AN ESSENCE OF SELF-MANAGEMENT - Through Attitudinal & Perceptual Change- (Part-2)

-By Ramesh Sangare, President & CEO, HRDC Group (H.R.D. Corporation & HRDC Global Placements), Pune Nagpur Hyderabad (India)

Hello Friends,

We have discussed in the Part-1 of this article, the most fundamental aspects of SELF MANAGEMENT, the Perceptions and Attitude, on which our personal and professional journey in life depends. In order to change Attitude, we have got to change the Perceptions on the related matters, otherwise there is possibility of Self-Mismanagement!

What are the perceptual barriers? —

There are, number of barriers, which are necessarily psychological, which cause the perceptual differences--

• It is the Obstacle, Speed Breaker in understanding the Situation, which is the Result of Negative, Controversial, Conflicting, Biased thinking, Attitude and final behavior, resulting finally into disarray from the result-oriented function.
• Perceptual Barriers generally make the people emotionally and intellectually Blind, Deaf, Resistant to the Realities.
• Perceptual Barriers are products of ATTITUDE which is the result of Upbringing, Social Association, Education, Experiences, Values, Beliefs, Fears and Phobias etc.
• It is generally Sensory, Stereotype, and Emotive reaction to the people and Situation, resulting into formation of Opinions leading to action.??
• Classic tussle of “Objectivity vs. Subjectivity”.

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How to change Attitudes and Perceptions and bridging the Gaps? —

The no. one step is to decide to bridge the perceptual gaps, partly, fully, continuously at all the levels, so that organization becomes A GREAT TEAM and THE FORCE TO RECKON with! The steps are as under--

• Make sure your perception is THE REALITY. ("Our belief does not change reality or truth.?You may sincerely believe something to be true, but you may be sincerely wrong.")
• Avoid impulse of JUMPIG TO CONCLUSIONS.
• People want to see WHAT THEY WANT TO SEE.
• What people want to see, has hardly and sometimes never has anything to do with THE TRUTH OR REALITY.
• Always Be Value Driven
• "All the success you achieve will mean very little if your beliefs and values are not aligned with your actions, and in turn the enduring perceptions that others have of you."

?Above all, we must empathize by understanding how others could view things differently than we do. We all walk around daily with beliefs and opinions contradicting those around us. By breaking down and questioning our assumptions, we can bridge the communication gaps arising from our perceptual differences.

We are witnessing very complex plethora of situations globally and locally, especially in the?arena of Industrial, Corporate, Socio-Economic-Geo-Political domains, as the persons and also?as the professionals. With the advent of IT, Digital Evolutions, Mass Media, Digitalized Social-Media, AR, AI, along with the man-made disasters in the form of wars, environmental?imbalance, silent rise of New Economic Powers in the East, recent onslaught of Covid-19?pandemic, these and more have shattered economies in the world. The new global and local?challenges and opportunities for the professionals (whether working Men or Women) have?emerged from all the disciplines of management and also geared up the ruthless competition?for survival and growth of all the organizations!?In other words, unless we succeed in managing SELF, we cannot manage OTHERS around us in our world of work, in the society in general and of course our family, which is so central to living life positively, productively, prosperously.

All the industrial organizations have one common agenda and that is making the organization- “fittest for survival and growth”, as the great organizational teams, with the right kind of people with the?right sets of knowledge, skills, mental and physical fitness, ATTITUDE, behavior, values, IQ, more?importantly EIQ, and greater resilience to take the organizations forward to greater heights of performance and achievements continuously. The world around all of us is changing?continuously and it is imperative for all the professionals, employees to awake to the new?realities. As we all know the change is only CONSTANT, and the rest revolves around it. We?have to understand, reflect, probe, accept and adapt to the change which affects all of us?knowingly unknowingly.??

?The behavior of Human beings is the most enigmatic aspect, which affects the teams,?management and governance and finally the results. The science of Human behavior is not the?Perfect Science unlike hard sciences of mathematics, engineering, physics or chemistry, but it?is the science with the great probabilities, possibilities and predictivities and thus it is also more?interesting and challenging. One of the most important pillars of the management science is?Human Behavioral science, which finally affects O.B. (Organizational Behavior).

The human behavior is the result of the real-time dynamics of attitudes, perceptions and human relations. Human?behavior is the result of interactions of the internal conscious, sub-conscious and unconscious?sensory nerves with the external forces in the form of other human beings with their sets of?thinking, attitudes and behaviors resulting out of their mindsets. In other words, it is the sum total of interactions of the Human Personalities in the given situations.??

