Career: Being a good manager

May 27, 2008

AS a manager, do you end your day tired or with your energy at the peak? One way to overcome the feeling of being ever tired is through exercise. The power you will feel thereafter is the spark you need to become effective. Here are a few worthy considerations.

By Fred Ouma

AS a manager, do you end your day tired or with your energy at the peak? One way to overcome the feeling of being ever tired is through exercise. The power you will feel thereafter is the spark you need to become effective. Here are a few worthy considerations.

Health
A healthy circulatory system will not only help you live longer, but also live a healthy life. By exercising regularly, Dr. Edward Kigonya of Mulago Hospital says your circulatory system and immunity is boosted, thus cutting back on your medical bills and absenteeism from work. “Exercises deliver oxygen and nutrients to your tissues. When your heart and lungs work efficiently, you will have more energy,” he says.

Energy
Want to feel better and have more energy? Then look no further than exercise. The lack of energy you feel at the end of the day can be overcome by jogging, swimming or riding down the hill.

Mental alertness
When you have a thousand things to do, as many managers do, the mind can easily lose focus. But you should not worry. Prof. Emilio Ovuga, a consultant psychiatrist, says exercises kill office worries and help you to focus on other productive pursuit. “A good game will help clear your mind and allow you to start the day with an edge. It will also reduce feelings of depression and anxiety,” he says.

Speed
Struggling to boost your brain speed? Sports like tennis, squash and soccer are good at improving one’s speed, especially when making decisions. For example, at the age of 55, the founder of Sony, Akio Morita, started playing tennis. The practice improved his reflexes which had slowed down over the years. Morita also started skiing at the age of 60, played golf once every week and flew his plane over the weekend. As he wrote in Made in Japan: “This kind of exercise is not only for the heart, but also for the mind and the sense of confidence it gives you.” An effective manager must maintain good self-confidence at all times.

Teamwork
Do you enjoy sharing the prize of victory with others? Try basketball and you will realise that everyone in the team counts. Most sports will teach you the value of getting along with others. For example, can you successfully play basketball, soccer, volleyball or rugby without passing the ball to someone else? As Edga Watson, the former captain of the Cranes, says: “You have to co-operate with your teammates to win the game.”

Self-discovery
Can you start a job and finish it no matter what it takes? Get into a marathon. With a marathon, Watson says, you can know how far you can persist to get to the finishing line.

Friendships
Research shows that effective managers need to network and to get to know people. If you are a soccer fan, you will get to meet all sorts of people at the soccer playground. The guys you play with are not necessarily your office mates or old school mates, but those with whom you share common interest. And nothing starts off an enduring friendship like common interest.

Bad habits
Where do you spend your free time? Is it at the local joint chewing pork ribs and drinking alcohol? Perhaps you settle in a comfortable couch at home, watching TV, while fats settle quietly around your heart. Exercises prevent your indulgence in time-wasting habits that add little value to you.

Self-image
Every manager should have a good self-image. It is quite hard for anyone to handle people well without having a good self-image. Exercises have the power of making you look better as you cut off that excess weight, which will boost your self-esteem and attitude towards other employees.

Better family relations
Ruth Senyonyi, a counsellor, says the worst habit that has crippled many managers is separating work from family by logging double-digit hours in the office and merely trespassing through their homes. “Managers must realise that the primary reason why we work is to improve the quality of our family life,” she advises. What better way to begin than by exercising as a family? After all a family that plays together is a much happier place to be. It will even provide you the edge to be more productive in your office.

So if you thought your company had gym facilities just for the heck of it, well, they are thinking of reducing their long-term benefits costs. Go work that body since exercise, like milk, does a body good. Paul Kagwa, the Ministry of Health spokesperson, says you do not have to be a manager to reap the benefits of a good sweat.

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