Employees

Abstract

Before I worked in business, I assumed the most difficult thing for business people to pick up would be all the commercial knowledge and skills. It’s certainly the impression people get from the outside. In truth, it’s much more difficult to acquire all the relevant people skills – the ability to influence, to motivate, to inspire confidence. But at the top of the list of important but difficult things I’d put managing your own temperament. Think about a good day – one of those days when you’re fired up and positive, but calm – everything’s very Zen and in tune. What if every day was like that, what would your working life be like? This chapter is about helping your staff get a little bit closer to that ideal. The chances are that you’re not too bad at managing your temperament. You wouldn’t be reading books like this if you weren’t either on course for senior management or there already. A large part of being ‘management material’ is about having the right attitude – and that implies having some control over your temperament.