5 Ways To Increase Self Control And Be A Successful Team Manager
Successful team managers have the ability to produce results because they can maintain high self-control. When issues come up they know how to handle a situation with ease and are confident that their team can as well.
Being able to remain calm in high pressure situations is a very important skill of a professional, and helps to gain the confidence of your team. Increasing your self-control takes discipline and strategy, although the outcome is greater success and less stress.
What Are The Effects Of Low Self-Control
According to Roy Baurmeister, social psychologist, "People with low self-control... act impulsively and create further difficulties for themselves."
Because they feel like they don't have control in one area of their life, they'll begin to control other areas. As well, they want to control the people close to them, and their actions. Eventually they start to push people away, or avoid the people they can't control.
When you have low self-control, you make mistakes and lack good judgment. When this happens in workplace situations, it creates more problems and makes you more of a liability, instead of valuable.
What You Can Do To Be A Successful Team Manager
To be a more effective team manager and have the confidence of your team, here are 5 ways to have you handling challenges with ease:
Create Rituals or Routines for Structure in Your Day When there's a pattern, you know what to expect. When you know what to expect, you're feeling more in control. Start your day with rituals or routines so that the morning is predictable. Create a spreadsheet or list with the time that you'll do certain activities—reading, coffee, going for a walk, yoga, and exercise are some examples—and commit to that daily. Having this structure at the beginning of your day will make you feel confident and relaxed as you head into work.
Focus on Right Now to Keep You Present When you let your mind wander into the future, this is uncharted territory with a lot of unknowns. And when you have unknowns, especially a lot of them, this makes you anxious because you're uncertain of what will happen. Unfortunately, your mind tends to lean more to the negative, creating a place where you'd feel better if you can control it. If you find your mind going in that direction, bring yourself back to right now and focus on what is in front of you. Ask yourself what can I do right now? This will have you focusing on what you can control in that moment.
Build Trust in Your Team Members. Yes, take a deep breath and have faith that this person knows what to do, and is capable. This is a tough exercise, because you're trusting that the other person will be able to do the best they can—which they will! But if it doesn't work out, that's okay too. Just be there to support them with what they need to be a stronger team member. When the team member knows that you have the confidence in them they will try harder to succeed in the task.
Get Quality Feedback to Make a Decision Don't let yourself create a story that isn't true. As well, ignoring the situation won't have it go away, that'll just increase your stress level. You need to be aware of what is going on and get to the bottom of the situation. Hearsay often adds to the fire, but facts will help you solve the issue. The mere act of planning and creating options from the information gathered, will have you feel like you're in control.
Be Productive Instead of Forcing A Solution Do you have that friend, that whenever they're in a bad situation they start power cleaning? This is a way for them to handle the stress brought on because they have no control over a situation, or another person's actions. Instead of stewing about the issue you're doing something productive. This will distract you from what you can't control, and move you to something you can. Eventually you'll have a clear mind to tackle the issue at hand and your team can come back to the table to solve it.
Having that feeling of control in your life is like a stabilizer when you're handling challenging situations. But when you don't feel that way, stress and anxiety start to take over and you end up seeking out something or someone you can control—unfortunately that's usually your loved ones.
When you start to feel like you're out of control, this is a sign that you have something to sort out. Implement some of the ideas above, and you'll be back on track.
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Christine Hourd, ACC is a certified success and leadership life coach in Calgary, Alberta. She works with business owners and professionals, in person and online, to create strategies for productivity and efficiencies. Contact Christine to find out how Leadership Coaching can help you achieve your professional goals.
