The definition of an ideal manager may differ for different people. A manager may be someone who is like a tree – with his skills,like branches,spreading out to his people; and his values and ethics,like roots, deeply embedded in the soils of his heart. Can such a manager be a reality? Is it possible? Yes!
If you are a manager, you know that challenges are commonplace. But let not these challenges dampen your spirits to deliver what you have set out to achieve. A person like Mr. N. T. Arunkumar, who has trodden this path, knows best. With 21 years of corporate experience under his belt, he knows all there is to know. Here, he shares with us the secrets of his success.
One of the best ways to imbibe these secrets to become a successful manager is with regular practice of meditation. With inputs from Ms.Bharathy Harish, Sahaj Samadhi Meditation Teacher since 5 years, let us find out how management can become a cakewalk if you take to meditation regularly.
Secret #1: “We” Comes before “Me”
Mr Arunkumar: It is very critical for a manager to move from being an individual contributor to someone who is managing others and putting the team above the individual. How quickly you embrace that change will decide how inclusive a leader you will become in the future, for being a better manager is a stepping stone to being a better leader.
That is exactly what a group member searches for in his manager: the willingness to place his team members before himself. And it is as easy as it sounds if you take to meditation. Meditation expands your horizons, helping you incorporate a variety of ideas and people at your workplace and elsewhere. The willingness to become more inclusive than being exclusive will help you collaborate easily, and this way you will be able to acknowledge the fact that management is more about inspiring others to do it than doing it all by yourself. Such a disposition will enthuse your team members with a sense of volunteerism and to contribute selflessly.
Secret #2: The Ability Of Choosing Right Over Convenient Things
Mr Arunkumar: Someone who is consistent with doing the right thing as opposed to doing the easy thing or the convenient thing is, at the end of the day, a true manager.
If you are caught in the dilemma of choosing between the two –that which is righteous and that which is convenient, it would be wise to sit and meditate for a while. It gives you the clarity and the confidence to do what is morally or ethically right.Such decisions are sustainable in the long run for the one who is responsible for its results and it also increases the trustworthiness of the company or the manager and his team.
