Mastering yourself is true power

"Knowing others is intelligence.

Knowing yourself is true wisdom

Mastering others is strength

Mastering yourself is true power "

-Lao Tzu

In this article would like to share the essential skill required for success in life “Self-Management”

Self-Management in simple definition

It’s like being your own boss, taking responsibility for all your own actions.

Why this skill is essential for success?

Here comes the answer

When a person wants to be successful in his life, he should have basic qualities such as

· Self-control

· Discipline

· Set Goals

· Positive thinking

Many more in list. All these qualities as a package comes as Self-Management.

Why it is so important to have Self- Management Skills:

In order to be successful & Productive in any task, it is essential to have Self-Management skills. Most of the task be it personal or professional done as a team.

Team’s Efficiency, Effectiveness & clarity is the major contributing factor for success. A team need a leader to direct them in right path.

Successful leadership precedes sincere follower ship and a leader cannot expect his team to do things which he cannot do.

Hence, he should prove himself in Self-Management followed by, his team will value him as the right leader whom they want to follow.

When he is unable to manage himself, it is obvious that he lacks in managing his team or group of people he leads.

So, Success, Leadership traits and Self-Management has a strong connection.

Self-management demonstrates that a person is able to

· Organize self

· Set goals and achieve it

· Set high bar of expectation for self

· Prioritize

· Solve problem & provide decision

· Work composed in any pressurized situation

· Communicate with clarity

· Take accountability for his actions

· Update himself through continual improvement

All the above results in confidence, positive working environment, Self-awareness & reflection, Emotional Intelligence, persistence, resilience.

Continue to this let’s understand more on essential elements of Self-Management in detail.

Time Management:

Time is finite resource which can never be recovered once lost. So, it takes the most important part in Self- Management. Time can be Managed well by Setting goals – be it Short term or Long term, Goal setting plays major role in Managing time in right way.

Based on goals, one can plan activities ahead for every week by prioritizing Urgent vs Important and monitor calendar for verifying effectiveness for the week.

This will help to distinguish Time spent for goal & wasted, get to know the distractions which lead to time waste. So, this help to improve planning & spending time on activities aligned for goal.

Since Time management itself a very important skill anyone to have, let us get to know more on Time Management & tools in upcoming articles.

Organizational skills:

Organizational skill is not all about keeping work & living environment neat, its beyond that.

Organizational skill encompasses set of capabilities to the person who has it. It helps to plan, prioritize, execute, evaluate and achieve the goal without losing the track among the multiple activities as part & parcel of achieving the goal.

Achieving a goal in organizing an event or project need systematic planning, scheduling, milestone achieving, timeline adhering with multitasking. It also demands clarity in communication and delegation of activities.

So, person who has organizational skill can do all the above without any clutter, procrastination & poor work habits.

Communication Skills:

There is no project or event that can be done without a team. When there is a team, for its efficient & effective working communication plays a vital role.

The one who have Self- Management skill, definitively knows the importance of Communication skill. Communication skill is related to many personal skill like Time Management, Organizational skill, Problem solving, decision making etc.

Readers can refer previous dedicated article on Communication & importance for more understanding.

Problem Solving Skills:

Being Confident problem solver is important for success in life. Confidence in problem solving comes from the systematic approach and process-based Problem-solving Methodology.

Anyone can solve problem even without process or approach, but the solutions may not be effective which lead to painful consequences.

Effective Problem-solving need clear understanding of the problem, strong knowledge on the subject, Analysis skills & knowledge on Analysis tools, evaluating the causes identified and providing effective solution for the same. This in term need continual learning process to update oneself in their field.

Decision Making Skills:

We all must make decision all the time, decision making at the right time is most important for success in life. Decisions can be made through either an intuitive or reasoned process based on the circumstances.

But in overview Effective decision making is much needed one which may get affected by

· No or More information

· Too Many people to decide

· Vested Interest

· Emotional or No Emotional Attachment

So, it is important to use right amount above combination to achieve effective decision.

Emotional Intelligence:

Ability to recognize and Manage their Emotions and the emotions of other people is all about Emotional intelligence.

A person can manage his own Emotions by Self Awareness, Self-regulation, Motivation.

Interpersonal skills and Emotional intelligence get connected when a person has empathy, social skills and strong communication skills.

This is a vast area to understand, keep following our blog for detailed write-up about Emotional Intelligence.

Self-Awareness:

Here comes the most important skill a person should have to be a great leader, successful person in life.

The quality of self-awareness required self-reflection. Self-reflection is setting aside time every day to quiet, honest look at self.

· Looking self objectively

· Maintaining personal journal

· Writing down goals

· Daily Self-Reflection

· Mindfulness habits

· Taking Personality tests

· Getting Feedback

Can help to develop Self-awareness.

This introspection will help to understand individual’s mental processes

When a person has self-awareness, it leads to

· Proactive approach

· Positivity

· High Self confidence

· Good interpersonal relationship

· Ability to achieve goal

These are the essential skill package of Self-Management. Self-Management is an acquired art which lot of learning. Once a person get those skill can effectively manage themselves and inspire their team to travel in same path.