Grateful for a powerful caption that caught my eye
‘Don’t bite more than you can chew.’
Denotes the wisdom of moderation in life and living. To know a cut off point Is to know where to draw the line between exhaustion and excitement.
Simply taking on more work or responsibility or trying to multitasking beyond your abilities and capacities is self defeating. So only commit to what you truly can deliver . Not less not more. So grateful to have read this many years ago. It struck a deep chord in me and must say I have been trying consistently to practice this advice in lifeand living.
Happy to share this simple yet profoundly impactful learning.
Change management is an important component of life skills. Often loneliness is felt at different phases of life Overcome the fear of being alone. Life teaches many challenging lessons. But most of all know that nothing is permanent Change is the order of nature And if you ever find yourself at crossroads feeling deserted lonely or lost without any loved one , fear not, as there are many who may be feeling so amidst company. Develop hobbies and a sense of purpose that you are passionate about. And you will never feel alone a single moment in your life .
2 Art of patience: Everything has a time and reason. Like nature teaches us time and time again, nothing can be hurried without a repercussion. And all comes in course of time.
Cultivating Patience is the key to mastering burden of procarasitation by others.
3 Letting go . Let past go and do not dwell on it. Work to balance the holding back & the letting go with discretion and discernment.
4 Managing Expectations The world does not owe you anything infact you owe it much.Managing people’s expectations and your own requires some clear boundary setting by you for your own sanity. Dont expect immediate results and ease up to master expectations.
5 People Management
All cannot be pleased by you and neither should you try pleasing all. Managing Self involves learning to say no when you feel it deeply. You cannot live a life pleasing others . Putting your health and self care on priority is a duty to the life within you. You have every right to be happy and healthy. Self care is never a selfish act.
6 Self Control & Self Discipline
Both help and aid you to progress towards Self control than to control all around you. You may not be able to control everything and every one’s behavior. But remember you are completely in charge of your own behavior.
7 Empathy :
Empathise with your problems but there is no need to over sympathize and feel sorry for your yourself. Accept that you may have emotionally weak moments which may drain you but know it moves on. So you dont need to stay there in your thoughts hurting yourself. You may feel and go through bouts of tears envy anger jealousy and they can be at times to heal you through or counter productive for you depending on the intensity but these self pitying moments in your thoughts come as you are only human, but you have free will and intention on your side and it is duty and right, for you owe to yourself to let these go as they came and not drown yourself with these thoughts. So pull out yourself out of the down spiralling thought road.
8 Responsibility :
Being responsible includes making an effort to finish work entrusted in a timely manner as well as in an efficient manner. Strive to improve your potential. Know where, why, when, how and for what to use your own personal energy and strengthen yourself engaging and involving in worthwhile company and causes.
9 Moderation :
Moderation in behaviour Your thoughts result in actions Strive to cultivate a balanced approach in extreme circumstances which may seem truly challenging. Express your opinions tactfully address the situation mindfully & he(artfully) as you integrate the wisdom of the heart and mind conciousness.
10 Resilience
Life is different for each of us. So move ahead knowing that every day challenges come for a reason that is best not revealed now . Have faith hope belief and trust in your being. There is always a reason why things happen the way they do . Do not give up hope in your failures as they are harbringers of hope and wisdom to create a more evolved you.
Remember every failure is a step to chisel and sculpt away to a better you.And most of all make your life worth living.
One of the common concerns of any scaling team is that while the stakeholders ensure themselves with a great set of leadership and they in turn recruit a battalion of teams under them to do the work,there is one lacuna…
The chaos and confusion in the middle management!
The frozen middle management scenario is a result of widening gaps in communication and connection between the managers and themselves.
Often great work done by the team goes without credit buried under the hierarchy structure and lack of appreciation.
Second inspite of ability in the teams and readiness to accomplish good work there is a lot of confusion about what to do as there is no clarity passed on to them from their managers.
It’s clearly indicative of how important it is for the leadership team to share the purpose of why they are doing what they do…and how the message needs to be passed on with the same passion to every member of the teams no matter the number of layers adding up in the middle.
This is how you reinstate ownership and accountability which is paramount to the efficiency of the teams.
Unfortunately much of what is conveyed to the managers from the top in terms of the purpose is often withheld from teams, for the manager may not personally value the significance of the message for teams reporting to them to understand. It becomes less and less important in their discussions. And that is where a gamut of internal communications issues show up.
What will you do
When you do not have a purpose
You stop steering ….
As there is no winds of motivation to sail your course.
In the case of the middle managers sandwiched in between, they soon have no sense of purpose, they are often found working in circles without direction.
They may seem busy doing mundane chores to fill their work days and go back home every day a little more disengaged and disconnected with the system.
In my professional career as a Consultant & having been involved in the organisational development up close, I have encountered such scenarios where the value of transparency in teams in their shared work as well as the vision & purpose of the leader is often lost in the daily rut of routine. Between filling forms and answering mails much of the work today has become impersonal.
I believe the role of the middle management is crucial in managing change for they can bridge the gap between expectations from the strategic objectives and key results set from the top to match with the speed and efficiency actual day to day activities integration .
An engaged, informed, and knowledgeable middle management would mean a lot to the stability of a growing organization. It is a huge balancing act between manging to sustain through the changes and managing policies practices and procedures ensuring compliance and come away stronger.
It is important for the key stakeholders to have conversation that sets clarity on the value for the middle management in the system and expectations from them.
They need to know how much interweaved they actually are in driving changes. They also need to become more self aware and understand the intricacies of working beyond biases and prejudices that may come along while they understand the power structure of their respective organization.
Beyond good communication skills they will need to develop their expertise in networking with their seniors as well as their teams.
The responsibility on the middle management is demanding as the role is expanding to include the implementation of changes in the system as well as managing the cultural changes.
This can happen best when the senior management is aware of the challenges faced by the middle management, like time in planning to execution. They can best help fasten this process by direction support and feedbacks while realizing the strategic value of the middle managers.
Every level of management is intrinsically interweaved and important to the whole. In recognizing their individual strengths as well working in the spirit of collaboration, teams begin to evolve.
What do you think of the prevailing practices at work?
They can trust you They can take the step They can be creative They can try options They can make mistakes They can get support They can improvise They can win!
A great team has a great leader who has their back!
It is a habit of a lifetime to cultivate To remember to be kinder to oneself as much as another It’s good to acknowledge the now And remember every movement is happening As it is preordained. Let worries take a backseat As well as the need for overt perfection. Just keep the faith and hope alive in your heart Simply know deep within… All is well as it is meant to be.
Your approach changes everything The way you live The way you work The way you play Choose to look forward to finding the joy In whatever you do If you can find something to better Something to improve from
Something to grow and expand potential Then by all means focus on it Spend time to learn possibilities Making work feel better than before Find the meaning & purpose In whatever you do Work to make a positive difference Tweak your approach tweak your life
Savvy Raj 