Knowing Oneself Truly

Chapter one examines management theories about individuals’ personalities and applying the foundational management skill of knowing oneself. We begin our conversation here for several reasons. First, despite what some might think, there is no ideal personality type. Some characteristics are certainly more useful on the whole than others but one would be hard pressed to identify a single personality attribute that is universally positive without any drawbacks or trade-offs. Therefore it behooves the effective manager to know himself or herself so that they can identify their different strengths as well as potential weaknesses. Second, the relationship between personality and success more often than not depends on situational factors such as the nature of their job, peculiarities of the task at hand, types of people they work and do business with, structure of the team in which they are assigned and organization in which they are employed, and overall culture of their firm and industry. Thus the effective manager will seek to establish a good “fit” with their surroundings. Third, the importance knowing oneself is multiplied because a person cannot know anyone else with any degree of accuracy if they do not know themselves. This is because managers see others only through the unique lens of their predilections and character. Generally, these points reinforce Western and Eastern philosophical traditions espousing the benefits of knowing oneself; for instance Plato’s urgings toward self-examination, Shakespeare’s lamentation to be true to oneself, Hindu inspirations directing us to reflect on the Atman or true self, and Sun Tzu’s warning that without self-knowledge the probability of success is significantly reduced.