction, ran their own system, or operated as a lone ranger, then termination makes sense. After all, leadership only works when communication and alignment exist between the people holding the rope together.

This same principle applies far beyond the football field. Consider a Vice President or senior administrator who quietly manipulates policies or practices to favor their employees without the consent of the college leadership. Their boss may unknowingly sign off on paperwork or approve decisions that were not made transparently. It’s easy to “slide things by” when trust exists. When that trust is broken, when the deception is discovered, should that VP or senior administrator be held accountable?

Both the coach and the executive are charged with leading others, but they are also charged with following direction. When they decide to become “independent contractors,” doing things their own way without transparency, it erodes trust and disrupts the chain of leadership.

I often think of leadership as a rope. When leaders are tied together, they help hold one another up. When someone decides to step too far away, operating independently, cutting corners, or hiding decisions, they stretch the rope thin. Eventually, someone slips. When that happens, no one can hold them up. They hang by their own actions.

It’s a hard truth in any organization: autonomy without accountability leads to failure. The best employees, coaches, and leaders understand that communication and collaboration are not signs of weakness, they are signs of strength. Keeping your superior “in the light” on everything you do isn’t just respectful; it’s responsible leadership.

In the end, it’s better to share the rope than to cut it.

Thought for the Week, “In any organization, accountability is the rope that ties leadership together. Without it, trust unravels, and when trust unravels, the whole system begins to fall.” Reb Brock, one of the leading strength coaches in America.

Dr. Jack Welch serves as President of Fort Scott Community College. With a career spanning professional sports, public education, and rural community development, he brings a servant-leader mindset and a passion for building trust-driven cultures that empower people to thrive in the classroom, on the field, and in life. He is also the author of Foundations of Coaching: The Total Coaching Manual.

Keys to the Kingdom

By Carolyn Tucker

DIY and DYI

My late husband was definitely a DIY guy. Whatever needed to be built, he built it. Whatever needed to be repaired, he repaired it. I watched him repair my washer and dryer and many other things even though he had no previous experience with those appliances or items. I learned early on in our marriage not to despair when something malfunctioned or flat-out bit the dust. It didn’t matter what it was, he could fix it. One day I was visiting with my daughter about working on a project and I got mixed up and called it DYI and she immediately labeled it “Do Yourself In.” I thought that was both funny and true.

Some projects are fine to do yourself. But some things (like life) won’t turn out well if you attempt to do it all by yourself. Believers can “do ourselves in” trying to live without God’s grace and strength. It’s a nonbiblical and miserable way to live when we only trust in ourselves. We can strive and struggle to do things on our own, or we can invite God to be I AM like He was for Moses.

In the Book of Psalms, David is praising God because He rescued him from all his  enemies. David is declaring that he constantly trusts God to take care of him. “The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety. I called on the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and He saved me from my enemies“ (Psalm 18:2-3 NLT). In today’s culture, worry, stress, and anxiety would be considered enemies, along with many other  troublesome emotions and distressing situations.

Life, even on a good day, is too complicated to think you can do it yourself. I know of a minister that was curious and asked the Lord, “What would my life be like if the Holy Spirit wasn’t involved?” After that honest question, the man (who was also a musician)  said he couldn’t think clearly to choose the songs and play piano for the church service. He had to ask someone else to lead the worship. In addition, he couldn’t even style his hair! The minister quickly found out he couldn’t really do anything without the Holy Spirit’s help. It would appear that believers take God’s involvement and guidance in our daily lives for granted.

If we want to fix something, let’s do it the way Paul told Timothy to do it: “I have [fixed my] hope on the living God, Who is the Savior (Preserver, Maintainer, Deliverer) of all men, especially of those who believe (trust in, rely on, and adhere to Him)” (1 Timothy 4:10 AMP). Believers are supposed to adhere to God like an adhesive bandage sticks to our skin. Like an athlete, we have a spiritual race to run in order to win the crown of life. Our endurance is undergirded by trusting in the living God to get us over the finish line. But no one is going to even get close to the finish line with a DIY attitude and theology.

We can rely on this truth: “I can do all things because of Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13 MEV). Abiding in Christ is the secret to accomplishing whatever He has called us to do. And relying on Christ for His strength and empowerment will get us through life’s challenges without breaking down.

The Key: Don’t DYI by thinking you can DIY.