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MANAGING ONESELF

He who controls others may be powerful, but he who has mastered himself is mightier
still. — Lao Tzu

INTRODUCTION

The note a) introduces the process of self-management, b) presents a framework that

integrates different elements of self-management and c) provides a number of tools and
practices for managing oneself with suggestions for implementation. Self-management
will improve one‟s performance, make a person a better leader and manager, and result in
a more fulfilling and rewarding career.

True leadership begins with self-management. Great leaders are masters of managing
themselves1. One of the greatest leaders of the twentieth century, Quaid-i-Azam
Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founding father of Pakistan, was excellent at self-
management. Dr. Ilahi Bukhsh, the physician of Quaid-i-Azam, described an event from
the last days of the great leader‟s life:

While I was telling him the grave news I watched him intently. He … remained quiet and
calm and all he said after I had finished was “Have you told Miss Jinnah?” I replied “Yes,
Sir … I had to take her into confidence.” The Quaid-i-Azam interrupted me and said,
“No, you shouldn‟t have done it. After all she is a woman.” I expressed regret for the pain
caused to his sister…. The Quaid-i-Azam listened patiently and in the end he said “It

1
Peter F. Drucker, „‟Managing Oneself,‟‟ Business Review (1999).

This note was written by Dr Muhammad Ghufran Ahmad at the Lahore University of Management
Sciences to serve as basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling
of an administrative situation. This material may not be quoted, photocopied or reproduced in any form
without the prior written consent of the Lahore University of Management Sciences.

© 2014 Suleman Dawood School of Business, Lahore University of Management Sciences

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doesn‟t matter, what is done is done. Now tell me all about it. How long have I had this
disease? What are the chances of my overcoming it? How long will the treatment last? I
should like to know everything and you must not hesitate to tell me the whole truth.” … I
replied that I … felt confident that with the aid of the latest drugs, there should be a fair
chance of a considerable improvement2.

The narrative contains a powerful description of the extraordinary self-management

capabilities of the Quaid. He demonstrated a heightened sense of self-awareness,
command of the situation, willpower and resilience, and the abilities to set priorities and
remain calm and centred under the direst of the circumstances—in the face of death. In
the following sections, the process of self-management is explained and then applied to
the most critical facets of self-management in a professional context. A number of
practices are presented for better self-management.

THE PROCESS OF SELF-MANAGEMENT

Self-management includes:3

a) becoming aware of oneself,

b) putting one‟s strengths and capabilities to the most effective use (that is, commanding
oneself), and
c) improving one‟s performance and capabilities (that is, elevating oneself)4.

The awareness, command and elevation (ACE) process is further explained in the
following paragraphs.

Awareness

Whereas most of us claim to know ourselves, this claim is generally unfounded5.

Becoming aware of oneself is one of the most difficult endeavours in life, yet it is
something that can be done through a systematic and continuous process 6. You may use
three different methods to know yourself better. The first method is to use self-assessment
instruments, such as personality evaluations that provide data regarding one‟s preferences

2
Stanley A. Wolpert, Jinnah of Pakistan (New York: Oxford University Press, 1984), pp. 348-349.
3
Ellen Van Velsor, C.D. McCauley, and M. N. Ruderman, eds., The Center for Creative Leadership
Handbook of Leadership Development (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2010).
4
Daniel Goleman, „‟What Makes a Leader?‟‟ Harvard Business Review (1998).
5
Daniel Goleman, Emotional Intelligence (New York: Bantam Books, 1995).
6
Daniel Goleman, Working with Emotional Intelligence. (New York: Random House, 1998).
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and predispositions7. The second one is to get feedback from others on personal traits and
attitudes that you are concerned about8. The third method involves introspection and
reflection through which you gain insights about your inner self 9. A combination of the
three methods will provide different perspectives and deepen your understanding about
yourself.

Command

Self-command involves controlling and regulating your behaviour with an empowered

sense of self, motivated by freely chosen commitments10. Commanding yourself means
understanding your strengths and capabilities and putting them to work in order to
achieve your purpose and priorities and to live your values. You command your strengths
and resources, your attention and focus, your energy and motivation with the intention of
creating maximum impact.

Elevation

Elevation involves pushing yourself and exerting directed effort and energy to improve
your performance and capacities in the defined areas of your life. It is going beyond your
current level of performance and stretching your limits and capacities. Elevation is a two-
step process of stretching and supporting yourself11 12
. People are creatures of habit and
unless we challenge and stretch ourselves, we tend to become complacent and stagnant.
However, stretching alone is not sufficient unless matched with the support that is needed
to build new capacities and learn new things. Self-improvement is the third important
element of self-management.

