Sleeping Smarter and the link to management - Cultivated Management Newsletter
Hi,
Hope you are having a great week and all set for the weekend.
Management and Person
One of my core beliefs is that it makes no difference how much management theory you know, how many tools you have at your disposal and how many people you manage if you're not growing as an individual and you are out of balance in your life.
I meet too many knowledgeable managers who are burned out, stressed, frustrated, ill, angry and general not acting like great managers. Not because they don't know how to be good managers, but because they're unbalanced in other elements of their life.
Good management comes from being healthy, well, rested, financial stable and emotionally balanced.
Trust me, I've been there. My direct reports knew it, my peers knew it. I was burning out. I didn't listen as well as usual. I didn't have much patience. I demanded too much. I was scatter brained. I was deflated and negative and not a good role model.
I knew the theory. I knew what to do. I'd even been doing it really well for years.
But my management is never better than me as a person.
I learned it the hard way and that's why Cultivated Management is all about pillars of life now:
Health and Longevity
Education
Relevance & Responsiveness
Money & Finance
Cultural & Societal Impact
Productivity
If the balance is out your management will suffer.
Focus too much on one area for too long and the balance will tip.
Being obsessed with making money will often take you away from your core purpose.
Focus too much on self education and you can burn out. (I've been there one year and it hurts).
To not focus on health at all, leads to inevitable consequences.
Balance is key.
The pillars I believe in are a direct result of not being balanced in my own life. I'm hoping to help other managers avoid burning out, or getting close.
But the pillars are also the same sorts of pillars you hear companies talking about.
Good companies want to be:
A company that is around for a long time and healthy
A company that is self learning and has a well educated workforce
A relevant company that responds to market conditions
A company that makes money and sensible financial decisions
A company that makes a difference and gives back to society
A company that gets stuff done.
Underlying all of this though is my deep belief that a good manager is a teacher. They teach people how to operate at their best. They help people discover what they are good at and tease it out. They put people to work on their strengths.
And the only way any manager can do this is if they are balanced. If they lead by example. If they walk the talk. If they are a role model.
Balance is key. Your management will never be better than you as a person.
Book of the week - Sleep Smarter
This week's book dovetails off the above snippet. It's called Sleep Smarter and has nothing at all to do with management theory. But it does have a lot to do with being healthy. Sleep is essential. It's the foundation of recovery and it's something most people get little of. I'm using this book to get more sleep. Those that know me, know I don't sleep well. This book has helped.
There are 21 ideas in the book. I'm slowly working through them.
Upcoming Workshop
I'm hoping to run a Communications Workshop in my home city of Winchester, UK in Jan/Feb next year. Keep your eyes peeled on the blog and of course, I'll announce it here too.
I've done the workshop now around 25 times and each time it gets better. It gets very positive feedback and the best thing is - I get people contacting me after saying how much it helped at work. The ultimate feedback! If you fancy bringing the workshop (or any other service) to your company then don't hesitate to ask :) - http://cultivatedmanagement.com/services/
Have a great weekend. Thanks again for subscribing. It's appreciated.
Rob