Human personality is result of the combination of various dimensions such as the basic?upbringing in the early part of life, followed by the exposures, education, learning, unlearning,?experiences, observations, the surrounding social setups etc., which results into Thinking,?Attitude and Behavior. Finally we understand the personality from the Behavior, which is?apparent to others around us. If the behavior is good and acceptable, we normally call him or?her, as good person. This brings up another aspect of deciding personality. The certificate of?whether he or she is Ok or Not OK, is in the hands of other people, with which we are connected?directly or indirectly. Therefore, all of us take a liberty of giving opinions on the personalities of?others. More often than not, all of us indulge in thinking and giving our opinions based upon?about others, their behaviors and their personalities. But how many times, do we take the time?out to emote, think, and try to understand our own behaviors? Giving opinions on others is very?easy, but giving opinion on the SELF is tricky, difficult and subjected to more subjectivity?rather than objectivity.??

That is why SELF AWARENESS is the first and one of the most important milestones in?CHANGING ATTITUDE, PERCEPTIONS and BEHAVIORS relating and dealing with others, in order to run the organization smoothly, effectively, leading?to positivity, proactivity and productivity with Industrial Peace leading to meaningful?prosperity. We all must know our strengths and weaknesses, our attitudes, values, beliefs,?hopes, dreams, aspirations, fears and phobias, scope and limitations in order to give the best and?get the best to the world around us, whether it our family, workplace, organization in general and the society in which we live. All of these psychological facets shape up our Thinking,?which leads to our Behavior with others.??

All of us have our self-images. If somebody is asked to describe himself or herself- the answers?are normally like these?

1.??? The Me, I think I am?

2.??? The Me, I project to others?

3.??? The Me, I want to be

4.??? The Me, I really am?

5.??? The Me, I don’t know or don’t understand?

These are normal self-images, of the normal human beings. We lead life mostly with these Self Images, without our dipper awareness, in general. But we do come across the situations, in?which we feel discomfort, frustrations, fears, anger, anxiety, failures etc. which makes us think?as to what is really wrong! Again, we have normal habit finding faults with others first and at?last you come to senses, or brought to senses many times unwillingly, making you to look into?“YOUR-SELF”.??

The truth is that nobody is perfect, but that cannot be excuse to deal with others-

• Journey to perfection is the “Life all about!”?
• The World Around Us wants us to be perfect in different contexts?
• The Human being is the Social Animal?
• Social Animal concept covers two things- 1. Remaining with others around & 2.? Showing the open and hidden facets of the Personality making others accept, reject,?tolerate, care, love, hate etc.?
• We can’t live alone, without others around us, without Meaningful Social Connect?
• We try to know others as much as possible purposefully, but, “How many times, we?really try to know ourselves?”?

Therefore, it is necessary to periodically check our own behavior, which is the result of our basic?attitude and thinking. Take a time alone to reflect when something really goes VERY WELL?and we must take a time to probe thoroughly our own behavior when things really go VERY?BAD! Be sincere to yourself and things will start changing for better. In addition, you should?have true friend, your near and dear one, who can tell you, your unpleasant truth at point?blank range without reservation! Don’t call such people negative, they are probably telling you?the truth of Your-Self.??

Read books by great authors on self-development. Unfortunately, with digitalized social media the habit of reading the books has comedown sadly, among the technocrats, professionals in the?industrial world. This should change, as the books tell you the truth and not the concocted?stories. Please think over it and read at least two good books in one year, written by great?authors on the subject of self-development, of self-awareness is most important part. Give such?books as the birthday gifts to the people you connect socially and professionally. It would?make the difference.??

Break the shield around you and see yourself in the mirror of your mind and understand, plus and minus points and you will be amazed by the results and motivate you further for better?performance and higher achievements, giving you the pleasure of living life fully! Finally, you?are the maker of your life.??

Napoleon Hill wrote nearly 100 years back in his phenomenal book, “Secret of Success”, which?changed lives of millions that “Our limitations are those which we setup in our minds.” In other?words, you can only decide to change and develop yourself.??You can reach High Altitude of your life with Right Mental Attitude!

Thanks?

(Ramesh Sangare), President & CEO, HRDC Group

?Camp: Pune, Date: 13th May 2024