This blog is in continuation to my earlier blog http://mentorsofmanagement.blogspot.com/2010/11/managers-thoughts-words-action-needs.html. In that blog, I have mentioned the need to pause, articulate and define your action.
In this blog, as a continuation, I would like to emphasise and explain the need for a manager to be able to regulate his thoughts, words and action.
Thoughts and its regulation
Thoughts are the products of the following two things – Our beliefs and our intentions. I am explaining this using various examples that I can think of.
Beliefs
Beliefs are result of our past experience both through various events, what we happen to hear and what we are taught. It is mainly the impressions that we keep about people, and systems in which they are operating. So as a manager, it is very important for you to delink your words and actions from various impressions that you have built over a period of time through your experiences. Unless you do this, you become one among the team members who tend to get in to day to day tussles. In effect by not delinking and there by thinking dispassionately, you become more a part of the problem than and less a role of problem resolver.
So start questioning your own beliefs & past impressions whenever it tries to influence your decision. Particularly the decision that you take which affects the team or organization.
Intention
Consider the position of a pilot.
From the ‘take off’ to ‘landing’ the entire control of the Journey is with him. He has the ability to fly the flight at whatever levels he wants, whatever speed he wants and even to decide whether to even land or not in a place. This is because the flight is equipped with controls, switches and levers which the pilot can manure to his requirements.
Now relate the pilot as a manager, the flight by itself as the delivery/team the manager handles, and the controls/switches and levers of the flight as manager’s own thoughts. Like the way a pilot can handle his flight by proper regulation of the controls, a manager also can handle his delivery/team through a properly regulated thought.
Now, the controls that the pilot poses can be used as per his intention. If the intention is to land smoothly, he can. if he wishes, he can intend not to land in a specific expected place or to delay the flight making the traveller’s life difficult. Similarly, a manager’s intention also has a major role in what the end result would be.
If the manager’s intention is incorrect, it will reflect in every action that he does, words that he use and even in subtle gestures that he makes.
Take the following example: You might have noticed people generally tend to make the following excuse when things go wrong “my intention was not to hurt anyone”! Doesn’t it sound familiar? There is nothing wrong in what he says and he is correct in telling so in his own terms. But there is something missing here – I.e. the fact that while didn’t want to hurt someone, he also didn’t have specific intention to secure other person’s feeling.
This small thing makes all the difference. As a manager, you cannot escape by lame excuses like above. While you intend to achieve an end result, if you don’t want to have undesired impact during the run for it, you should add all what you want to achieve as a part of your intention. Else there is a fair chance that you get undesirable surprises.
Thus, your intention plays a major role in manifestation as your end results.
Now having said about Thoughts in details, let’s take this to next level. There are 2 by products of thoughts – Words and action.
Words and action & its regulation
Just like the way we understood thoughts as final outcome of beliefs and intention; I would classify words and action as the final outcome of thoughts. Further to it, when we do an action, there is always an end result and it is the end result which is perceived and that matters for outside world. None other than manager has the full stake in deciding how the final outcome should look like.
Simply because the end result is ultimately the outcome of his own beliefs and intentions J. To summarize;
· Beliefs & intentions regulates the thoughts.
· Thoughts regulate the words and action.
· Word and action leads to an end result.
Now let’s see the end result in little more detail.
We can classify the end result under 3 category.
1. An end result which leads to surprise
2. And end result which leads to repentance
3. And end result which leads to pride and contentment
Case 1 - The end result which leads to surprise
These are occasions where you do an activity without focussing on the end result and just keep getting pleasant or unpleasant surprises. This is how a normal average person works. Based on the result, he takes next action which again results in another surprise. And this goes on. In day to day management, we call such kind of delivery as fire fighting or reactive mode of working.
This definitely is not recommended for a manager.
Case 2 - The end result which leads to repentance or reputation damage
This is a result of an action taken with intention which is not in best of interest of the team, people or system. These are also a function of impulsive decisions without much depth in thoughts.
Impulsive emotional emails, on floor fights etc are quick examples. This again is not desirable quality of a manager.
How do you counter the above two cases? Simple! By regulating your thoughts, words and action as mentioned below
1. Observe the emotions arising out of the impulsive thoughts and give time for it to settle down – don’t try to fish in dirty water. Let the dirt settle and clear the water.
2. Stay away from taking impulsive action – Patience is a good virtue to have
3. Try and find out the end objective and ensure it is in the best interest of the team and organization – Have good vision and values
4. Regulate your action by breaking down you action in to stages –It’s always good to take baby steps first and accelerate your pace as you gain confidence and grip
5. Thus take calculated risks and moves with an expected end result than leaving the end result to destiny – Let the control be always with you. You need to know how and when to pull the strings for your puppet show to be successful
When you do things like this, you have full control in our action and even if it goes little unexpected, you always can pull your strings to align it at any point. I do understand this is little complicated topic, but I hope you got what I am trying to explain here.
Having said how to handle above 2 cases, I am coming to the most ideal case.
Case 3 - The end result which leads to pride and contentment
There are certain end results which always gives pride and contentment to the manager, team and organization. The thoughts, words and action which lead to it are generally very positive and matured. The thoughts, words and action which leads to such end results are the ideal bench mark for a manager.
The end results like high employee satisfaction, continuously maintained client delight, achieving organizational goals like CMMI, ISO, being top among the peers, building a loyal and committed team etc are few examples of such high value end results.
For a manager to achieve or contribute to such high value end result is by way of having a strong vision and values in line with or even better than the organization. The moment a manager’s thoughts, words and action is aligned and regulated in this direction, he surpasses the normal hierarchy and take leaps in organization ladder.
This exactly is the secret of how few people make it to the top positions, while they too at one point of time started from where we all started – from the junior most position in an organization.
As I said, If you want to make it big, let’s take baby steps to start with. Start seriously to observe and regulate your thoughts, words and action. All the best!
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