Self-Awareness

More than thirty years ago Peter Drucker wrote Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices. It is about the same thickness as the Bible. There are other parallels. Dr. Drucker wrote:

The starting point for any manager-development effort is a performance appraisal focused on what a man does well, what he can do well, and what limitations to his performance capacity he needs to overcome to get the most out of his strengths. Such an appraisal, however, should always be a joint effort. It requires work on the part of the man himself; it has to be a self-appraisal. But it also requires active leadership by a man’s manager. In appraising themselves people tend either to be too critical or not critical enough. They are likely to see their strengths in the wrong places and to pride themselves on nonabilities rather than abilities… a self-development appraisal should also ask, “What do I want out of life? What are my values, my aspirations, my directions? And what do I have to do, to learn, to change, to make myself capable of living up to my demands on myself and my expectations of my life. (Drucker, pages 426-427)

Too many managers perceive they begin to create value by critiquing others; rather they should begin with self-criticism and seek self-awareness.

Jesus asked, “Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is a log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.” (Matthew 7: 3-5)

What is your tsedaq? What is your source of righteousness? What is your true self? How can you assess others before you have made good progress in answering these questions about yourself?

Finding yourself is a first step in helping others find their own true self. A team, a division, or a firm of individuals confident in their innate strengths and consciously organized to complement one another has a significant competitive advantage. Operationalizing this capacity is a premier management responsibility. It could also be called creating a just community.

Margaret Wheatley argues that becoming profoundly self-aware allows the manager to find and articulate the meaning which must be at the heart of an effective organization. She writes, “All of us want so much to know the ‘why’ of what is going on. (How often have you heard yourself or others say, ‘I just wish they would tell me why we’re doing this’?) We instinctively reach out to leaders who work with us on creating meaning. Those who give voice and form to our search for meaning, and who help us make our work purposeful, are leaders we cherish, and to whom we return gift for gift.” (Wheatley, page 135)

To articulate meaning for others you must find it for yourself. This does not suggest that self-discovery is a lonely process. It is more common to find ourselves as we engage others. It is through our relationships with others that we are most likely to find our true self. As Tsedaq and Mishpat are balanced, we approach the fulfillment of self in community that is Shalom.