Success impulse: Psychology crash course for managers
How well do you know psychology? Your answer to this question will significantly determine your influence, productivity and overall success as a leader.
Let's not kid ourselves: Your success is largely determined by the extent to which you can understand and influence other people. And that's just not possible without psychology.
Much can be learned
By the way, I know from my own experience that you can learn all this. Because for me, as an engineer, people skills, influencing and leadership were by no means components of my studies. What it essentially takes is interest and application, whether through coaching or leading others.
Insights from psychology
Here are three extremely important insights from psychology, from my experience, that most leaders pay far too little attention to:
- Emotion beats logic - every time. How many of our decisions are made purely rationally, i.e. logically? The answer: not a single one. In the end, there is always some emotion involved. The same applies to taking action: Only emotions make people act and move (which is why the very word "emotion" includes "motion"). Anyone who has ever wanted to change the culture or cooperation in a team can confirm this.
- Their reality is distorted. There is no neutral reality that is the same for two people. Yes, there are facts, but they are interpreted differently by everyone. A fitting saying from psychology sums up this realization: we don't see the world as it is, but as WE are. Our self-image acts like a prism that distorts "reality" - and it does so differently for each person. Remember this the next time you wonder why others just don't understand what seems to be quite clear to you.
- Mental exhaustion is real. If you wonder why you yourself or others sometimes fail to accomplish anything reasonable during certain periods of time, make poor decisions, or are unproductive, you are probably dealing with mental exhaustion. Like physical energy in the body, mental energy is limited. While you can regenerate it (or preferably not over-consume it in the first place), that first requires awareness of the problem. Managing your mental energy is often an important part of my coaching programs - for good reason.
If you apply these three insights, your effectiveness and success as a leader will increase significantly. Good luck with it!
To the author:
Volkmar Völzke is a success maximizer. Book author. Consultant. Coach. Speaker. www.volkmarvoelzke.ch
