Manager, Know Thyself:
Why Self-Awareness Is Job #1—and Five Ways to Get Some
Great managers must master a huge and diverse set of skills. But without a good grasp
of your strengths and weaknesses, you won't know what you most need to work on.
The authors of Mind Tools for Managers offer this crash course in self-awareness.
Hoboken, NJ (May 2018)—Without self-awareness, you can't be a great leader. It's just that simple. If you don't have a good grasp of who you are—your strengths and weaknesses, the nuances of your personality, how others perceive you—you can only "fake" being a leader. You can't lead in the authentic way that engages people and enables them to do their best work. And here's the real problem: You won't know what areas you need to work on.
"Being a great manager requires skills in many different areas," says Julian Birkinshaw, coauthor along with James Manktelow of Mind Tools for Managers: 100 Ways to Be a Better Boss (Wiley, April 2018, ISBN: 978-1-119-37447-3, $28.00). "Yet you can't fix everything at once. You must apply your focus where you need the most help. That takes self-awareness.
"Yet studies consistently show that most human beings have blind spots that hold us back," he continues. "We don't know ourselves very well—that is, unless we make a conscious, deliberate effort to do so."
That's why the authors made "Know Yourself" the first chapter in their new book. Mind Tools for Managers identifies the 100 skills that a manager can master to become a better leader. They were identified in a survey of 15,242 managers and professionals worldwide. This research was conducted by James Manktelow, founder and CEO of MindTools.com, and Professor Julian Birkinshaw, deputy dean for programs at London Business School. The authors provide practical advice for each of these skills and direct the reader to the MindTools.com website for a deeper dive into specific skill-building articles, worksheets, videos, and more.
But back to self-awareness: The authors' study found this quality is deeply valued by many professionals. In fact, 59.8 percent of managers believe that it's highly important to understand how their own behavior impacts other people.
They provide five tips, excerpted from their book, to help you raise your self-awareness and be a better manager.
Discover where you stand on the "Big Five" personality model. Manktelow and Birkinshaw recommend the Big Five Personality Traits model. It's based on findings from several independent researchers in the 1950s and ultimately named "The Big Five" by Lewis Goldberg.* The model measures five key dimensions of personality: openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. By understanding how you score on each dimension, you can make sure you're in the right role and/or take action in "low score" areas to improve your performance. NOTE: For more information, please see sidebar Managers, How Do You Score on the "Big Five" Personality Traits?
To learn more about the Big Five Personality Traits model and discover strategies for addressing disadvantageous scores, please visit The Big Five Personality Traits Model and Test: Matching Personalities with Roles (http://mnd.tools/1-1). To take an online Big Five Personality Test, please visit: http://mnd.tools/1-2.
Learn your personal strengths (and weaknesses). The SWOT analysis is a popular tool that helps businesses identify their strengths and weaknesses, but it can also help managers identify their own strong and weak areas.
To learn more about personal SWOT analysis, please read Personal SWOT Analysis: Making the Most of Your Talents and Opportunities (http://mnd.tools/2-1).
If you don't already have clear personal goals, set them now. Setting goals gives you long-term vision and short-term motivation, both of which you need to be a successful manager. That's why the authors recommend that you invest a few hours in thinking about what you'd like your future to look like. Consider areas like career, family, education, relationships, personal finances, and personal enjoyment.
"Remember the SMART mnemonic," says Manktelow. "Your dreams should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. This helps you clarify your ideas, focus your efforts, use your time and resources productively, and increase your chances of achieving what you want in life."
To learn more about personal goal setting, including accessing a structured goal-setting program, please read Personal Goal Setting: Planning to Live Your Life Your Way (http://mnd.tools/3-1). To learn more about SMART goal setting, please read SMART Goals: How to Make Your Goals Achievable (http://mnd.tools/3-2).
Shore up your self-confidence. The way we view our own abilities is a key determinant of self- efficacy and self-esteem. We can pump ourselves up with positive self-talk and listen to people who flatter us, but this can lead us to become overconfident and to fall flat on our faces. Alternatively, we can put ourselves down and listen to naysayers and critics, leading us to back away from opportunities and not achieve our potential. (No one wants to be managed by a flustered boss who doubts his or her own judgment!)
"The key is to strike a healthy balance between these two extremes," notes Birkinshaw. "Research has shown that being slightly overconfident in your own abilities is useful because it allows you to take on challenges from which you can learn."
To learn more about building self-confidence, please read Building Self-Confidence: Preparing Yourself for Success! (http://mnd.tools/4-1)
Manage your bad moods. Just as we need to be appropriately self-confident as managers, we also need to be aware of and manage the emotions we project to members of our teams. From the moment we come in the door in the morning to the time we leave, people read our words and our body language. For our teams to be happy and productive, we need to manage negative thoughts and project positive emotions. More than this, we need to be positive for our own good at work.
"There are tricks you can use to quickly boost your mood, like forcing a smile onto your face for several minutes before you enter the office," says Manktelow. "But what you really need to do is understand and turn around the negative thinking that underpins your own negative emotions."
The authors recommend cognitive restructuring—first developed by psychologist Albert Ellis in the mid-1950s—to improve negative moods or combat fear, apprehension, or anxiety about a person or event. Specifically they suggest a technique based on the seven-column Thought Record copyrighted by Christine A. Padesky, appearing in Mind Over Mood.
To learn more, please read Cognitive Restructuring: Reducing Stress by Changing Your Thinking (http://mnd.tools/6-1).
