What is reason?
“Reason” is defined as “the mental faculty that integrates information provided by the senses, according to objective (i.e. logical) principles”. In practice that means:
Treating problems and people according to professional principles, (as opposed to momentary impulse or your moods).
Planning ahead according to the facts, not guesses,
Treating disputes logically, not emotionally.
Thinking of the long-term consequences of actions, not merely the short-term pleasure.
Leader-managers in a complex organisation like yours can only lead by rational means. Any irrational methods will cause them to fail.
What are irrational methods of management?
Irrational methods include:
1. Managing by fear. (“Do it or else!”)
2. Managing by “commandments”(“Don‟t ask questions - just do it”) 3. Managing by popularity, (never saying or doing anything that may be unpopular).
4. Over optimism, (“We can do anything if we believe we can!”) 5. Pessimism (“I bet this won‟t work either)
6. Cynicism (“These days, you can‟t believe anything or anyone!) 7. Evasion (“Don‟t think about it- it might go away on its own)
Have you ever had a colleague who used “fear” as their primary persuasion tool? In the long
run, what was the response from the team?
Have you ever been given a goal that was unreasonably optimistic? Was it a motivator or a de-
motivator?
Reason is the principle that guides all intelligent human action. It relates to planning and conflict management. Let us look….
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Rational Planning
Many people do not plan ahead. They are too busy mopping up after the mistakes caused by a previous lack of planning.
Decide now to make a mental shift from the immediate moment into the middle future. Think now about things needed for next week, next month, and next year.
That means rational planning. It takes effort and an act of will. It also takes training your mind to do it as a habit- all the time.
Each individual must learn the principles of prioritising to allow time to plan.
What happens to the team member who never plans ahead?
How do you evaluate what task to do next?
Do you evaluate rationally or not?
Evaluations are a series of questions.
The quality of the evaluation depends on the quality of the questions. Some questions are good rational questions that will lead us to good decisions. Some are not, because they are based more upon mood and emotions.
I once asked a group of delegates from an organisation:
“What are the questions you ask yourself whenever someone asks to do a task? Please brainstorm the questions that occur to you when someone hands you a job to do.”
The delegates came up with this list of questions they might ask themselves when deciding if or when they should do a particular job...
Some are “Good logical questions” and some are “Risky emotional questions” – but which is which?
T: 01452 856091 E: info@CorporateCoachGroup.co.uk W: www.CorporateCoachGroup.co.uk Corporate Coach Training Ltd t/a Corporate Coach Group, Walcot House, Parton Road, Churchdown, Gloucester, Gloucestershire, GL3 2JJ
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Read the following and decide..... Logical or emotional?
Is there anything more fun?
Is this important to the organisation?
What would be the consequences if I put this off?
How urgent is this?
Do I enjoy this task?
When must this be finished?
Was this person horrible to me in the past?
How much will this contribute to the overall purpose?
Is the person giving me this job good looking?
Is this short, medium or long-term benefit?
Do I feel like doing this?
Are you senior in position to me or not?
The point is this: Time management is a logical activity, (or at least should be) You cannot effectively prioritise according to your mood. Why? Because there are many jobs that you should do, but don‟t want to do. You must prioritise according to your mind, not your mood.
Remember this: