Self-management, Leadership, and Motivation


Self-management is the ability to engage in self-regulating thoughts and behavior to accomplish all your tasks and handle difficult or challenging situations. Three basic principles of self-management define how to manage your many big and small commitments effectively so that you can get them accomplished (Daft & Marcic, 2017). The three principles are clarity of mind, clarity of objectives, and an organized system. For myself, I believe that I have a good self-management based on the three principles. First, as for the clarity of mind, I would always make sure that all the task I need to do is written down on a note so that I would not keep them in mind. I would also try to not sleep when I have an unfinished task. Second, as for clarity of objectives, I try to be clear with my goals and always remind myself of the desired outcome. Third, as for an organized system, I try to have a reminder system in the form of a scheduled calendar to remind myself of my task and responsibilities. I also follow the step-by-step guide for managing time:

  1. Empty my head
  2. Decide the next action
  3. Get organized
  4. Perform a weekly review
  5. Do it
Stress is an individual's physiological and emotional response to external stimuli that place, physical or psychological demands on the individual and create uncertainty and lack of personal control when important outcomes are at stake. Stressors are the stimuli that produce some combination of frustration (the inability to achieve a goal, such as an inability to meet a deadline because of inadequate resources) and anxiety (such as the fear of being disciplined for not meeting deadlines) (Daft & Marcic, 2017) Personally, I have various ways that help manage my stress. Some of the effective ways are: (1) seek and destroy the key source of stress-- in my case, it would be the negative thoughts or the thoughts of failure, (2) find meaning and support-- I would contact my parents when I need someone to talk to and increase doing things that I enjoy, and (3) meditate and manage my energy.


Leadership is the ability to influence people toward the attainment of organizational goals. Traits are the distinguishing personal characteristics of a leader, such as intelligence, honesty, self-confidence, and even appearance (Daft & Marcic, 2017). Personally, my personal leadership traits are honesty and integrity, independence, and persistence against obstacles. These traits are some of the strongest positive traits in myself, and it is shown when I work in a team or alone. I also think that it is important for a leader to have these traits.

I would say that I am more to a transformational leader that is defined as distinguished by their special ability to bring about innovation and change by recognizing followers' needs and concerns, providing meaning, challenging people to look at an old problem in new ways, and acting as role models for the new values and behaviors. The pro for this approach is that I could inspire followers not just believe in the leader personally, but to believe in their own potential to imagine and create a better future for the organization. The con is that a transformational leader might come out too charismatic that it could lower the self-esteem of the followers, and it could make them less effective (Wille, 2017). The implication is that both the leader and the follower could feel their significance in the organization. 


Motivation refers to the forces either within or external to a person that arouse enthusiasm and persistence to pursue a certain course of action. Intrinsic rewards are the satisfaction that a person receives in the process of performing a particular action. The advantage of intrinsic reward is that it could drive people to do things more sincerely. Extrinsic rewards are given by another person, typically a manager, and include promotions, praise, and pay increases (Daft & Marcic, 2017). The advantage of the extrinsic reward is that it could help one be more motivated and benefited from the physical reward. I believe that intrinsic reward is more important than extrinsic reward. This is because it gives reasons for a person to do something. The satisfaction feeling after finishing a task is a rewarding feeling and could make one feel more sincere in doing their task. I could also learn the meaning of work better as it is important (Bregman, 2017).

Maslow's hierarchy of needs of theory proposes that people are motivated by multiple needs and that these needs exist in a hierarchical order. It identified five general types of motivating needs: 
  1. Physiological needs
  2. Safety needs
  3. Belongingness needs
  4. Esteem needs
  5. Self-actualization needs
Two-factor theory suggests that the work characteristics associated with dissatisfaction were quite different from those pertaining to satisfaction, which prompted the notion that two factors influence work motivation. It is separated into two dimensions; motivators and hygiene factors (Daft & Marcic, 2017).

For me, Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory helps me to identify my progress. It helps me to always be aware of my needs and progress and whether I am still far away from fulfilling self-actualization needs or not. Herzberg's Two-Factor Theory helps me to identify the reasons for my satisfaction and dissatisfaction by identifying motivators and hygiene factors.

Empowerment is power sharing, the delegation of power and authority to subordinates in an organization. I believe that empowerment is important in an organization as it made every member feels significant and important. It can be in four elements: (1) employees receive information about company performance, (2) employees have knowledge and skills to contribute to company goals, (3) employees have the power to make substantive decisions, (4) employees are rewarded based on company performance (Daft & Marcic, 2017). With a high level of empowerment, it could strengthen the bond between the members and everyone will work collectively towards the same goal.




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