Managing oneself

Skozi zgodovino ljudje niso imeli veliko potrebe po upravljanju svoje kariere – bili so rojeni na svojih položajih v življenju ali pa so se v nedavni preteklosti zanašali na svoja podjetja, da so začrtali svojo poklicno pot. A časi so se drastično spremenili. Danes se moramo vsi naučiti obvladovati sami sebe.

Kaj to pomeni? Kot nam pove Peter Drucker v tem ključnem članku, ki je bil prvič objavljen leta 1999, to pomeni, da se moramo naučiti razvijati sami sebe. Postaviti se moramo tja, kjer lahko največ prispevamo k našim organizacijam in skupnostim. Med 50-letno delovno dobo moramo ostati mentalno budni in angažirani, kar pomeni vedeti, kako in kdaj spremeniti delo, ki ga opravljamo.

Morda se zdi očitno, da ljudje dosegajo rezultate, če delajo tisto, v čemer so dobri, in tako, da delajo na načine, ki ustrezajo njihovim sposobnostim. Toda Drucker pravi, da zelo malo ljudi dejansko pozna – kaj šele, da bi izkoristilo – svoje temeljne prednosti.

Vsakega izmed nas izziva, da se vprašamo: Katere so moje prednosti? Kako nastopam? Kakšne so moje vrednote? Kam spadam? Kakšen naj bo moj prispevek? Ne poskušajte se spremeniti, opozarja Drucker. Namesto tega se osredotočite na izboljšanje spretnosti, ki jih imate, in sprejmite naloge, ki so prilagojene vašemu individualnemu načinu dela. Če to storite, se lahko iz običajnega delavca spremenite v izjemnega izvajalca.

Današnje uspešne kariere niso načrtovane vnaprej. Razvijajo se, ko so ljudje pripravljeni na priložnosti, ker so si zastavili ta vprašanja in natančno ocenili svoje edinstvene značilnosti. Ta članek izziva bralce, da prevzamejo odgovornost za upravljanje svoje prihodnosti, tako v pisarni kot zunaj nje

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Throughout history, people had little need to manage their careers—they were born into their stations in life or, in the recent past, they relied on their companies to chart their career paths. But times have drastically changed. Today we must all learn to manage ourselves.

What does that mean? As Peter Drucker tells us in this seminal article first published in 1999, it means we have to learn to develop ourselves. We have to place ourselves where we can make the greatest contribution to our organizations and communities. And we have to stay mentally alert and engaged during a 50-year working life, which means knowing how and when to change the work we do.

It may seem obvious that people achieve results by doing what they are good at and by working in ways that fit their abilities. But, Drucker says, very few people actually know—let alone take advantage of—their fundamental strengths.

He challenges each of us to ask ourselves: What are my strengths? How do I perform? What are my values? Where do I belong? What should my contribution be? Don’t try to change yourself, Drucker cautions. Instead, concentrate on improving the skills you have and accepting assignments that are tailored to your individual way of working. If you do that, you can transform yourself from an ordinary worker into an outstanding performer.

Today’s successful careers are not planned out in advance. They develop when people are prepared for opportunities because they have asked themselves those questions and have rigorously assessed their unique characteristics. This article challenges readers to take responsibility for managing their futures, both in and out of the office