Whoops, wrote this a few days ago and didn’t realize I hadn’t posted it…
Just started a management course as part of my mundane training. Honestly never saw myself as the “management” type, but I think that’s just a framing error. In the Star Wars fiction, Jedi aren’t always the lone wolf, they manage. Jedi manage big time.
Don’t believe me?
What do you call what Yoda did for Luke? What was the Jedi Council for the rest of the Order? What did the Jedi do during the Clone Wars? What did Jedi do when they were called in to help another community, planet, system, etc?
Although we aren’t taught to see it through this lens, all of those activities can be thought of as management activities. Helping to organize and lead the activities of others basically comes down to effectively managing. Even 1 on 1 mentoring can be thought of this way, albeit on a smaller scale – you devise and execute a training plan, determine what tasks are to be done when, provide mentoring, feedback, etc…
All of this is to say that it isn’t out of character to learn management skills, and can actually make you a better leader and partner, since you understand what cooperatively needs to be done.
Delegation is a crucial management skill that I’ve seen people trying to follow this path struggle with. Along with the lone wolf mentality is the belief that giving away tasks will somehow make you seem weaker. Or that things won’t get done unless you do them all yourself. But it’s not accurate, and can often be counterproductive. You will often be a lot slower working alone. When people are given new tasks (with a little guidance), they learn new skills, build confidence, and can often exceed your expectations. A lot of community-building also occurs when people work together.
So you don’t have to be the hero, lone wolf, etc that swoops in to save the day. Believe it or not, a lot of times the real Jedi way is to help people help themselves. So learn a little management. It’s good for you.
Jedi Shield 