We can all improve our competencies to be more effective in our work, although it is not always possible to link poor results with incompetence. While continuing to advance in permanent development, we must attend to the neutralization of possible endogenous and exogenous barriers to effectiveness. Indeed and sometimes, we feel mentally blocked or fatigued, bewildered by environmental anomie, weakened by negative emotions, victims of scattered attention, and even affected by personality disorders… All of this limits our effectiveness, and also our quality of life.
In our development and without a doubt, we can all advance in aspects such as knowledge or emotional intelligence, but also in others such as proactivity or attention control, and even in the area of moral or spiritual strengths. Of course, it must be done if, in addition to the necessary - unavoidable - efficiency, we pursue a better quality of life at work. We know that fatigue stops us, that tension blocks us (even memory), that the cult of the ego limits us (because it keeps a part of our attention occupied), that psychic entropy (internal disorder) leads us to give sticks blind and subtract instead of adding, that fear inhibits us, that the presumption of infallibility leads us headlong into error, that our mental models collide with new realities…; so that,Either we broaden the concept of competence, or we must ask ourselves what else is needed in us to ensure individual and collective efficacy - success - without prejudice, and even to the benefit, of the also desirable professional satisfaction.
Indeed, we fall - sometimes it seems irreversibly - into the vicious circle of negative emotions, psychic fatigue, nervous tension and conduct disorders, while, not so far from our reach, there is another - this virtuous one - in which fulfillment and satisfaction for individual and collective achievement, nurture intrinsic motivation and self-performance. How to end the vicious archetype and enter the virtuous, healthier and more constructive circle? Or, in other words, how to reduce negative emotions and increase positive ones? We can take anxiolytics, call a good coach, change of scenery…; But before, or at the same time, we must make an individual effort of self-knowledge and self-understanding. If we were already acceptably effective,We could reflect on our quality of life and on the contribution to that of the environment. All this could lead us to a profitable reengineering of ourselves.
Let us reflect
Reflection does not seem a frequent exercise, but we must practice it for the benefit of self-knowledge and to question our assumptions, get closer to realities and align ourselves with a stimulating purpose. A wrong assumption incapacitates us, blocks us, binds us, even if we are not very aware of it. Naturally, we are not always wrong, but we can say that our vision of reality is usually incomplete, partial, and that we sometimes confuse goals. During meditation or reflection we can become aware of it, if we manage to slow down the inferences and broaden the horizon; it would seem that, through self-critical reflection, we argue with ourselves, we question performance and goals, we review our reasoning, we discover new connections,we become aware of our defensive routines, we observe our attitudes and we perceive areas of improvement in our perfectible profile. Let us reflect on what we propose, and set options.
We certainly have been proposing lifelong learning and development, and it is, without a doubt, an unquestionable mantra in the professional field. But, as we suggested, there is not always incompetence after things go wrong: a company can break its good track record due to an unfortunate strategic decision - or for many other reasons - even if lifelong learning is practiced. Of course, we must get the knowledge, skills, attitudes or habits that we have to incorporate into our profile, but also, at the same time, we must get rid of our defects (and excesses), review our mental models, become aware of our biases, attending to collective synergy, pursuing shared goals, delving into the mechanisms of our decisions, leaving room for genuine intuition.
Although it sounds digressive, I remember when, at the end of the 80s, I was sent to a residential Management by Objectives seminar for a week. That convinced me, but when I returned to the office the following Monday, I experienced renewed disagreements with my somewhat neurotic boss, and finally had to forget much of what I had heard at the seminar. I myself became more neurotic, critical, and whistleblower. The reader will have other experiences, but would like to emphasize that it is not enough to learn continuously; at least, it is not enough to do it individually: it must be done collectively, and without Senior Management considering itself excluded from necessity. It is, in effect, about generating collective results.
Extending digression a few more lines, still today many intermediate managers see their collaborators as such (assistants, extension of themselves…) and not so much as professionals capable of acting autonomously after formulated objectives. For the benefit of individual and collective effectiveness and professional satisfaction, it may be necessary to review the compatibility, in each case, of professionally pursuing objectives and dedicating oneself to the boss's errands; indeed, each individual case must be resolved.
