Organization and even personal planning are often not given the deliberate attention they deserve.  Yes, I will admit that in my Director days I often employed a “flying by the seat of my pants” approach to planning and agency operation.  However, I will also admit that because I surrounded myself with great co-leadership people, the need for complete detail in program/service design and delivery was gratefully provided.

But now in assisting my consulting clients and high-management involvement in the post-secondary education sector, I have come to focus more on Tactical Planning activities.  Unlike strategic planning which concerns itself with decisions about resource allocations, company priorities and steps needed to meet important long-term goals…Tactical Planning is all about short-term plans and actions for implementing specific elements of a company/organizations larger strategic plan.  Tactical planning may be delegated to middle-management…but realistically needs to involve all levels of an organization to be totally effective.

So, this week’s TRIPLE III TIME message asks:  Tactical Planning…How Good Are You?

Do you assign yourself to strategically think about and draft recommendations on how to improve yourself, co-workers and/or the organization?  Or do you follow a more traditional line of thinking and believe “that strategic planning is the higher up’s job”?  As a leader at any level do you convey an openness to all workers that their input and ideas are important?  Would people observe that you and your business/organization operate with a culture that Tactical Planning is EVERYONES responsibility?

Times have dissolved the lines that limited frontline staff from contributing to solid Tactical Planning.  Yes, there are still select areas that may need to be accomplished by Boards and top-level leaders.  However, when you think about Tactical Planning…How Good Are You?…be sure to not only think about work…but also your own self-improvement!

As the start-up of the fall 2023 college semester gets closer…I always try to “debrief” how my 2022 classes went and try to identify any significant factor that hindered students from successfully completing my class or other classes they were taking.

My discovery?  The majority felt that they struggled with The Challenges of Self-Management.

What were they referring to?  Well as I recalled different class discussions, I can report they were quite honest about their inability to correctly show self-control or self-regulation in challenging situations.  Related to these admissions were comments on trying hard to regulate youthful emotions, thoughts and behaviors that cropped-up when balancing college coursework and standard high school student situations.  The result was a common feeling of weak self-management among many.

Well the more I remembered and then researched about the struggles MANY people have regarding self-management…the quicker it rose to the top of my TRIPLE III TIME message topic list.

The Challenges of Self-Management are a very important personal and professional development responsibility for everyone!  Improvement actions can be simple and may include but not be limited to:

• Goal Setting: Select appropriate, time specific goals and plot a course for achievement.
• Adaptability: Understand that life/work is not an “exact-science” and change is NATURAL.
• Monitor Behavior: Calm and steady behavior is a great-self-management strategy.
• Self-Reinforcement: Maybe focus on what you have accomplished…more than what’s left to do.
• Decision-making: Make decisions with the information you have.  Delays will only complicate the choices.

There are books and seminars on self-management…but I hope these five mini-ideas help.

And PS:  If you haven’t already guessed…I am going to introduce The Challenges of Self-Management as this semester’s professional development COMMON SUBJECT for both of my classes!

When I first began taking on clients and projects as a consultant…I was somewhat unsure of my solid competency in this new area of work.  Yes I was a pretty good Director…manager of people and an organization…but I was not totally confident in may abilities to advise/recommend/instruct others!  So in the beginning of my consultant role I found myself relying too heavily on sharing information on MY innovative projects and initiatives instead of solidly addressing the challenges of the individual or organization I was hired to help.

What was my corrective action?

Well I decided I needed to be more like my long time mentor and colleague Dr. LB!  He was (and still is) a GREAT consultant.  During my years of knowing him as a college professor and consultant, he always was solid in his customer service approach…handled tough questions and was admired as someone who really helped people/organizations.  So how did I do as a consultant…trying to be more like Dr. LB and assimilate his style and processes?  Honestly…I think I was worse!

Recalling these moments of self-evaluation and corrective action…pushed me to draft this week’s TRIPLE III TIME message:  Are YOU An Assimilator??

“Assimilation systematically erodes self-esteem as surely as water wears down granite.  The tragic consequence of assimilation is that it destroys a piece of ourselves.  Without a sense of ourselves we can not draw on the unique talents that make us truly valuable.  Even those who win by assimilating ultimately lose, for after all it is only the artificial self who got (did) the job.”

(Second To None:  The Productive Power of Putting People First by Charles Garfield)

This quote by Mr. Garfield really sums up the negatives of trying to be someone else as a professional.  As an Assimilator you stifle your own creativity and eliminate any sense of authenticity you may bring to your job/organization.  And speaking from my own personal experiences…my growth as a consultant really started when I began “just being myself” as an instructor, good listener, and LEADER.