In order to become a better leader, you need to apply the process of self-management in
three critical dimensions of your life: your attitudes, commitments and use of energy
(ACE in short). The process and dimensions influence and reinforce each other (see
Figure 1). Detailed description of the dimensions and application of the process of self-
management follows.

7
Isabel Myers Briggs, Introduction to type (Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists, 1998).
8
Leanne E. Atwater, Joan F. Brett, and Atira C. Charles, „‟Multisource Feedback: Lessons Learned and
Implications for Practice,‟‟ Human Resource Management 46, no.2 (2007): 285-307.
9
Timothy D. Wilson, Redirect: The Surprising New Science of Psychological Change (New York: Penguin
Books, 2011).
10
Joshua D. Margolis, „‟Delivering Personally on Responsibility,‟‟ Module Note for Instructors 5-409-093
(Boston: Harvard Business School, 2009).
11
Scott A. Snook, „‟Leader(ship) Development,‟‟ HBS No.408-064 (Boston: Harvard Business School,
2008).
12
Ellen Van Velsor, C.D. McCauley, and M. N. Ruderman, eds., The Center for Creative Leadership
Handbook of Leadership Development (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2010).
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Figure 1
ACE Framework of Self-Management

Commitments

Command Elevation

Energy
Attitudes

Awareness

THE THREE DIMENSIONS OF LIFE

Attitudes

Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you
bring to life …. – Khalil Jibran

Attitude is your relatively enduring preconception, predisposition or preference that

propels you to act or react in a certain way, based on your liking or disliking13. Your
attitude determines how you are inclined to think, feel and behave towards other people
or objects, either positively or negatively14. Attitudes are reflected in the choices you
make, the convictions you hold and the values you embrace15. If you like winning, you
may prefer working in sales, get motivated by hard-to-meet sales quotas and value
making more money than others.
13
Icek Ajzen, „‟Nature and operation of attitudes,‟‟ Annual Review of Psychology 52, no.1 (2001): 27-58.
14
Carl G. Jung, Psychological Types: The Collected Works of CG Jung, Volume 6 (Princeton, New Jersey:
Princeton University Press,1971)
15
Klaus R. Scherer, „‟What are emotions? And how can they be measured?‟‟ Social Science Information
44, no.4 (2005): 695-729.
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People have attitudes about almost everything, but some attitudes matter more than others
for self-management in professional settings. Your attitudes about (1) yourself, (2) people
and relationships, (3) learning, (4) decision making and (5) change are most important for
effective self-management.

1) Self-Attitude

The overall positive self-regard, also known as core self-evaluation, is a measure that you
can use to determine your attitude about yourself. There are four personality traits
including self-esteem, self-efficacy, locus of control, and emotional stability that, in
combination, determine your self-attitude16. Self-esteem is how successful and valuable
you see yourself as. People with high levels of self-esteem are good at taking initiatives
and risks, and are more willing to stand for and act on their beliefs. However, very high
levels of self-esteem can make people egocentric and less sensitive to environmental
clues that contradict their beliefs and expectations17.

Self-efficacy is your estimation of your capability to perform successfully across different

situations. If you have high self-efficacy, then you are more likely to persist at the task
and complete it despite problems and hurdles18. Locus of control is your overall
evaluation of the extent to which you think you control your own life and the experiences
you go through. If you have a high level of locus of control, you tend to think that you
have the ability to control the events in your life. You are likely to appreciate and praise
yourself when you achieve something in life, considering that your achievement is a
direct consequence of your actions.

Emotional stability reflects your optimism and positive outlook towards life. If your
emotional stability score is high, then you tend to remain stable in emotionally charged
situations and do not react negatively in stressful environments. On the contrary, if you
score low on emotional stability, you are more likely to be in a depressive state of mind,
and be anxious, angry and shy19. The four personal traits overlap a great deal and
collectively determine your level of positive self-regard i.e. how valuable, capable, in
control and stable you feel yourself to be, which in turn will determine how effectively

