COMMITTING TO EXCELLENCE

The first step for a manager is to really decide if you want to manage human beings. Then, decide if you want to work toward excellence. As anyone who has worked for even a short time can attest, not every manager is management material. Management is an art and a science. To master anything takes time, energy, devotion, mentorship, practice, drills and errors. If you were going to take up a new musical instrument, you would not be playing in a symphony the first year. Even prodigy musicians need experience and training. New managers need to settle into the time it takes to learn, expect to make errors, and learn from those errors. Seasoned managers must decide if they want to become masters. Just an accumulation of years doing something does not create a master. The idea of "practice makes perfect" is not true unless the practicing is correct. A bad manager over time does not automatically turn into a good manager just because time has passed. Masters of anything are very comfortable in their roles of life-long student. True experts want to learn more. Excellence is a journey and process, not a destination.