The modern professional or career worker needs to make
him or herself a distinguished tool for integration whether in the workplace,
social, or family circles. This is because it is important for every human
being to imbibe some management skills to function efficiently through life.
Management skills are no longer a skill set for managers alone but for every
human being who can access knowledge. It is often said that good leaders make
good managers but not all good managers make good leaders. This means leadership
and management can be separated. While many of us may not have the opportunity
for leadership, we all need to learn to be good managers. If for nothing else,
it is important for us to manage our lives well.
In carrying out our day-to-day activities in life, we
cannot run away from interactions with other human beings. No human being can maximise
potential in isolation. Think about NASA’s isolated robot on Mars. Hence the
saying that man is a political animal. If we all agree that effective human
interaction is essential to optimal survival, then we should be open to skills
that would sharpen the ways in which we interact with each other. After all,
the fact that we are alive means we should chart our own course through life.
This is why it is important to gain some knowledge about how to better
influence, network and partner with other human beings.
Psychologists tell us that behavioural management is
very important in human interaction. This is true because body language goes a
long way to set the tone for human interaction. In order to influence another
human being, one should be able to demonstrate good interpersonal relations,
empowerment, empathy, openness, discipline and confidence. We have to give the
other person a reason to listen to us, understand us, and learn from us.
We all should be open to learning new ways of doing
things even if it is from a younger person or lower ranked staff in our
workplace. We should be able to communicate effectively, and be open to constructive
feedback. The reason why feedback is so important is that, it is an evaluation
of our blind spot which helps us continuously improve our behaviour. We should
be willing to step out of our comfort zone, and take more risk in dealing with
other human beings without prejudice. In other words, transparency and trust
are key ingredients for effective networking and partnership. Where these are
lacking, human interaction is weak. Our degree of openness and trust with other
human beings depend largely on how much information we are willing to push into
our common arena of communication and association.
Good communication skills are a-must-have. In order to
ensure communication is effective, the persons involved should benefit
satisfactorily in the end. Communication is highly influenced by the
willingness of parties involved to express openness about the underlining
issues. One way to ensure communication achieves its aim is to ensure it is
guided and focused. Be it a casual conversation between friends or in a formal
setting, focused conversations today are more enriching and contributes to the
achievement of results.
Our ability to influence other people gives us a
better chance of networking and forming partnerships. With good interpersonal
relations, we generally become happier people and people would like to be
around us more. Networking can be optimized if people become aware of their
strengths and weaknesses. Naturally, we can only give what we have or transfer
knowledge on what we are good at. We would also need what we lack. These make
people bond mutually and is one of the basic principles of human interaction. It
is important to note that compatibility is important when human beings interact.
Nevertheless, the right behavioural attitude would give us an edge in
networking. Let us digest these and meditate over them.
Improving on our gaps can make us become successful professionals.
The sky cannot be our limit because there is no sky.
