There’s no such thing as time management; there’s only self management.
Rory Vaden – Self management Guru and Writer
VUCAN managers don’t manage in terms of telling a worker what to do, when, and how to do it in COVID time. VUCAN workers are assumed to know their jobs as well as be able to self manage.
Leaders want to align VUCAN’s personal needs into the mission of the organization. This can seem like herding cats. If there’s no alignment, work won’t get done effectively. So, companies have to rely upon workers’ maturity and ability to self manage appropriately to get work done at home.
Self management is important to your personal and online work. A single misstep can lead to COVID. A single incident such as saying or doing the wrong thing can kill a job or a career in a nano-second. A single incident with a significant other can derail a relationship. A misconstrued video, vlog, comment, or selfie can forestall a job interview, promotion, or relationship. So, self management has evolved into personal risk management.
On-the-job sex has is a critical issue for company executives. All executives are warned to keep their zippers zipped with direct reports. If you get into trouble, don’t think that 20 years of great work, promotions, and duty entitles you to anything. Your employer after your lapse in ethics, words, or self management owes you absolutely nothing – 0, zip, nada.
The common theme throughout this book is the importance of self management. Notice I don’t use the word self leadership but self management, which is doable. The fundamental idea of self management is that you know how to get things done economically, and efficiently, but appropriately. You know where the lines are and don’t cross them – literally in terms of social distancing and figuratively in terms of new expectations and new norms.
Work Lesson Earned: The technical basics of work is IQ driven – getting a project completed within schedule, within cost, and at the right quality level. The behavioral basics of work is EQ and safety driven – knowing where the work lines are and not crossing them without fully understanding the consequences.