Managing Oneself-Starts With Self-Awareness

The legendary management guru Peter Drucker penned a timeless piece titled “Managing Oneself” For Harvard Business Review in 1999. In it, he lays out a powerful message about self-awareness as the cornerstone for success for any knowledge worker. I am sharing below an excerpt from the original article……

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Success in the knowledge economy comes to those who know themselves- their strengths, their values, and how they best perform.

We live in an age of unprecedented opportunity: If you’ve got ambition, drive, and smarts, you can rise to the top of your chosen profession—regardless of where you started out. But with opportunity comes responsibility. Companies today aren’t managing their knowledge workers’ careers. Rather, we must each be our own chief executive officer.

Simply put, it’s up to you to carve out your place in the work world and know when to change course. It’s up to you to keep yourself engaged and productive during a work life that may span some 50 years.

To do all of these things well, you’ll need to cultivate a deep understanding of yourself. What are your most valuable strengths and most dangerous weaknesses? Equally important, how do you learn and work with others? What are your most deeply held values? And in what type of work environment can you make the greatest contribution?

The implication is clear: Only when you operate from a combination of your strengths and self-knowledge can you achieve true- and lasting- excellence.

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If you are unable to access the original HBR link for any reason, you can download the file here-