"Until you truly know yourself, you will never be a great leader," concludes Manktelow. "Only by becoming self-aware can you play to your strengths, understand your own personal goals, forge authentic connections with your team and colleagues, and inspire others to do the same. Start getting to know yourself today and see where it takes you and your team tomorrow."
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* Goldberg, L.R., "The Development of Markers for the Big-Five Factor Structure," Psychological Assessment, Vol. 4, No. 1, 26-42, 1992, published by the American Psychological Association, Inc.
# # #
Managers, How Do You Score on the "Big Five" Personality Traits?
Excerpted from Mind Tools for Managers: 100 Ways to Be a Better Boss
(Wiley, April 2018, ISBN: 978-1-119-37447-3, $28.00)
by James Manktelow and Julian Birkinshaw
The first step to being a great manager is to master self-awareness. That's why Julian Birkinshaw, coauthor along with James Manktelow of Mind Tools for Managers: 100 Ways to Be a Better Boss (Wiley, April 2018, ISBN: 978-1-119-37447-3, $28.00, MindTools.com), says The Big Five Personality Traits model is so valuable.
Based on findings from several independent researchers in the 1950s and ultimately named "The Big Five" by Lewis Goldberg of the Oregon Research Institute, the model helps you understand how fully you possess the five key dimensions of personality.*
Once you understand your unique personality traits, you can use this knowledge to improve your work performance and even tell if you're in the right job in the first place. They are:
To learn more about The Big Five model and discover strategies for addressing disadvantageous scores, please visit The Big Five Personality Traits Model and Test: Matching Personalities with Roles (http://mnd.tools/1-1). To take an online Big Five Personality Test, please visit: http://mnd.tools/1-2.
# # #
* Goldberg, L.R., "The Development of Markers for the Big-Five Factor Structure," Psychological Assessment, Vol. 4, No. 1, 26-42, 1992, published by the American Psychological Association, Inc.
# # #
About the Authors:
James Manktelow and Julian Birkinshaw are coauthors of Mind Tools for Managers: 100 Ways to Be a Better Boss (Wiley, April 2018, ISBN: 978-1-119-37447-3, $28.00).
James Manktelow is founder and CEO of MindTools.com. He has written, edited, and contributed to more than 1,000 articles, more than sixty workbooks, and seven books and e-books on management and leadership, including Manage Your Time and Manage Stress.
Julian Birkinshaw is professor of strategy and entrepreneurship, deputy dean for programs, and academic director of the Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the London Business School. He is the author of fourteen books, including Fast/Forward, Becoming a Better Boss, and Reinventing Management.
About the Book:
Mind Tools for Managers: 100 Ways to Be a Better Boss (Wiley, April 2018, ISBN: 978-1-119-37447-3, $28.00) is available at bookstores nationwide, from major online booksellers, and direct from the publisher by calling 800-225-5945. In Canada, call 800-567-4797. For more information, please visit the book's page on www.wiley.com.
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Sen. Lee Applauds End of Iran Agreement
WASHINGTON – Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) issued the following statement Tuesday after President Trump announced the United States would exercise its right to exit the executive agreement the previous administration had entered into with Iran.
“It is unfortunate that the previous administration rushed to produce an executive agreement with Iran that it knew could never withstand the scrutiny of the United States Senate. I hope that the current administration will be able to negotiate a better deal and that when it does it will submit the resulting treaty to the Senate for ratification as required by the Constitution."
An online version of this release can be found here.
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FREE SCREENING OF AWARD-WINNING DOCUMENTARY, 'BOTTOM DOLLARS', EXPLORING THE EFFECTS OF SUB-MINIMUM WAGES PAID TO PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Bottom Dollars, a Rooted in Rights original documentary, will be screening at the Salt Lake City Public Library's Main Auditorium (210 E 400 S) on May 16, 2018 at 6:30 PM. This free screening is hosted by the Disability Law Center as part of its 40th anniversary activities. Bottom Dollars explores the effects of sub-minimum wages that are paid to nearly 250,000 people with disabilities in the United States. These sub-minimum wages amount, on average, to less than $2 an hour. The documentary calls for an end to the unfair practice of sub-minimum wages and offers a vision for better alternatives that promote community inclusion, equal opportunities, and fair wages.
Bottom Dollars will play on May 16 at 6:30 PM at the Salt Lake City Public Library's Main Auditorium (210 E 400 S). Following the premiere, Tim Riesen will join other professionals who help people with disabilities to find and maintain competitive integrated work for a brief panel discussion concerning alternatives to segregated employment and low wages.
"Now is the time to end this antiquated and downright insulting exception to minimum wage laws," said David Carlson, Executive Producer of Bottom Dollars and Director of Legal Advocacy at Disability Rights Washington. "The exception was written in a bygone era, long before children with disabilities were allowed to go to school to get an education and marketable skills, long before state and federal anti-discrimination laws protected employees with disabilities from discrimination, and long before multiple state and federal programs were created to support people with disabilities secure and keep meaningful employment. Nothing short of fully repealing this exception is acceptable and I hope this film helps people see how flawed the assumptions underlying this exception are."
The goal of Bottom Dollars is to empower advocates and policymakers looking at the needs of workers and start focusing on giving workers with disabilities the basic protection of the minimum wage.
The documentary features personal stories and expert interviews with advocates that have been working on improving the employment opportunities for people with disabilities.
A trailer for the film is available for preview at BottomDollarsMovie.com.
The Disability Law Center is a private non-profit organization. The DLC's mission is to enforce and strengthen laws that protect the opportunities, choices and legal rights of Utahns with disabilities. Our services are available statewide and free of charge, regardless of income, legal status, language, or place of residence.