16
Timothy A. Judge, Amir Erez, Joyce E. Bono, and Carl J. Thoresen, „‟Are measures of self-esteem,
neuroticism, locus of control, and generalised self-efficacy indicators of a common core
construct?‟‟ Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 83, no.3 (2002): 693-710.
17
Roy F. Baumeister, Laura Smart, and Joseph M. Boden, „‟Relation of Threatened Egotism to Violence
and Aggression: the Dark Side of High Self-Esteem,‟‟ .Psychological Review 103, no. 1(1996): 5-33.
18
Albert Bandura, Self-efficacy: The Exercise of Control (New York: Macmillan Publishing, 1997).
19
R. Hogan, Personality and the Fate of Organisations (New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates
Publishers, 2007).
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you manage yourself. People with higher levels of positive self-regard tend to work in
jobs that are more engaging, challenging and internally satisfying, which in turn leads to
higher levels of job satisfaction20.

2) Attitudes towards People and Relationships

Attitudes about people and relationships help you define how you influence others, what
role you are likely to play most effectively and the responsibility you will exercise most
prudently to get work done for yourself and your organisation21.

If you have an “authoritarian” attitude towards people (you believe that use of authority is
the best method to influence other people), this may be because you are driven by a
strong desire to create positive impact through tangible results. Alternatively, you may be
motivated by the desire to seek status and power and you may like dominating others.
Irrespective of the reasons, sooner or later, you will realise that formal authority
associated with a leadership position has its limits. People who use their formal authority
excessively generally produce short-term compliance at the cost of long-term influence
and commitment. Usually, people will comply with your demands but are unlikely to
apply their own knowledge and wisdom and will most likely follow traditional and
routine procedures, thereby producing mediocre results22.

Authority is most productive when it is used sparingly e.g. in emergency situations

demanding quick decisions and clear directions, when you want others to focus their time
and effort on the defined objectives and strategies, and when it is important to set limits
and follow prescribed or preferred course of action. Authority is also more productive
when group norms and standards need to be established and reinforced, and when a group
may not reach consensus and good decisions due to time limitation or other factors such
as lack of mutual understanding and respect or lack of skills required for reaching good
consensual decisions23.
Your attitude towards work relationships may be a result of your personal liking or
disliking for conflicts or interpersonal tensions. You may prefer being liked by others,
believing that if people like you then they will trust and respect you; consequently you
will be able to influence them. Effective self-management requires that you become

20
Joyce E. Bono and Timothy A. Judge, „‟Core Self‐Evaluations: A Review of the Trait and its Role in Job
Satisfaction and Job Performance,‟‟ European Journal of Personality 17, no.S1 (2003): S5-S18.
21
Linda A. Hill and Kent Lineback, Being the Boss: The 3 Imperatives for Becoming a Great Leader
(Boston: Harvard Business School Publishing, 2011).
22
Ibid.
23
Richard E. Boyatzis and Annie McKee. Resonant Leadership: Renewing Yourself and Connecting with
Others Through Mindfulness, Hope and Compassion (Boston: Harvard Business Press, 2013).
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aware of your attitude towards relationships and realise that work relationships exist to
get work done. If you become too close to certain people, it may hamper your ability to
take tough people related decisions and get results. You need to control your natural
impulse of personal liking or disliking for the people around you if you want bring out the
best in them24.

3) Attitude towards Decision Making

Whereas most people consider themselves good decision makers, they do not pay enough
attention to the process of decision making. Some people prefer to make decisions alone
and some choose to consult others. Some are likely to decide in the heat of the moment
and some prefer to make decisions after extricating themselves from the daily frenzy and
mayhem25.

If you want to become better at decision making, you need to understand how you make
decisions and under what conditions your decisions turn out to be most effective26. You
should keep track of your decisions with information and feedback about their
consequences. You should also ask your colleagues about your decision making habits.
Ask yourself a series of pointed questions:

 What kind of decision do you prefer making, strategic or operational?

 Do you make decision based on information or intuition?
 Do you prefer long-term decision making or short-term?

You can then identify the conditions under which you make better decisions. The results
of your analysis will highlight your strengths in decision making which you can then put
to more effective use. You can then also start working on improving the areas you find
lacking.

24
Linda A. Hill and Kent Lineback, Being the Boss: The 3 Imperatives for Becoming a Great Leader
(Boston: Harvard Business School Publishing, 2011).
25
K.R. Brousseau, M.J. Driver, G. Hourihan, and R. Larsson, „‟The Seasoned Executive's Decision-Making
Style,‟‟ Harvard Business Review 84, no. 2(2006): 110.
26
Peter F. Drucker, „‟Managing Oneself,‟‟ Business Review (1999).
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4) Attitude towards Learning

People prefer to learn in different ways and the way you learn influences your capabilities
of problem solving and decision making. It influences how you perceive the world around
you and how you communicate with others.

