What is self-management and what skills does it require? What are the benefits of self-management at work, and how can you empower your employees to self-manage? Find out in this guide.
In a workplace context, self-management is both a way of working and a specific skill set. Self-managing employees can work autonomously, take full ownership over their tasks, and achieve their goals with minimal supervision.
This has many benefits for both employees and employers alike. And, with the rise of remote and hybrid work, self-management is fast becoming the key to a more productive, motivated, and agile workforce.
But is self-management the future of working? What role does it play in the modern workplace, and how can you help your employees become confident self-managers?
Keep reading for a complete and actionable guide to self-management at work.
Table of Contents
- What is self-management? A definition
- Examples of self-management skills at work
- The importance of self-management in the modern workplace
- The benefits of self-management
- Is self-management the future of working?
- How to foster self-management within your organization: 5 strategies
- The takeaway
How do you create a sustainable company culture?
In our eBook “Opportunities for Establishing a Sustainable Company Culture” we will show you helpful tips for communicating without misunderstandings. Download it now for free!
What is self-management? A definition
In psychology, self-management is defined as “our ability to manage our behaviors, thoughts, and emotions in a conscious and productive way.” It usually relates to the pursuit of a particular goal — for example, breaking a bad habit or making some kind of lifestyle change.
In the workplace, self-management describes an employee’s ability to practice self-awareness and work autonomously. Self-managing employees can manage and adapt their behaviors, thoughts, and emotions within the workplace to complete their projects and tasks, achieve professional goals, and build effective relationships with their managers and coworkers.
Examples of self-management skills at work
There are several key skills that self-managing employees possess. These include:
- Time management: the ability to plan ahead, prioritize tasks, and meet deadlines.
- Effective communication: the ability to communicate clearly and effectively with different people (managers, coworkers, clients, project stakeholders) and to exchange knowledge and ideas.
- Problem-solving: self-managing employees are adept at finding solutions and overcoming challenges.
- Adaptability: the ability to adjust to change and be flexible and agile.
- Effective decision-making: the ability to make decisions independently and determine the best course of action for a particular task or project.
- Organizational skills: the ability to juggle multiple responsibilities, manage different priorities, and stay on top of complex projects.
- Goal-setting: the ability to determine your own goals, clearly define what you want to achieve, and take actions to reach your objectives. This applies to both professional projects and personal development.
- Self-motivation: taking initiative, keeping yourself motivated to complete tasks and meet deadlines; the ability to be productive without external pressure or reminders from others.
- Accountability: the ability to take ownership of your work, reflect on your mistakes, and take responsibility when things don’t go to plan.
- Stress management: keeping calm under pressure, managing your emotions in difficult situations, and taking steps to combat stress and maintain well-being (for example: meditating, knowing when to take a break, going for a walk).
Those are the core skills required for effective self-management. Next, let’s consider why self-management is more important than ever in the modern world of work.
The importance of self-management in the modern workplace
Self-management skills enable employees to work independently with minimal supervision. This has a huge impact on both day-to-day operations and general company culture.
Self-management drives overall business success
From a business perspective, self-management is an important factor in achieving strategic goals and running a successful company. If the majority of your workforce can effectively manage their own time and meet deadlines, solve problems and make decisions, adapt to change, and handle stress, you’ve got a well-oiled machine. That’s the kind of environment where productivity and progress thrive.
Self-management builds a positive company culture
Self-management also plays a critical role in shaping company culture. In self-managing teams, trust is the key. You trust your employees to get the job done — and, as a result, your employees trust and believe in themselves. They have confidence in their own ability, they feel empowered to take ownership, and they’re motivated to do their best work. That’s a solid foundation for a collaborative, supportive, and psychologically safe company culture.
Self-management is crucial in the remote workplace
74% of US companies are either currently operating a hybrid working model or planning to do so in the future, while an estimated 22% of the US workforce will be remote by 2025. To thrive in this new normal, it’s essential that remote employees feel empowered to manage their own time and work. Equally, employers and managers need to be able to trust and rely on their employees. Companies that foster a self-management culture will be much better equipped to excel in remote and hybrid environments.
The benefits of self-management
Self-management clearly has an important place in the modern world of work — but what are the concrete benefits? Let’s take a look.
Self-management is related to higher job satisfaction
Research points to a positive correlation between self-management and job satisfaction. When employees are given autonomy over their own work and processes, they feel an increased sense of empowerment. Self-management also enables greater flexibility, helping employees to achieve a healthier work-life balance.
Overall, employees who are part of a self-managing culture tend to feel more valued by their employers and be more engaged. This all points to higher job satisfaction and employee retention — a win-win for everybody.
Self-management increases productivity
Self-management relies on skills such as time management, effective communication, problem-solving, adaptability, and decision-making (to name a few). In practice, all of these skills lay the foundation for a productive, high-performing workplace.
