There is always a strong belief that man management principles are crucial for growth and development of a business enterprise. While other parameters like finance or marketing or operations are important, man management is possibly the most crucial driver of its success. It is rightly said that organizations grow or fail because of their man management practices. These practices create a conducive ambience that allows the employees to enjoy and have fun while working and thus facilitating the organization to grow.
This logic can be extended to life style of senior citizen. One can safely say that an elderly, to a large extent, can maintain a happy life and make the family happier & better place to live, if he / she follows the right man management principles. Many of the problems in families arise as there are errors in such management styles. Thus, happiness or otherwise of a family depends on the man management principles adopted.
Five (5) Major Man Management Principles:
1. Maturity in Behavior: Many transactions and relationships in life as well as organizations fail because of immaturity of either of the counterparts. This immaturity is known by various names like, arrogance or ego or stupidity or foolishness. Human relationships stand on the bedrock of understanding and therefore, maturity of the parties is crucial. This is more important for an elderly person as he / she is the senior of the two parties and managing relationship, to a large extent, will depend on the his / her maturity. It is he / she who has to salvage if there is any rupture, through depiction of maturity.
2. Spirit of Collaboration: It is a world of team work. Organizations succeed or fail depending on synergy of human resources working within. Similarly, whether families become happy & remain united or be unhappy & fritter, depends on the spirit of collaboration among family members. All family representatives need to be united and this unity is the ultimate driver of success. Many families fail because of rivalry, jealousy, envy among family members. Elders can play crucial role here; they can become gluing factor and keep families united and thereby everybody together. They can help fostering spirit of collaboration among family members, however diversified they may be.
3. Open Communication with Empathy: Communications play an important role in keeping an organization moving in right direction by setting the tone / direction, creating a climate of openness and transparency, and enabling an environment of moving together. So is true for a family as well. Here also the line, tenor and manner of communication plays an important role. Seniors in this context can depict a vital responsibility by setting agenda of communication, creating climate of empathy, being role model for listening, and so on. We often hear that elder are difficult and they have fixed set-up of mind and communicate only in one direction. Elders need to learn the modern and scientific means of open communication with empathy that can change the ambience within a family.
4. Positive Attitude: Every organization in the world depends on attitude of individuals within. This is, however, guided by attitude of top leaders. It has often historically been observed that organizations with leaders with high positive mindset perform better than the ones with leadership with a pessimistic attitude. This is true for nations as well. The same applies to families also where attitude of members emanating from seniors at top is crucial. The way we look at life is the game changer in this world and a person with high positive attitude setting optimistic agenda is likely to go forward smoothly compared to a person with a defeatist stance. The attitude setter in a family context is the senior most person; if he / she is a person with high positive energy brimming with confidence, the family often moves forward amidst all difficulties.
5. Motivation: And finally, motivation. An organization can never succeed without its employees being motivated. And what motivates them is style of leadership at the top. A motivating & supportive leadership is often found to drive an organizing with vigor. Same is the case with family: a motivated family led by an elder with passion and commitment is likely to move forward. Hence the elders always need to develop the basic nuances of motivational techniques to keep family members motivated and thereby united & energized.
Way Forward:
The above discussions show how basic man management principles are important in context of human life and its core unit i.e., the family. The elders as senior most persons in a family are expected to be natural leaders and therefore, the drivers. They need to infuse the energy, drive and sense of unity among family members. This is possible only if the elders learn and practice basic man management principles.
