Seven Rights You Lose... The Second Half

Here now is the second half of the seven rights you lose.

YOU LOSE THE RIGHT TO HAVE FAVORITES.
You have to avoid being perceived as "too close" to anyone as
this would lead to perceptions of favoritism. While you may
share similar interests or hobbies with some of your people, this
should not be used as an excuse to constantly be with that
employee. You have to have equal time for all or at the very
least create a perception that it is so.

Part of the transition that you experience in your journey to
becoming a manager, is a difference in perspective and a shift
in focus.

As an employee, you were responsible only for what you did.
Your focus is on your own performance. For you, what counts
the most is achieving your career goals and your personal and
work-related concerns.

As a manager, you are responsible not just for your work. You
have become responsible for the work of others. If they don't do
well, you are accountable, you have failed.

You no longer do the job by yourself. You are a working leader.
You work with and through a team.

YOU LOSE THE RIGHT TO LOSE YOUR TEMPER.
You can be firm without being emotional and argumentative.
Keeping your cool contributes to your thinking straight. Emotions
can cloud your judgment and hamper your effectiveness.

As a manager, you need to master your emotions completely.
If you can not control your temper, you will have difficulty in
controlling others. In fact, you may also experience difficulty in
gaining the loyalty or respect of those who are under you. They
will never know for sure what your reactions are going to be,
specially if they bring a difficult problem to you... hence, you must
be both calm and consistent if you want their trust and respect.

It is therefore important to keep calm and cool, most specailly
during busy times when everyone is under pressure. When you
calmly communicate and do not get upset, you help get the job
done. Otherwise, you will be unduly adding to the pressure and
increasing your staff anxiety and tension.

Never let your emotions enter the picture when you are
correcting someone. Always focus on the action or behaviour,
never criticize the person specially in public, but point to him
what needs to be improved. The moment you become angry in
your attempt to correct someone's actions, the issue becomes
cloudy and obscure. The result will be nothing more than a
shouting match between two combatants.

Never yell at a person unless he's so far away you have to shout to
make him hear you. And even then, make sure he understands
the reason why you are shouting at him. Shouting or yelling at a
person only creates trouble.

Being cool specially in hot situations will earn you the respect,
understanding, and support of your people. If you lose your cool
and make a scene, what your people will remember is not what
you said but how you said it.

YOU LOSE THE RIGHT TO BUCKPASS.
You take responsibility for what happens in your department and
assume full accountability. You do not blame or point a finger at
others. Blaming is for the weak and incompetent; analyzing then
correcting is for the goal-oriented.

YOU LOSE THE RIGHT TO RESIST CHANGE.
As a manager, you are a facilitator of change. You must be
"change friendly". You need to be supportive and open to change.

If you constantly resist change, you and your department will be
at a stand still or will most likely find yourselves behind the times
and unable to catch up with changes specially in technology.

As a manager, one of your concerns is to help create and shape
the future of your organization. So remember, "if you are not
moving forward, you are most likely... moving backwards".


"Your position is nothing more than your opportunity to show
what sort of ability you have. You will get out of it exactly what
you put into it... no more and no less. A 'big' position is but the
sum total of numerous 'little' positions well-filled.." - TLOS

Leaders, readers... we only have one life to live and we are all in
this world together. Let not pride affect your ability to serve. Let
not selfishness cloud your heart to share. We don't need to see
people crawling in pain first, just to help.

As we all know, we should not judge a book by it's cover; hence,
give opportunity to those who seek opportunity. Take time to
have a long look into one's eyes and what you exactly require...
Only then will you realize that anything is, indeed, possible.

Take note... "With great power comes, not just,
great responsibility... but great sacrifice."