A team made up of self-managers — people who can work both autonomously and collaboratively, prioritize tasks, meet deadlines, overcome challenges, and motivate themselves to take action — is a team equipped for progress and growth. As such, self-management is a great driver of company-wide productivity.
Self-management builds and promotes trust
Self-management is an essential part of building a high-trust culture. It fosters mutual trust between employees and managers, but also among coworkers. Employees feel trusted and empowered to do their best work and demonstrate their competence, which in turn reinforces their manager’s trust — and the trust of their peers.
Trust is proven to boost productivity, enhance decision-making, and reduce stress and burnout. Overall, it’s crucial for creating a positive company culture.
Leaders have more time to focus on strategy
In a self-management culture, employees are more self-sufficient. This means that managers and leaders don’t need to be so heavily involved in day-to-day operations, freeing up their time to focus on strategy.
Strategic leadership is essential for setting long-term goals, identifying new opportunities, staying ahead of potential risks, and generally keeping the business moving in the right direction. And, with a clear strategic vision, employees understand what they’re working towards and why their contribution is valuable.
Is self-management the future of working?
We’ve established what self-management is and why it’s beneficial. Now for the question at hand: Is self-management the future of working?
If you consider the rise of remote and hybrid work, as well as the fact that employees are placing increasing value on autonomy and flexibility, self-management has an undeniable place in the future of work.
And, while a fully self-managed workforce may not be feasible (or desirable) for every organization, most companies can benefit from a self-management culture; one that empowers individuals to make decisions, take ownership, and set their own priorities.
Perhaps a better question would be: Is self-management the future of your workplace?
If you want to build a high-trust company culture, develop self-sufficient employees, thrive in a remote or hybrid environment, and generally boost engagement and productivity, then the answer is probably yes.
And bear in mind that embracing self-management doesn’t necessarily mean getting rid of all management positions and leaving people entirely to their own devices. Rather, it’s about helping your employees develop valuable self-management skills and equipping them with the confidence and competence to work more autonomously.
With that, let’s consider how you can foster and promote self-management at your workplace.
How to foster self-management within your organization: 5 strategies
Here are five steps you can take to encourage self-management at work:
- Prioritize psychological safety
- Define and communicate clear goals
- Focus on building trust
- Provide feedback and mentorship
- Promote lifelong learning
Let’s explore those in more detail.
1. Prioritize psychological safety
Psychological safety is defined as “the belief that one will not be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns, or mistakes, and that the team is safe for interpersonal risk taking.”
In a psychologically safe environment, employees are empowered to make decisions, take risks, and use failure as an opportunity to learn. Psychological safety is built on trust, transparency, and open communication — and it’s a fundamental prerequisite for self-management.
2. Define and communicate clear goals
Self-managing employees are able to set goals, make decisions, determine their own priorities, and take initiative without consulting their managers at every step. However, they can only do that if they have a clear understanding of the big-picture goals.
Make sure you have a well-defined company vision and mission statement, as well as clear-cut goals for each team or department. That way, individual employees know exactly what they’re working towards and can make decisions accordingly.
3. Build mutual trust
It’s impossible to encourage self-management without trust. If you want to empower your employees to take ownership and operate autonomously, you need to trust them — and earn their trust in return.
You can build trust by establishing a rapport with your employees, being reliable and delivering on your promises, treating people with respect, being honest and vulnerable, admitting when you’re wrong and owning your mistakes, and being transparent.
You can demonstrate trust by encouraging your employees to take the lead, empowering them to make decisions, expressing confidence in their skills and abilities, and letting them know that it’s ok to make mistakes.
4. Provide feedback and mentorship
Feedback is crucial for building your employees’ confidence, helping them recognize their own strengths and areas for improvement, and to coach them towards becoming more self-aware and, over time, better self-managers.
If they can count on constructive feedback and mentorship, employees will feel motivated and emboldened to take on new challenges, step out of their comfort zone, and learn new skills — growing more and more independent in the process.
5. Promote lifelong learning
Lifelong learning describes voluntary and continuous learning that’s driven by the individual. Unlike compulsory professional development or training, it’s based on a personal desire to acquire new knowledge and skills.
There are many benefits of lifelong learning. It builds confidence and adaptability, hones key skills such as problem-solving and critical thinking, and requires plenty of self-motivation. Through lifelong learning, employees don’t only develop practical skills; they also improve their general ability to self-manage.
By encouraging your employees to engage in lifelong learning, you can empower them to become confident self-managers.
The takeaway
When you nurture and encourage self-management, you empower your employees to operate independently and take ownership of their work. This builds their confidence, boosts engagement, and generally contributes to greater job satisfaction. In turn, you benefit from increased productivity, higher employee retention, and a workforce equipped to handle complex challenges.
Embracing self-management begins with psychological safety and trust. Create an environment where employees can learn, take risks, and make their own decisions — the rest will follow.
How do you create a sustainable company culture?
In our eBook “Opportunities for Establishing a Sustainable Company Culture” we will show you helpful tips for communicating without misunderstandings. Download it now for free!