There are two major dimensions along which you can assess your learning preferences.
The first dimension involves your learning either through concrete experiences or through
abstract conceptualisation27. When you have an orientation towards learning by doing,
you rely more on personal and concrete experiences, focus on the immediate situation,
relate to others and use your intuition and feelings to solve problems. You are likely to
adapt to novel situations and be open-minded about how things should be and how people
should behave. Alternatively, when you focus more on concepts by using logic and ideas,
then you learn primarily through abstract conceptualisation. You prefer to structure
information to bring precision and rigour to analysis. You plan and solve problems
systematically. You are more likely to think through a situation rationally rather than feel
your way through intuitively.

The second dimension of your learning attitude or style includes your propensity for
active experimentation or reflective observation28. When you are inclined towards active
experimentation, you want to directly influence people and situations, possess a
pragmatic orientation and are interested in learning about what works in different
situations. You are inclined towards taking risks and value results. Alternatively, if you
prefer reflecting upon your experiences and situations around you, then you are careful in
observing and describing your experiences. You focus more on understanding rather than
on practically working things out. You are careful and considerate in your judgments and
value impartiality and patience. You are more likely to rely on your own personal feelings
and standards while forming opinions and taking decisions29.

After becoming aware of your attitude towards learning, you can command your attitude
by putting yourself in relevant learning environment30. For instance, if you prefer learning
through experimentation, then you may lead new projects. If you prefer abstract
conceptualisation, then you may give yourself planning and strategising roles. If you
favour learning by doing, then handling operational problems will help you in learning

27
David A. Kolb, Experiential learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development
(Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1984).
28
Ibid.
29
Ibid.
30
Eva Cools and Herman Van den Broeck, „‟Development and Validation of the Cognitive Style
Indicator,‟‟ The Journal of Psychology 141, no. 4(2007): 359-387.
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through concrete experiences. If you have a preference for reflective observations, the
roles that do not require on-the-spot decision making may suit you better. In order to
elevate your learning, you may put yourself in different situations. For example, if you
want to learn through concrete experiences and you are working in the production
department, then you may switch over to a planning role and develop your capacity to
learn from abstract thinking.

5) Attitude towards Change

Your attitude towards change is determined by your level of tolerance for the ambiguities,
uncertainties and complexities that characterise modern life, and your ability to adapt
according to the changing circumstances31. People differ in their ability to tolerate or cope
with the uncertain and unstructured situations as well as in their ability to focus on and
interpret higher loads of information32. People are also sensitive about the image they
hold of themselves. When faced with uncomfortable information and threatening
situations, some people resort to familiar and known patterns of feelings and behaviours.
They deny the validity of information that challenges their self-image and therefore forces
them to change their behaviour. In order to protect their self-image, they become risk-
averse and rigid. This pattern of behaviour, known as the threat-rigidity response, causes
people to tune out of the reality and defines their attitude towards change. It also causes
them to lose out on the opportunities for self-awareness despite being in the situation
which can provide them potentially useful information33.

To become aware of your attitude towards change, ask yourself how you feel and what
you do when you come across unfamiliar situations and information. What happens when
you face intractable and hard-to-solve problems? In order to better gauge your attitude
towards change, you may use self-assessment questionnaires such as the tolerance of
ambiguity scale34 or the innovation-adaptation inventory35. Once you become aware of
your attitude in this regard, you can command and elevate it through a series of focused
steps. In order to improve your threat-rigidity response pattern, you may solicit valid and
verifiable information about yourself at regular intervals in a format and frequency that

31
S. Budner, „‟Intolerance of Ambiguity as a Personality Variable,‟‟ Journal of Personality 30 (1962): 29-
50.
32
Timothy A. Judge, Carl J. Thoresen, Vladimir Pucik, and Theresa M. Welbourne, „‟Managerial Coping
with Organisational Change: A Dispositional Perspective,‟‟ Journal of Applied Psychology 84, no.
1(1999):107-122.
33
Karl E. Weick, „‟The Collapse of Sensemaking in Organisations: The Mann Gulch disaster,‟‟
Administrative Science Quarterly 38, no. 4 (1993): 628-652.
34
S. Budner, „‟Intolerance of Ambiguity as a Personality Variable,‟‟ Journal of Personality 30 (1962): 29-
50.
35
M. J. Kirton, Adaptation-Innovation: In the Context of Diversity and Change (London: Routledge,
2003).
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you control so that the information is not perceived as incorrect and unexpected. Another
step that you may take is to consistently engage in disclosing sensitive information about
yourself to the people you trust. You may also gradually expose yourself to novel and
unstructured situations and take on tasks and projects of increasing complexity and
uncertainty.