Effectiveness and satisfaction
Let me repeat it. Our inexcusable efficacy is often taking important doses of quality of life, in the form of negative emotions, physical and mental fatigue, and also visible or underlying nervous tension, which also dot family life; These elements -negative emotions, fatigue, tension, disorders- are among those that, to a greater extent, hinder the effectiveness or performance of management personnel. Tucked into this vicious circle, we have to apply more and more effort, but the disorder of consciousness leads to worse results: as is known, this archetype is frequent inside and outside the company. However, it is possible to prevent, and if necessary break, this kind of hex, and generate another circle -the virtuous-,in which the accomplishment and the satisfaction for the achievement nurture the intrinsic motivation and the own performance. High performance and a certain autotelic (vocational) enjoyment of professional performance can go hand in hand, although this forces us to model beliefs and attitudes, practice systemic reflection, cultivate new values and strengthen self-control.
If someday we wrote our memories, perhaps we would see that life was what had been happening to us while our thoughts or feelings pointed elsewhere; but the fact is that at every moment we are as happy as our thoughts and feelings allow us. What we have in consciousness - its harmony or entropy - is what marks our well-being or discomfort; but, at the same time, what we have in consciousness depends on where we direct our attention. Thus, it seems that if we govern the attention, we have a good part of the battle won. The thing is, in fact, something more complex, but we have to reflect more on attention, as on intention or intuition.
We must insist on these last ideas. Before the development of our reflective consciousness, the human being, like other beings, enjoyed a certain relative tranquility, certainly disturbed by danger, pain, hunger and sexual desire. But it must be said that our brain development gave way to the forms of psychic entropy that today cause us so much unease: frustration, guilt, loneliness, adversity, mistrust, envy, defiance, indignation, options, shame, hate… and even love. This evolution of consciousness also gave rise to roles and specializations, to the development of skills and, ultimately, to the complexity of the human being. It could be thought that the same -complexity- makes it difficult to achieve happiness, but it has also generated resources to promote it and,in any case, there is no regression possible.
It is then necessary to find the means to mitigate or neutralize the disturbances. It seems that the way to bring order - that is, to create harmony in consciousness - is to establish an end, a great goal, a desire, a sense, a direction. Psychologists speak of "self-interest", or the "vital issue", to refer to what a person wants to do above all, and the means used to do so. In the management literature there is talk of particular design, of purpose. People who have a desire of this nature can give meaning to everything that happens to them: it will be positive if it brings them closer to their goal, or negative if it takes them away; for people who lack transcendent zeal, it is more difficult to interpret events. In other words: "When a person's psychic energy is put at the service of her vital subject,.consciousness achieves harmony ”. This is what the prestigious Hungarian-American professor Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi says.
We have seen that the presence of goals tends to reduce the disorder of consciousness because it guides efforts; so it is, in effect, unless the chosen goal (or, to some extent, induced) generates constant frustration. It would be better to speak of negentropic goals, that is, of achievable and healthy goals that contribute to social well-being. This is where the religious vocation seems to walk, but it is also possible to speak of the professional, social or political vocation. Robert K. Cooper tells us: "Design is the inner compass of our life and work." If our purpose in life is in tune with the objectives and strategies of our company, we are closer to the effectiveness and satisfaction pursued. For managers, purpose is essential, and, if they do not have it well defined,They should adopt one that connects to the vision or mission of the company to which they contribute. Think of the street sweeper: depending on how you look at it, your mission is to sweep or, more enrichingly, to keep the city clean. Or at the doctor: prescribe drugs, or ensure the health and well-being of their patients.
The idea of an entrepreneur or autotelic manager would point to goals of social contribution, such as flat tires, houses without leaks, tastier foods, energy-efficient appliances, remedies for diseases, unique wines, fabrics without wrinkles, etc.; But there are also more exotélicos businessmen and managers who, whatever the activity of the company, focus on sales and profits, exports, alliances, resonance in the media, or downsizing. In principle, we would relate more satisfaction with professional autotelia -with enjoyment related to the company's activity-, but the reader may see it differently. Specifically, there are for example winemakers proud of their wines, which are surely the majority,But there are also wine entrepreneurs who always talk about their export activity, ebitda, investments, marketing, etc.
