Management Tips:

How to make your work interesting challenging and rewarding!

K. Kuhathasan, CEO CENLEAD

Adopt the following resolution to make your work more interesting and challenging.

1. Work is fundamental element of my life, an activity essential to all aspects of my life.

2. Improvement in work will improve all other aspects of my life.

3. Work is not just a means to an end. My work can and should fulfil and satisfy me at the deepest levels.

4. I possess unique capabilities and talents from which I can create something of lasting value.

5. The responsibility to improve my work rests first and foremost in my own hands.

6. Work occurs in three basic dimensions: doing, developing, and discovering.

7. The key to success in any endeavour lies in organising when and how to emphasise and mix the three dimensions of work.

Special skills

For many years, organisations have been trying to identify the specific skills that are related to managerial job performance. Following are a few that researchers have identified across several different organisations.

You, may have to master these skills professionally to achieve name and fame and shine as a management star!

1. Job knowledge: Knowing the facts about equipment, materials, and the work process, as well as the relationships among all parts of the work operation. Example: Knowing about personal computers and software programmes.

2. Oral communication: Verbally presenting information to others in such a manner that the information means the same to everyone. Example: Communicating work objectives to all members of a work team.

3. Persuasiveness: Influencing others who have different viewpoints to reach agreement on an acceptable plan of action. Example: A committee member explaining a position on future group actions.

4. Problem analysis: Determining why a situation does not confirm to standards and deciding what to do about it. Example: Determining why a group of products has failed final inspection.

5. Cooperativeness:Working easily and well with others in group projects. Example: The interaction of members of a strategic planning committee.

6. Tolerance of stress: Continuing work performance in adverse or hostile circumstance. Example: Multiple projects coming to completion at approximately the same time.

7. Negotiation: Arriving at mutually acceptable joint decisions. Example: Agreeing with a supplier as to a mutually acceptable price for raw materials.

8. Assertiveness: Clearly and consistently expressing a point of view on a topic being discussed. Example: Individual performance review with a subordinate who has a deficiency in work activities.

9. Initiative: Determining what work activities must be pursued and taking action. Example: Determining what must be done to successfully operate new production equipment.

Closely observe the functions, actions and activities of your seniors. You can easily observe that managers are smart people. Try to learn the following practices from your senior managers.

1. Managers work long hours: The number of hours worked tends to increase as one climbs the managerial ladder.

2. Managers are busy: The typical manager's day is made up of hundreds of brief incidents or episodes.

3. A manager's work is fragmented: Given manager's high activity level, they have little time to devote to any single activity.

Interruptions and discontinuity are the rule.

Major steps

1. Have a realistic understanding of what lies ahead.

2. Understand your career goals career anchors and personal strengths and weaknesses.

3. Accept responsibility for managing your own career.

4. Identify and improve on the factors that contribute to success.

5. Never lose sight of the fact that solid performance is the foundation of career success.

6. Seek challenge in your job.

7. Develop a good working relationship with your boss.

8. Cultivate a network of friends and allies.

9. Make major career - related decisions with care.

10. Treat the early socialisation period as an important learning experience.

11. Plan ahead for potential career opportunities (and problems)

12. Continually reassess your present standing in the organisation, as well as your goals and possibilities for the future.

13. Seek a balance between your personal and professional lives.

State of mind

Smile and the organisation will smile with you. Frown and the same applies. You don't have to let your workplace affect your moods, although it might, and you don't need to depend upon it for your happiness which is sourced from inside you. In fact, rather than be affected by it, you can exert a powerful influence on your workplace.

You can choose to be happy however daunting the circumstances around you because happiness is an internal state of being, it is how you are. Nothing and nobody can make you unhappy, although you may crack under adverse pressure.

Self Check

1. How much do you enjoy your work?

2. Can you be happy even when those around your aren't?

3. Can you be emotionally independent?

4. Have you noticed your performance when you are happy?

5. Have you noticed your performance when you are unhappy?

6. How much satisfaction can you derive from performing your work well?