Commitments

The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you
discover why. – Mark Twain

Commitments are what matter most to you i.e. those areas of your life which consume
your time, attention, energy and money. Commitments are not your professed values and
priorities; they are what you actually believe to be worthy of your focus and effort. Some
major commitments such as your decision to change jobs or to get married are dramatic,
clearly visible and examined, but most commitments result from the daily small decisions
and actions that make you follow a certain life path and bind you to that path in future36.

Some of your commitments are internally chosen, that is, you have made a conscious and
deliberate choice about your values and priorities and have purposefully chosen a
particular course of action. For instance, you may decide to develop an entirely new
product line to be launched to meet the needs of a different group of customers or you
may adopt particular organisational values as a code of conduct. These internally-imposed
voluntary commitments are choices. Other commitments are externally imposed and you
are obliged to deliver on such commitments. For instance, you may be operating in a
highly competitive industry and may be forced to adopt a cost minimisation strategy to
survive in the industry. Such externally-imposed commitments are obligations37.

In order to manage yourself more effectively and live a meaningful life, you need to focus
and spend your time more on internally-driven and voluntary commitments, i.e. on your
choices rather than on your obligations. Your commitments are reflected in your (1)
purpose, (2) values and (3) priorities.

36
Donald N. Sull and Dominic Houlder, „‟Do your Commitments Match your Convictions?‟‟ Harvard
Business Review 83, no. 1(2005):82-91.
37
James G. Clawson, Level Three Leadership: Getting Below the Surface, 5th ed. (New Jersey: Prentice
Hall, 2012).
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1) Purpose

Purpose defines the reason why you or your organisation exists. Purpose is what gives
meaning to struggles, keeps you energised and motivated and leverages exceptional
performance out of you. It helps you answer the most important question in your life:
What is my unique contribution and will I leave the world a better place? Indeed, purpose
is magnetic and infectious. It keeps you grounded and resilient despite unrelenting
changes and upheavals in life, and it attracts people around you and infuses them with the
same passion that you have.

You are most likely to not have defined your purpose in life and it‟s not going to be an
easy task. It is possible that you may have adopted a purpose given to you by someone
else, in which case you are not likely to find that purpose very motivating. In order to
craft your own purpose, you need to identify the unifying red thread that runs through the
events and actions of your life. As you reflect upon your life history, identify what you
are passionate about and what keeps you energised and makes you withstand adversities.
Thoughtful and repeated conversations with your trusted friends and mentors will help
you immensely in understanding yourself better and identifying what gives meaning to
your life. Finally, you should craft your unique purpose into a crisp and concise statement
that you can articulate with full force to yourself and that will inspire you to bring out the
best in you38.

2) Values

Values are what you believe to be preferable, good and right39. They serve as the bedrock
upon which your attitudes and preferences are shaped. Values go beyond the matters of
ethics and morality and also determine what you prefer as a profession, what you desire in
your relationships and what meaning life carries for you. Your values describe the
standards you apply while solving problems and making decisions.

Whereas the influence of values is pervasive, they remain invisible most of the time and
are not paid much attention unless we come across a values-conflict. As our values are
mostly chosen unconsciously, we generally don‟t pay enough attention and devote
inadequate time in understanding and clarifying our values. Values-conflicts, when
confronted, are quite painful and difficult to resolve. For instance, for many people it is a
very painful decision to fire people working under them, especially when those people

38
Nick Craig and Scott Snook, „‟From Purpose to Impact,‟‟ Harvard Business Review (2014).
39
Milton Rokeach, The Nature of Human Values (New York: The Free Press, 1973).
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also happen to be good colleagues and friends at work. It is in such moments of painful
values-conflict that a clearer understanding of one‟s values emerges40. However, one
should not be waiting for such dilemmas and values-conflicts to arise to clarify and
appreciate one‟s values. Reflective conversations with some trusted mentors and friends
and a historical review of different choices made so far in your life will help you become
better attuned to the values you hold most dearly.

