Managing Oneself
Successful careers are not planned. Successful careers are developed by preparing for opportunities. Peter F Drucker
What are my strengths?
Most people think they know what they are good at. They are usually wrong.
You should know what you are really good for, a person can only perform for strengths, don’t waste time making mediocre your weakness.
The only way to discover your strengths is through feedback analysis. Whenever you make a key decision or take a key action, write down what you expect will happen. Nine or 12 months later, compare the actual results with your expectations.
How do I perform?
So don’t try to change yourself; you are unlikely to succeed. Instead, focus on working hard to improve the way you perform. And try not to take on work you cannot perform or will only perform poorly.
In order to know how you perform, you need to understand what ways work best for you.
Am I a reader or a listener?
How do I learn?
Do I produce results as a decision maker or as an adviser?
What are my values?
What kind of person do I want to see in the mirror in the morning?
Personal values should be compatible with organizations values.
Where do I belong?
We need to know our strengths in order to know where we belong.
Successful careers are not planned. They develop when people are prepared for opportunities because they know their strengths, their method of work, and their values. Knowing where one belongs can transform an ordinary person — hardworking and competent but otherwise mediocre — into an outstanding performer.
What should I contribute?
What should my contribution be? To answer it, they must address three distinct elements: What does the situation require? Given my strengths, my way of performing, and my values, how can I make the greatest contribution to what needs to be done? And finally, What results have to be achieved to make a difference?
Where and how can I achieve results that will make a difference within the next year and a half?
The answer must balance several things. First, the results should be hard to achieve — they should require “stretching,” to use the current buzzword. But also, they should be within reach. To aim at results that cannot be achieved — or that can be only under the most unlikely circumstances — is not being ambitious; it is being foolish. Second, the results should be meaningful. They should make a difference. Finally, results should be visible and, if at all possible, measurable. From this will come a course of action: what to do, where and how to start, and what goals and deadlines to set.
Responsibility for relationships
The first secret of effectiveness is to understand the people you work with and depend on so that you can make use of their strengths, their ways of working, and their values. Working relationships are as much based on the people as they are on the work.
Whenever you communicate to others, “This is what am good at. These are my values. This is the contribution I plan to concentrate on and the results I should be expected to deliver.”, the response is always “Thanks for sharing this, why didn’t you tell me this earlier”
When you ask others “What do I need to know your strengths, how do you perform, your values, and your proposed contribution?” The response will usually be “Thanks for asking. Why didn’t you ask me earlier?” The second half of your life
The second half of your life
The people who plan their second career is a minority, but they are the leaders and become role models for many. The majority “retire” with their first career and just count the rest of the days for actual retirement. These second careers help one to be focussed while having tough times during their lives and also help to contribute and make a difference.
Summary
The key message
The most successful people manage themselves.
Actionable advice
Determine who you are, write your values and plan a second career.
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