Manage yourselves first – the way to realization of potentials and career development
Prof. Dov Zipori, Dept. of Molecular Cell Biology, Weizmann Institute of Science
Realizing our potentials is pivotal for effective career development that we wish to achieve. However, many, including members of academic institutes do not manage their lives appropriately. When we do not control and manage time, the results are delays, important tasks being forgotten, neglect of family life etc. Personal traits such as difficulties in decision making, procrastination, perfectionism, difficulties in interpersonal communication and other issues, will cause delays in the progress of education and later during the process of career development may lead to sever family disputes.
Moreover, when we are unable to control ourselves we shall clearly find it difficult to manage others. Often, managers are selected on grounds of their professional excellence. This does not mean however that managerial traits are natural to them.
Are the personal difficulties mentioned above, unchangeable? The answer is that most of these issues are bad habits rather than inborn traits. It is absolutely possible to make a major change, learn how to manage ourselves instead of being controlled by habits. It is possible to turn a frog into a prince/princess!
The current course will focus on three central subjects:
We shall first deal with personal issues that constitute obstacles on the way to highly effective conduct and self-management. Is this a matter of fate that the personal shortcomings mentioned above would control us?
Then we shall investigate the concept of management. What are the basic rules of management and how is self-management related to leadership and management of others.
Finally, we shall deal with practical tools that one can acquire to overcome difficulties in self-management and the management of others.