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Guest post by: Andrew Campbell-Watt Become an Author

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Going for gold; what does it mean and what is your ‘gold’?


You can never achieve anything lasting that is not in your nature. You cannot achieve anything that you have not a natural inclination for, with of course the appropriate mental and physical attributes.


A gold medal is nothing without self worth – think of the Olympic athletes, or Tour de France cyclists who cheated, who took performance enhancing drugs, to achieve gold. Gold at any cost is not worth it. Such an attitude demeans the perpetrators and will not allow them to grow as human beings to reach their full natural potential – high, low or indifferent.


Now, if this principle is extrapolated to management, it must be recognised that management ‘gold’ – whatever you perceive ‘gold’ to be - can never achieved in isolation; that as a manager you will never achieve gold on your own. Others are always involved. This means understanding the full implications of the ‘R’ word – relationships; that as a manager it is necessary to have good relationships with all you come in contact. This also means, wait for it, “All together now, one, two, three - ethical conduct!” Ethical conduct means treating others as you would like to be treated. There is no other viable option!!


If you are a manager, CEO, General Manager, Divisional Manager – or whatever, ask yourself the question, “If the roles were reversed, would I LIKE to be managed by me?” Only you know the way you behave, what thoughts you have when you instruct those in your ‘team’. Only you know the people you regularly communicate with and those you don’t, and why. Only you know those you offer encouragement to and help on their way and those you don’t help and why. So the question – would you LIKE to be managed by you? If not, why not?


As a manager you need to consider the question whether, in your particular field, as human beings, we (you?) are now too materialistic and developing technology beyond our capabilities to either control, or to make considered decisions on anything beyond the financial ramifications of such technology. Remember management is about people and communicating ideas and vision – technicians ‘manage’ technology.


Very often such concerns are dismissed with comments such as, “The end justifies the means”, or “Everyone is in a ‘win/win’ situation. The developers of such technology make money and we all benefit from the technology…etc.” Instead of accepting the views of those who promote materialism as the highest form of human expression, we need to question our actions and those of others, as to their motives for pushing this particular barrow.


Such a focus on the material can lead to the unfortunate situation where all actions are costed and thus tend to become ‘de-humanized’. A dollar value, for example, some years ago was placed on the Royal Australian Navy rescuing a yachtsman in the great Southern Ocean and there was debate on the cost of such an exercise and whether or not the Australian public should have to pay for it. Compassion, kindness and knowledge of the correct action to take were there, but were in danger of being submerged, entirely, by financial considerations.
Fortunately everyone, naturally, and without conscious thought, chooses to behave in an ethical manner most of the time. We all try, in our own way, to be ‘good’. But our judgement may be clouded by other considerations and emotions.


We can all recall examples of unethical conduct - there are political scandals; there are numerous cases of financial frauds, misappropriations and conversions, by accountants and businessmen; builders accused of using shoddy building practices; policemen have been found colluding to fabricate evidence to convict alleged criminals, and other criminal or illegal activities. Examples of ‘fixing’ in horse and dog racing are too numerous to mention. There is also the very sudden recent rise in fake products of all types and description.


The legal profession is versed in the Law, the very basis of ethics, and yet there are sufficient cases of unethical conduct, often in connection either with misusing funds held in trust, or avoiding paying tax to cause concern.


There are many cases reported in the media of drug manufacturing companies falsely reporting benefits of their particular drugs and of forming agreements with doctors to only prescribe their drugs.


Are these people going for gold? What price a human life? We cannot trample on the hopes and aspirations of others with impunity. We all have to trust, at some stage, those in positions of authority – they are supposed to know more than us, by training or from experience.


It is an unfortunate trait of the human condition, that any activity relating to the receipt of money, or to the acquisition of power, or positions of influence, are the most frequent targets for unethical conduct. You and any other manager are not immune to all this.


Managers Self Evaluation Worksheet:


Over the years I have modified the typical Life Coach model of what makes a good manager and offer the following for your guidance. Remember each management situation often requires its own set of specific criteria – so this is only a rough guide.


To measure yourself against each of the characteristics below (not in any particular order of importance) think about your attitudes and behaviour and circle the score that best indicates your level of development. Total the scores and compare with the comments at the bottom of the page. Be completely honest and imagine you are seeing yourself through the eyes of your manager or someone you manage. Be as objective as you can – go for gold!


There are five levels for each characteristic
5 = Major Strength and 1 = Major Weakness


Major Strength (=5).
True Most of the time(=4).
Average (=3).
Needs Attention (=2).
Major Weakness (=1).



Characteristic:-


Communication skills. 5 4 3 2 1


Thinking logically. 5 4 3 2 1


Being ethical in all dealings. 5 4 3 2 1


Strength of character. 5 4 3 2 1


Being fair and ) 5 4 3 2 1

reasonable. )


Thoroughness ) 5 4 3 2 1

and persistence.)


Willingness to listen. 5 4 3 2 1


Calmness. 5 4 3 2 1


Predictability. 5 4 3 2 1


Future vision. 5 4 3 2 1


Patience. 5 4 3 2 1


Compassion. 5 4 3 2 1


Commitment to) 5 4 3 2 1

improvements. )


Desire for learning. 5 4 3 2 1


Resiliency. 5 4 3 2 1


Loyalty. 5 4 3 2 1


Lack of cynicism. 5 4 3 2 1


Your Total Score:-

76-85 Outstanding! You're an ideal manager.

59- 75 Very good. You're well on your way.

42-58 Average. You have a lot to work with, but also a lot to work on.

25-41 You have major development work ahead. But it'll be worth it.

17-24 Don't be discouraged. Think of the opportunity for growth!


I apologize if this chart or table does not appear or format as it should. Please be patient and and try and work it out for yourself. I have discovered that this is a Text Rich Format that does not like tables!!

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