Self - Management

Self – Management

     I’ve had management positions in which I supervised those who were placed under me, but I could never expect them to do any more than what I was willing to do or to go to any level beyond which I had been able to go. The simple truth remains that before I can effectively lead others, I have to first take charge of leading myself.

    I think this truth applies universally. Indeed! If most people were given the opportunity to kick the person responsible for their troubles in the seat of the pants, they wouldn’t be able to sit down for a week!

  

     We have to be willing and determined to get out of our own way if we’re going to succeed in life. This requires us to do two things that sound simple, but must always be maintained with diligence if they are to be mastered. They are (1) doing what’s best and (2) avoiding the rest.

Determining which category things should be placed in becomes easier when we remember the 3 R’s.

Requirement

Return

Reward

Requirement: What must I do?

It’s always nice when we find things that can be delegated to other staff or deleted from our schedules, but there will always be things within each of our days that only we can do. These have to be tackled by order of their priority. 

Return: What brings the greatest results?

What can you do better than anyone else? What areas are you strong in? Add the items of greatest returns to your list as well.

Reward: What gives the most satisfaction? 

Certain activities may be drudgery for some people, but those same activities may be what you’re passionate about and what makes your heart sing. What are those things? What could you do every day, even if you never got paid for it? Add those things to your list.

Avoid anything that falls outside these three areas. Dump them if possible, delegate if you must. The perfect zone in life is when return and reward overlap. When that happens, you will find yourself working in your strength zone. If you can find a way to make all three of those areas overlap, you will be like Thomas Edison who said, “I never did a day’s work in my life; it was all fun.”

These are things we can teach to others in order to increase their enjoyment in their job and add value to them. However, the best lesson must be learned by the teacher, before the teacher can pass it on to others. We must be effective and efficient at managing ourselves before we can expect to be proficient at managing others. 

Learning to do so in a way that is both effective and efficient is not easy and it takes to time to maintain and master, but it's a necessity if we went to prosper and have the the fulfilled lifestyle, each of us desires to achieve.