Self-Awareness for Proper Management - Essay Example

The best way through which a manager can be able to know the areas that they are strong in is through feedback analysis. Within a short period of about three years, this simple method can always show manageable areas in which they are strong and those in which they are weak. With knowledge of one’s strength, a manager should seek to improve their strength in order to maximize their productivity. A manager should also be aware of the ways through which their intellectual arrogance can lead to ignorance something that can be very costly to the business they run.

People usually have different ways of doing things. It is important for a manager to know exactly how they usually work. The way in which people work is usually highly influenced by their personalities. However, the good thing is that a person can always change the way they work (Drucker, 1999). People might not be able to completely change the way they work, but they can be able to slightly modify the manner in which they work.

Managers should be able to be aware of their own values. For instance, there are people who easily gain knowledge through listening while others would easily gain knowledge through reading. People are rarely able to be good at getting knowledge through both means. This implies that a manager who does not know where their values are might end up opting for the wrong methods. With the lack of understanding of one’s values, it is clearly evident that the manager will never be able to reach their full potential. However, a manager with the full knowledge of their values can always know those things that complement their values and bring out the best from them (Mintzberg, 1975).

With full knowledge of oneself, a manager can be able to know exactly where they belong. Some managers usually find themselves not being able to perform as expected of them. This is not always because they are incapable of performing, but because they might have made the wrong choices. A person’s values, the way they learn, the way they work, and their strengths highly influence exactly where a person can fit in. It is only through being aware of these attributes that a person can know exactly in which areas they can perform well. This can only be possible if a manager is able to use critical thinking so that they can improve their own ways of viewing situations and making decisions.

A person should also be aware of what they are supposed to contribute. Initially, the contribution of employees was mostly influenced by the expectations of the organizations for which they worked. However, for maximization of output, a person should be able to look at the task at hand and see exactly what needs to be done. After that, they should look at their strengths and values and see exactly how they can be of importance to the task at hand. Managers should not only base their decisions on things that they have read but should critically think with the help of their actual experiences when making decisions. Not everything that is contained in business-related books is always beneficial or applicable in all cases. It’s the responsibility of a manager to analyze and know exactly what would be applicable in their case. Read More