A manager complained the other day how they were struggling to impose some discipline on their team members.
Got me thinking about the seven years that I spent in a boarding military school.
It was a fairly disciplined life but discipline was never imposed on us.
It was inculcated.
Our teachers and trainers would do what they expected us to do. Period.
That could mean waking up every morning at 5 am to go for morning PT or doing a 5 km cross-country race with us or spending 5 non stop hours on a weekend rehearsing and coaching for a stage competition.
Discipline may be perceived as a by-product of hierarchy. In reality, it is anything but that. Discipline is the most egalitarian practice I can think of.
You can't sit on a pedestal and impose discipline no matter how powerful you are.
Imposing discipline is always a loser's game.
If you do it and succeed then you know that you are dealing with dumb people - be it your own kid or your team members at work.
If you are dealing with normal people, you won't succeed because they would always find a way out.
The starting point to drive discipline: do what you expect others to do.
#lifelessons #work #life #leadership #managerialskills #sainikschool