How To Manage Yourself?
This article is based on the book by Peter F. Ducker, Managing Oneself, Harvard Business Review.
To manage yourself is to attempt to achieve great things.
Some people do it naturally, but most of us will have to learn the skills required to develop ourselves and find out how we can make our greatest contributions.
1. Know your strengths and capitalise on them.
We perform from our strengths, so without knowing them, you wouldn’t know what to focus on and which skills are worth the investment. Although people think they know their strengths and weaknesses, experience shows most guesses are often wrong.
To aid yourself, you might want to do a feedback analysis. Wherever you make a key decision or action, write it down next to your expectations of what you think is going to happen as a result. Then, check your records after 9-12 months to see how far off you were. This evaluation will uncover your strengths like no other method.
2. How do you perform?
The way you perform is unique to you. It is a combination of your nature and nurture. A few questions to find answers for:
Are you a reader or a listener?
Very few people are both. A listener is a person who perceives spoken words faster and can talk well. The reader excels in the perception of written words and is likely to be good at writing.
How do you learn?
The answer is usually a combination of things highly unique to you. For example, you might require making notes and then trying new knowledge on practice to learn something thoroughly. Remember your reply, and use it in the future.
Do you work well with people, or do you prefer to work alone?
If your answer is with people, then in what sort of relationships? Example: as a mentor, as a subordinate, as a leader in a small group, etc.
Do you produce results as a decision-maker or as an advisor?
People who advise well and see multiple perspectives are often too overwhelmed to make decisions. On the other hand, those who are quick with their decisions sometimes struggle to stop and give it another thought. Which one are you?
3. What are your values?
When working on something, take into consideration how you feel about the person in the mirror. Do you like who you are becoming? What do you represent? Do you value things you are fighting for? If not, make a change and don’t torture yourself.
4. Where do you belong?
Some people find it very young, like musicians, artists or mathematics. However, most of us find out after our mid-twenties. Combining all that you learned about yourself and all the things you tried, you probably have ideas about where you do not belong. Successful careers are not planned. They develop when people are prepared to take opportunities they are presented with because they know themselves enough to say “Yes”.
5. What should you contribute?
Unlike people in the past, we are presented with a choice of where to put our efforts to. Ask yourself, what does my situation require? Given all I know about myself, how can I make the most significant contribution that needs to be made? What results have to be achieved to make a difference?
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