Strength Based Leadership
Briefly, when it comes to establishing self-control there are four main habits which come into play (Whisenand & McCain, 2015, 184-190). First there is habit number one: goal-setting. Goal-setting, or self-regulation as it can also be known, “means making an intentional effort towards a specific goal” (Whisenand & McCain, 2015, 184) and is necessary for self-control. Without goals, Whisenand and McCain argue, there can be no such thing as self-control, because then there is nothing to strive for. The second habit is behaviour monitoring, in order to create and use a set of strategies and tactics which will aid in our self-control by giving us something to fall on should it begin to slip. The third habit is to provide a framework for our self-control, since that is how our brains “save on willpower” (Whisenand & McCain, 2015, 186), and save on emotional strength in the long run, and the fourth and final habit is creating an overall plan. This plan can either be to create new habits which will strengthen the current self-control, or they can be plans to help develop self-control in the first place.
The most effective habit in developing and maintaining self-control is most likely to be behaviour monitoring, for the reason that developing a habit of self-awareness is probably going to be the most effective way of “changing our personal or job-related behaviour to meet these self-imposed standards” (Whisenand & McCain, 2015, 185). It seems that behavioural monitoring is the strongest and best habit to develop purely because it will allow people the best chance of knowing when their self-control is going to slip.
In a similar vein, the weakest habit in developing self-control seems to be habit number one – goal-setting. Setting goals in order to develop self-control is an admirable strategy, but if someone needs to set goals in order to maintain their already-developed control, then that control is already failing. Self-control is the goal and end in itself – while difficult situations should perhaps have rewards at the end of them, this shouldn’t be the norm.
Reference
Whisenand, P. M. & McCain, E. D. (2015). Supervising Police Personnel: Strengths-Based Leadership. (8th. Ed.) Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Pp. 181-195.