3) Priorities

Your priorities translate purpose and values into concrete action plans. Though it may
seem obvious that you set priorities around your purpose and values, many obviously
correct matters turn out to be incorrect. To get the clearer picture of whether or not you
have set the right priorities, you need to analyse your daily, weekly and yearly agendas
and actions to work out your real priorities by determining how you have spent your time
and money. Once you have worked out what your real priorities are, then you connect
those priorities to your values and purpose to determine the level of alignment.
Discrepancies will help you understand what your real commitments are and identify
what areas in your life you need to de-prioritise in order to attend to your true
commitments41.

You also need to align your attitudes with your priorities. Ask yourself if your attitudes or
convictions match your purpose, values and priorities. If you are convinced about the
value of teamwork and prefer building relationships, then are you also spending enough
time with your team members and is team building a high-priority agenda item? If you
favour learning through experimentation, then are you also prioritising new product
development, venturing into new markets and experimenting with new types of
organisational structures? Through a systematic analysis of comparing your attitudes and
convictions with your actual priorities, you discover areas which generate stress and
tension for you and result in ineffective and inefficient use of time and money. By
aligning your priorities with your attitudes and through good stress and time management,
you transform your commitments into results optimally.

40
Fons Trompenaars and Charles Hampden-Turner, Riding the Waves of Culture (New York: McGraw-
Hill, 1998).
41
Boris Groysberg and Robin Abrahams, „‟Manage Your Work, Manage Your Life,‟‟ Harvard Business
Review (2014).
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Energy

Leadership is about managing energy, first in yourself and then in those around you. –
James Clawson

Self-management is hard and demanding work and your capacity for work i.e. the level of
energy you have, will determine your effectiveness at self-management42. Energy
originates in four elements in yourself i.e. body, mind, emotions and spirit. Your body
goes through energy cycles of roughly 90-120 minutes during which the level of energy
goes up and down. After completion of one cycle of energy, the body seeks recovery43. If
you do not provide your body with adequate rest and continue working during that period,
you start accumulating stress. Appropriate diet, rest at regular intervals, adequate sleep
and some form of physical activity help you maintain good levels of physical energy
throughout the day44.

Positive emotions such as happiness, appreciation, kindness, hope, and gratitude are
another powerful source of energy. Negative emotions such as irritation, fear, anger,
impatience and anxiety can very quickly drain your energy and you lose control over
yourself and start reacting to situations and people45. Both kinds of emotions are useful
but in general, negative emotions at the workplace cause greater harm in terms of
unnecessary work related stress and interpersonal frictions. In order to avoid the generally
toxic effects of negative emotions, you need to cultivate positive emotions such as
expressing appreciation and gratitude to others. Other techniques such as relaxation and
reinterpreting life stories also help. Your positive attitude towards other people and
relationships will provide you emotional energy46.

Mental energy results from your ability to remain focused and not become distracted by
the unrelenting demands of the day. You may be able to multitask but its effects on your
mental energy are largely negative. You ultimately end up paying more time and attention
to complete a task when it gets divided and remains unfinished due to your attending to
other tasks. You harness your mental energy when the tasks and goals you attend to are
driven by your priorities rather than urgencies, when you identify and finish a meaningful
42
Tony Schwartz and Catherine McCarthy, „‟Manage Your Energy, Not Your Time, „‟Harvard Business
Review 85, no. 10(2007):63.
43
David A. Whetten and Kim S. Cameron, Developing Management Skills (New Jersey: Prentice Hall,
2011).
44
Tony Schwartz and Catherine McCarthy, „‟Manage Your Energy, Not Your Time, „‟Harvard Business
Review 85, no. 10(2007):63.
45
Daniel Goleman, Social Intelligence: The New Science of Human Relationships (New York: Bantam
Books, 2006).
46
Barbara Fredrickson, Positivity: Groundbreaking Research to Release your Inner Optimist and Thrive
(Oxford: OneWorld Publications, 2009).
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portion of the work before moving on to other important tasks and when you follow your
natural physiological energy cycle to structure your work, rest and leisure47.

Spiritual energy originates in the activities that truly inspire you, the goals you are
passionate about, the values you care for and the dreams that give purpose and meaning to
your life. People can become accomplished performers, yet they may not be able to
generate and use their spiritual energy because what they do most proficiently may not be
something that they value most highly. In other words, while it is impossible to perform
well without alignment between your strengths and performance, your performance and
your commitments may not be aligned. In order to make your spiritual energy work for
you, you need to focus on the work that is driven by your commitments48.

