Self Management Framework

Self management and self efficacy

Self management involves a repertoire of skills for planning, goal setting, giving and receiving feedback and self-monitoring which enable Zig Zag employees to be active managers of their work performance and behaviour.

Self efficacy refers to a person's belief in their capability to achieve desired goals (Bandura 1988).

Zig Zag's self management framework is evolving as one of an interlinked set of HR systems where employees develop a strong sense of self efficacy through learning skills which influence and moderate their own performance and that of others. This approach best suits Zig Zag's flat structure and approach to learning, where staff take responsibility for organising and managing themselves, take the initiative when solving problems and develop competence through being organised and flexible, learning from experience and feedback.

Being organised and setting goals

Being organised helps you reduce time and situational stressors due to workload and/or lack of control. An important factor in using time to maximum advantage is to have a clear understanding of your role and how this relates to Zig Zag's aims and purpose. This enables you to set goals which help you align personal aspirations with those of Zig Zag and allocate your time so that you are focusing on the things that are important to Zig Zag and our work with young women.

Zig Zag has developed a time management model to enable you to make choices that balance your workload. (Link to ZZ Time Management Model). While the percentages of time indicated for important as opposed to urgent tasks are not absolute, they should be used as a guide for planning and allocating your time, setting priorities and monitoring the extent to which you are focusing on important work, such as planning and building relationships, as opposed to reacting to crises. You may like to retain a copy of this model near your work station for easy reference.

Being flexible and adaptable

Being flexible enables you to respond appropriately to different people and different situations and accept people for who they are, not for who you want them to be. Flexibility helps you cope with the reality of ups and downs in a busy work environment where priorities and commitments change from time to time. Being flexible also helps you be tolerant of an evolving situation and to identify opportunities for change and improvement.

Having the flexibility to understand and adapt to events and setbacks as though they are challenges to be met or problems to be solved also helps you develop the skills to work with and around such problems and challenges rather than feeling swamped or victimised by them. This also helps build your self efficacy through identifying opportunities for personal change and learning.

Always learning and improving

Your work competence is an important factor in developing your self efficacy. One of the best ways to become competent is to progressively learn from experience and develop the skills that will enable you to do your job well, gaining a sense of satisfaction and purpose from doing so.

The skill levels and skills descriptors, which are part of Zig Zag's performance planning and review system, are designed to help you identify your learning level and to become competent in the skills that help Zig Zag meet its aims and purpose. (refer to ZZ Performance Planning Policy)

Seeking and providing feedback

Having the confidence to seek both positive and developmental feedback from your work colleagues, provides you with valuable information about your work performance and behaviour. Feedback helps you to gain a perspective of yourself as others see you. Giving feedback to your work colleagues helps build open, honest relationships, while helping you set goals for improvement. Thinking and reflection are also important qualities when providing feedback to yourself and help develop your self awareness and motivation to improve your performance, rather than look for excuses.

Timely and accurate developmental feedback can facilitate early detection of problems, so you can take corrective action and modify your planning and behaviour , without becoming defensive about it. Seeing problems or mistakes as opportunities for ongoing learning and improvement also helps you to become more flexible and adaptable when learning new things.

Performance planning and review

Zig Zag's performance planning and review system has been designed to support and strengthen the self-management framework. It sets out a 4 step system of skill levels and six essential skills areas, which employees either need to have to develop to help meet Zig Zag's aims and purpose. It will assist you to appraise your strength and development needs and seek feedback about these from your team. (Hyperlink to skill levels and skill descriptors).

Information from your self appraisal and feedback, and your position description, is relied on to prepare your individual performance plan and your goals for the next Zig Zag planning cycle.

Performance planning which is self-directed and based on realistic goals, helps you learn and become more effective in your role at Zig Zag. Being effective in your role also helps Zig Zag continuously improve the quality of services we provide to young women.

Time Management model (link to Word document)

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Last Revised: June 22, 2007

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