The autotelic manager
Admitted the adjective, let us go now to the features that define the profile of the autotelic individual; It will surely be easy to agree on the need and opportunity of the following intellectual, emotional and spiritual traits. The autotelic manager:
- Live the here and now, without losing perspective. Reconcile effectiveness and quality of life. Believe in what you do and the goals you pursue. You are socially responsible. Learn and develop continuously. Savor achievements without indulging. Manage Properly attention and intention. Cultivate positive emotions. Show good humor and self-confidence. Move by the win-win principle. Take on challenges and your motivation is intrinsic. You are empathetic and synergistic in your area of influence. intuition and reconciles it with reason. He cultivates order and peace in his conscience. He is a reflective, critical and creative thinker.
It could be thought that, to label the manager of our days, we have already been using the word "leader". Although we make different readings of this concept, leadership basically constitutes a style of exercising the leadership of people, and each organization finishes defining it according to its culture and realities; above all, it aims at interpersonal relationships with collaborators or followers. On the other hand, the idea of directive or professional autotelic aims especially at the intrapersonal, at relationships with ourselves, at our intimate way of acting and perceiving things. A leader may or may not fit the autotelic profile, and an autotelic individual may or may not fit the leader's profile.
Attention to attention
You have to talk a little more about attention; if we pay more attention to the positive or negative, to this or that, to ourselves or to others… We can be sure that if the chosen goals facilitate the desired harmony in consciousness, everything will be better. There are people who focus their attention, and there are others who scatter it; perhaps the latter lack a purpose, a design… It can also be said that some people have a tendency to focus their attention on positive things and others on negative things; that some people attend to details or nuances that are invaluable to others; that some people distinguish better than others when it comes to attending to what is important and identifying what is superfluous. Let us remember, by the way, that attention, a kind of psychic energy, is a limited resource,and that the personality is changing and we can, to some extent, accelerate mental maturity and self-control.
As attention determines what appears in our consciousness -and thus, optimists are happier than pessimists-, it should be remembered that job satisfaction also depends on the person himself and, specifically, on how he manages his attention and orders his awareness. And we have already suggested it: concentrating on the task and, if necessary, mentally isolating yourself from unpleasant surroundings can be highly recommended; all this well understood, and without losing the synergy behind the collective objectives, fundamental in organizations.
The quality of life at work - leaving aside perhaps more widely used parameters such as hours, interpersonal relationships or the physical environment - involves paying greater attention to daily tasks, and enjoying them as if we had chosen them by vocation (I wish it had been like that), and not so much for making a career, or simply making money. In the case of managers, the focus on the task and the collaborators will sound disturbing, because what the companies postulate is certainly the orientation towards results and the achievement of objectives; But, without losing perspective, we have to live in the present: if not, the future will hardly come.
The aforementioned American psychologist of Hungarian origin tells us, speaking of quality of life: “The problem appears when people become so obsessed with what they want to achieve that they no longer take pleasure in the present. When this happens, they lose their chance to be happy. "
But, if in our professional practice we make the effort to sufficiently live the here and now, the same author warns us that we can enjoy the activity and even enter states of high concentration and satisfaction, and equally high performance. This is the case and it seems that it is more frequent, when the task, testing our capacity, stimulates us sufficiently; then, concentrated, we lose the notion of the environment and the passage of time, and we wish not to be interrupted: it is the state of flow or fluidity.
The complex functioning of organizations often requires routine or bureaucratic tasks that we do not like, and business life also includes unpleasant decisions and moments; But let us also promote moments of concentration, of negentropy, because they combine high performance with enjoyment. In short, we could be very comfortable writing a report, visiting a client, solving a problem, assigning tasks, preparing a catalog or an offer, giving a conference, installing electronic equipment, searching for information on the Internet, designing a program or acquiring new ones. knowledge. But we should be focused on the task. These states of fluidity, studied by Csikszentmihalyi, are characterized by the following:
- They occur when we face challenges that we can take on. We are absolutely focused on the activity. There are clear goals to achieve, and we achieve them. The activity provides us with immediate feedback. It seems to us that we are overcoming the challenge with surprising ease. We do not care about the risks or dangers that the activity entails. We lose the notion of ourselves. The sense of the duration of time is altered. The activity becomes an end in itself: it becomes autotelic. We feel a certain intimate euphoria of triumph.
Do they identify themselves with these states of concentration and professional enjoyment, or, on the contrary, are they frequent victims of interruptions, anxiety, confusion, obstructionism, politicking, routine, fear…?
