"Control your own destiny, or someone else will." Jack Welch
A few years ago when I was facing a decision, my oldest friend said, "YOU are in control of your life." I looked around, and on the surface it seemed I wasn't. But you know something? She was absolutely right. I was, always have been and always will be the one ultimately in control of my life. I can give up some of that control to something or someone else, but it is always mine to do with what I want. It was an important reminder and became my daily mantra for many months.
Now I'm in a much better place. I control my destiny not just in an abstract way, but in a concrete way. Being in control doesn't mean you have to be a control freak. I think being in control means you take complete responsibility for what goes on in your life without blaming anyone else. Total accountability and ownership for all of it is what controlling your destiny is all about.
Susan
Showing posts with label responsibility. Show all posts
Showing posts with label responsibility. Show all posts
Monday, March 21, 2011
Monday, March 14, 2011
The Right Thing To Do
"Management is doing things right. Leadership is doing the right things." Peter Drucker
Competent workers are often rewarded with a promotion to management. Sometimes this works and sometimes it doesn't. While they excelled in their former positions, they sink to mediocrity in supervisory roles because they lack the skills to successfully manage people.
A good manager implements company policy. She is good at building a team and building consensus. She motivates, keeps people on task, finishes on time and comes in under budget. She mediates disputes with customers and vendors and the occasional employee dispute over leftovers in the break room.
A manager should be a leader, but they are two completely different things. A leader can tell you how to do it, but mostly he leads by example. He would never expect anything from you that he wouldn't be willing to do himself. Just when your enthusiasm starts to lag, he says something simple that inspires you. He takes full responsibility when things go wrong, but never fails to give credit where credit is due. You are free to ask questions and even challenge him, and he responds with calm confidence. Then just at the time when you're wondering if he knows what he's doing, he looks at you as if to say, "trust me." And you do, because his track record speaks for itself. You fall in line behind him, following the leader.
Susan
Competent workers are often rewarded with a promotion to management. Sometimes this works and sometimes it doesn't. While they excelled in their former positions, they sink to mediocrity in supervisory roles because they lack the skills to successfully manage people.
A good manager implements company policy. She is good at building a team and building consensus. She motivates, keeps people on task, finishes on time and comes in under budget. She mediates disputes with customers and vendors and the occasional employee dispute over leftovers in the break room.
A manager should be a leader, but they are two completely different things. A leader can tell you how to do it, but mostly he leads by example. He would never expect anything from you that he wouldn't be willing to do himself. Just when your enthusiasm starts to lag, he says something simple that inspires you. He takes full responsibility when things go wrong, but never fails to give credit where credit is due. You are free to ask questions and even challenge him, and he responds with calm confidence. Then just at the time when you're wondering if he knows what he's doing, he looks at you as if to say, "trust me." And you do, because his track record speaks for itself. You fall in line behind him, following the leader.
Susan
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