Self-management requires management of energy which is a three-tiered process. Your

energy is commanded by willpower, put to most effective and efficient use through good
time and stress management strategies, and is replenished and multiplied through
resilience. Willpower, stress management and resilience are closely related to each other
and improvement in one area will positively influence your performance in other areas. A
good way to understand the relationship between the three is to consider willpower as
physical stamina, stress management as physical endurance and resilience as the immune
system.

1) Willpower

Willpower is your capacity for self-control i.e. your ability to control your attention,
thoughts, impulses, emotions and performance. In other words it is your ability to direct
your energy in pursuit of your goals and priorities, rather than wasting time and effort on
distractions and temptations. People who exercise effective willpower are happier,
healthier and live longer. Their relationships are longer lasting and more satisfying. They
are better off financially and professionally. They deal more effectively with conflicts,
hardships, and stress49.

Willpower or self-control begins with self-awareness. Ironically, people who think they
have good control of themselves are usually wrong. People who claim to have strong
willpower usually do not know under what conditions they lose self-control and hence are

47
John Medina, Brain Rules (WA: Pear Press, 2008).
48
Tony Schwartz and Catherine McCarthy, „‟Manage Your Energy, Not Your Time, „‟Harvard Business
Review 85, no. 10(2007):63.
49
Roy F. Baumeister and John Tierney, Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength (Penguin
Books, 2011).
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more likely to fall into the trap50. One good way to become self-aware is to understand
when you lose control of yourself and become distracted and disoriented.
Procrastinations, addictions, cravings and missed deadlines can provide a good start to
become aware of how, when, and why you fail to exercise willpower.
Generally, most of the choices and decisions that we make during the course of a normal
day are made automatically without any conscious thought and attention paid to selecting
appropriate course of action. Sometimes we don‟t even know we‟re making a decision.
Keeping track of what we do during the day, how we do it and how much time and effort
do we expand can help us become aware of the extent to which we exercise self-control.

Willpower is quite similar to muscle-power in the sense that the more you use willpower
for a certain task, the lesser of it will be available for the next task at hand. Willpower
depletes with use51. A good way to increase your level of self-control is to apply an
athlete‟s model of building stamina: You exercise your willpower to the point of
exhaustion, rest and then exercise again. With the passage of time your willpower will go
up.
Adequate sleep, physical exercise, relaxation exercises and good diet are also useful in
developing your willpower. Stress also causes willpower to deplete52. Your success in
managing stress in life will also cause your level of self-control to remain stable. Many
techniques that are useful in building your self-control are also effective in fighting off
stress and developing resilience53.

2) Stress and Time

Adequate level of stress is essential for pushing yourself to perform at your best, but
when stress is consistent and overwhelming, it translates into distress which overpowers
you and causes you to react and behave ineffectively. Stress is pervasive and devastating.
It can make you unable to concentrate, and feel depressive and anxious. You may become
less resistant to diseases and experience reduced job satisfaction and organisational
commitment54.

In order to manage stress you first need to become aware of what causes stress and how
you get stressed. Stress is primarily a symptom that results from lack of self-awareness,

50
Kelly McGonigal, Maximum Willpower (New York: Macmillan Publishing, 2012).
51
Roy F. Baumeister and John Tierney, Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength (Penguin
Books, 2011).
52
Ibid
53
Kelly McGonigal, Maximum Willpower (New York: Macmillan Publishing, 2012).
54
George Fink, ed., Stress Consequences: Mental, Neuropsychological, Socioeconomic (San Diego, CA:
Academic Press, 2010).
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unclear goals and priorities, and mismanaged time. There are three major immediate
causes of stress: time, people and situations. You may get stressed due to job or
organisational characteristics such as work overload, lack of sufficient time and
resources, social interactions and conflict and other environmental contingencies55.

Your attitudes towards yourself, people and relationships, decision making, learning, and
change determine to a large extent how you experience and deal with the stress. Your
positive self-regard, that is, your own self-esteem and self-efficacy in dealing with the
stress, your sense of control and confidence, and your ability to maintain emotional
stability in face of stressful and uncertain situations will facilitate you greatly in avoid
being debilitated by stress.

