Discipline often comes with a negative connotation. Most people think of discipline as a form of obedience; worse, some leaders use punishment to correct disobedience. However, people don’t think about another side of discipline, and the disciplinarian isn’t who you think it is.
Discipline in leadership needs to be self-discipline to be effective. Self-discipline is the ability to get yourself to do things that you must do. Imagine a team of people who are highly skilled in the art of self-discipline. What kind of team would that be? How unstoppable could they become? What else would you be able to focus your precious time on if your team practiced self-discipline?
4 Key Benefits of Self-Discipline and Why They Are Necessary for Success
Any successful person will tell you that you have to own your success because no one will do it for you. Developing self-discipline is the first place successful leaders start.
Able to cope with goal conflicts
Everyone on your team has goals, and reaching those goals will increase their confidence and contribute to their job satisfaction. Reaching goals also motivates people to do more, better. Quite often, goals come into conflict. For example, two or more goals may have competing priorities. How someone manages these conflicts will contribute to momentary effect and overall job satisfaction.
People with high self-discipline can formulate plans that enable them to fulfill most of their goals than other people and follow through on carrying out those plans.
Spend less time negotiating procrastination
Everyone suffers from procrastination from time to time. Procrastination yields temporary, momentary pleasures because it allows someone to enjoy the present rather than working on a difficult task. Procrastinating a challenging task leads to higher stress, longer hours, missed deadlines, poor performance, and even client dissatisfaction.
Working on those challenging tasks rather than focusing on transient pleasures maximizes job satisfaction because of self-discipline. Developing self-discipline will ultimately minimize procrastination leading to higher job satisfaction, increased performance, meeting goals and deadlines, and reducing stress.
Discipline allows you to make positive decisions more easily
Those who have developed a self-discipline skill set are more capable of making decisions and carrying out actions that move them closer to achieving their goals. Their self-discipline acts as an enforcer, so they only participate in activities that enable their goals rather than impede them. Doing so removes many of the distractions and drama that steal our precious time and changes our focus from managing nonsense to meeting goals and objectives.
Decisions are not made by impulse or feelings
A person with higher self-discipline will not make decisions that are based on impulse or feelings. Making decisions in either of these ways can be detrimental to achieving goals and success. Making impulsive decisions leads to mistakes, regret, missing goals, and a loss of overall satisfaction in life and in work. Feelings are temporary. We get mad, happy, sad, and empty at various times throughout the day. When these emotions drive decision making it leads to the same outcome as those made from impulse.
A person with high self-discipline will make decisions that will add to the foundation of what is in the best interest of their goals, the company, career, and overall life.
Discipline is not a dirty word, but the disciplinarian must be the self. Self-discipline is a learned behavior. Anyone willing can develop this critical skill for success and overall job and life satisfaction.
Last updated on May 8th, 2021 at 08:20 am