Endogenous barriers or obstacles to effectiveness
We must not only provide ourselves with catalysts for success, but we must also neutralize our endogenous barriers (apart from possible exogenous ones), in order to obtain good, successful results. In the case of managers and executives, just as we identified the competencies, it would be necessary to effectively identify the barriers. At first glance, there are obstacles as fatal as sadly frequent, although now we highlight only a few, by way of anti-competition. There are more, but let's see:
- The excessive worship of the ego. The presumption of infallibility. The greed for money or power. The empire of authority over rationality. The clinging to strategic or tactical errors. The adulteration of goals. The disconnection with the inner and outer reality.
Perhaps improvisation has led me to suggest the same thing in different words, but there are certainly more things that cloud the view of the manager or executive; I myself say, for example, that the worst thing that can happen to a young manager is having great success too soon. But, even if we do not incur these and other deadly sins (many more than seven), it must be admitted that the usual load of nervous tension, psychic fatigue, environmental entropy, frustration and negative emotions, reduces our capacities, disperses our attention, and bitter our life… in not a few companies. Interesting is the book The Failed Intelligence, by José Antonio Marina, which comes to highlight numerous gaps between intelligence and the success that is being pursued.
In other words, even though we are apparently competent, we can see our aspiration or expectation of success failed, because greed or vanity have blinded us, intuition has failed, fatigue or laziness have overcome, complacency has stopped, a false inference has been diverted, blocked lack of confidence, poorly focused attention distracted, adversity dejected or confused the lack of definition of goals and means, among other disruptive factors.
How to promote enjoyment
We have already suggested that, once some unquestionable needs have been resolved, the most intimate professional satisfaction comes from having chosen in accordance with the vocation, by developing a job that makes us enjoy, by savoring every moment of achievement without incurring complacency. It also involves setting goals that are close and achievable, far from future delusions. It involves knowing ourselves and knowing others. It goes through the tune between our capabilities and our goals. Go through realistic optimism, inner peace, and the flow experience. Martin Seligman, father of the Positive Psychology Movement, gives us his recipe for increasing professional satisfaction:
- Identify your character strengths (eagerness to learn, open-mindedness, originality, perspective, integrity, team spirit, self-control, etc.) more characteristics. Choose a job that, according to your preparation, allows you to regularly put into practice your personal strengths..If necessary and possible, reorient your current work to make greater use of your strengths. Select collaborators whose characteristic strengths are in line with the work to be performed.
In short, just as Covey talks about good habits, Goleman of emotional competences or Senge of his disciplines, Martin Seligman highlights important personal strengths (wit, perspective, perseverance, objectivity, prudence, sense of humor, humility, etc.) with the idea that our professional activity is aligned with those that have the most presence in our profile.
I conclude
The phenomenology of attention seems almost as complex as the background biochemistry, but I want to suggest to the reader that he improve, as much as possible, his professional autotelia and his quality of life, beginning with a stage of sensitization. If you think it is necessary, go to a good coach, but above all, be aware, if you have not already done so, that we have the moral imperative to be happy and make people around us happy. Professional effectiveness is inexcusable, but happiness cannot be ignored. In addition, you already know that they form a solid package, if we bet on the virtuous circle. To the extent of your responsibility, make your company a suitable catalyst. If you need it, don't hesitate to ask for help: it's worth it.
We already know that the effectiveness and quality of life in each organization depend, to a large extent, on Senior Management and its decisions; But let's accept that there is a space of its own, perhaps an area of influence, in which a special microclimate could emerge, better (or worse) than the general climate. Each manager and worker has to cultivate more self-knowledge, perhaps using feedback, reflective thinking or intuitive contribution, to avoid deficiencies, biases and disorders that hinder the achievement of the desired results.
Furthermore, we cannot forget in these paragraphs the changes that the new knowledge and innovation economy has brought about in companies. New profiles of managers and workers are consolidating, which seem to underline the importance, not only of knowledge and professional competence, but also of self-management in performance and self-leadership. If it did not sound very catechistic, I would say, in conclusion, that we should all be proactive and effective professionals, live the fullness that corresponds to us as human beings, and contribute to the well-being of our immediate environment and the society that surrounds us.