People-related stress can be overcome effectively through collaborative work

relationships and exercising social and emotional maturity in dealing with people and
conflicts. Time-related stress can be managed through effective and efficient time
management. Work environment related stresses can be reduced through job and work
redesign. Jobs can be redesigned by creating tasks that are holistic, significant and varied,
and through autonomy and feedback56.

3) Resilience

Resilience is your capacity to withstand or endure difficulties and adversities and to

recover from the negative effects of hardships and stresses i.e. to replenish the reservoirs
of energy after exhaustion and depletion. Resilience moderates the effects of stress and
increases your ability to handle the stress successfully. Some people are more resilient
than others. You can become more resilient by living a balanced life-style i.e. by devoting
adequate time and energy to different aspects of your life including family, work, and
social life, and by addressing physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual needs.
Your attitudes and commitments can help you become more resilient57.

In order to improve your physical resilience you should take care of your diet and
exercise. As a general rule, you should eat a variety of foods supplemented with vitamins
and minerals, and reduce your consumption of fats, sugars, salts and caffeine. For
physical exercise, you should adopt a regular regime that allows you to build your
stamina, strength and flexibility. For your specific needs, you should consult your doctor
55
David A. Whetten and Kim S. Cameron, Developing Management Skills (New Jersey: Prentice Hall,
2011).
56
Ibid.
57
John W. Reich, Alex J. Zautra, and John S. Hall, Handbook of Adult Resilience (New York: The Guilford
Press, 2010).
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before adopting any specific diet and exercise regime. When you develop physical
resilience the physiological effects of stress are moderated58.

Psychological resilience, or hardiness, arises when you feel empowered and in control to
overcome the challenges brought by change and uncertainty and you feel committed to
and are fully involved in your work and life. Your attitudes about yourself and change
and the intensity of your commitments greatly determine your level of psychological
resilience. You can increase the level of your psychological resilience by clarifying and
defining your commitments. You can also adopt a small-wins strategy through which you
can plan and create small successes for yourself so that you start feeling more
empowered, in control, and confident to take on the adversities and uncertainties.

Emotional resilience, or high level of social-emotional intelligence, is driven primarily by

your attitudes towards people and relationships59. When you are connected to people in
your personal and professional life, you are able to share your joys and frustrations,
successes and failures, and aspirations and anxieties. The process of sharing creates
emotional bonds that serve as cushions and lifelines when you face hostile situations and
defeats. Your trusted family members, friends, and mentors provide you counsel,
sustenance and encouragement. Commonalities in attitudes, commitments, personal
preferences and tastes provide a platform through which you can build deep emotional
connections with people around you. The bonds in turn will help you become more
resilient emotionally. The commitments and connections that you generate through
psychological and emotional resilience will also help you become more resilient
spiritually.

CONCLUSION

The note began with a glimpse into the last days of the life of Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad
Ali Jinnah to extract the principles of self-management. It is only befitting to conclude the
note and see how another great leader of the twentieth century, Nelson Mandela, practised
the principles outlined above. With extraordinarily high levels of willpower and
resilience, Mandela spent 27 years in prison in solitary confinement, during which he
used to recite the poem, Invictus, to himself and his comrades60. The last stanza of the
poem containing, “I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul” illustrates the
high levels of self-efficacy and internal locus of control that Mandela possessed. His
58
David A. Whetten and Kim S. Cameron, Developing Management Skills (New Jersey: Prentice Hall,
2011).
59
Daniel Goleman, Social Intelligence: The New Science of Human Relationships (New York: Bantam
Books, 2006).
60
Wikipedia, „‟Nelson Mandela,‟‟ accessed June 25, 2014.
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relentless fight for freedom through peaceful means reflects his emotional maturity and
stability and his strong desire to integrate the white population in post-apartheid South
Africa demonstrates his positive attitude towards people and relationships. His inexorable
commitment to the freedom of the black population of South Africa through nonviolent
means shows his laser-sharp focus on the purpose, values, and priorities that he adhered
to throughout his life61. One can pick the biography of any great leader in human history
and a persistent pattern of extremely high level of self-management will be found.

Self-management is a life-long process of action, reflection, and experimentation. The

process involves awareness, command and elevation. It spans your commitments that
generate energy, your attitudes that regulate and direct the energy, and your daily actions
that translate energy into results. When your attitudes, commitments, and the use of
energy are fully aligned and working in sync you experience optimal performance and
live life to the fullest. Self-management is essential for becoming a great leader and team-
member, and a great parent and spouse.

61
Ibid.
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