Self-awareness is an important leadership attribute that we have control over — our perception of our own world. Self-awareness is about knowing Your internal state, preferences, resources and intuitions. Being self-aware involves monitoring stress, thoughts, emotions and beliefs. It is a foundational mechanism influencing personal development. In our executive coaching practice at Tier 1 Level Consulting, self-awareness is one of the first insights that we guide our clients to develop.
Leaders who are self-aware benefit from:
- Greater Understanding of personal Strengths and Weaknesses — This helps leaders have greater self-acceptance.
- Increased Self-Confidence — When leaders know themselves better, they can make more informed decisions and feel more confident in their choices.
- Better Relationships — When leaders understand how their behavior affects others, it leads to better communication and stronger relationships.
- Reduced Stress — By understanding their emotions and reactions, leaders can better manage stress and avoid negative coping mechanisms.
- Improved Decision Making — By identifying personal values, beliefs and goals, leaders make educated and informed decisions.
- Increased Empathy — When leaders are aware of their own emotions, it helps them be more empathetic toward others.
Self-awareness is lifelong process that requires practice and reflection. To self-reflect objectively, we need to quiet our minds and open our hearts forgiving ourselves for our imperfections and offering ourselves kudos and constructive criticism, where deserved.
There are several ways that leaders can measure self-awareness. One way is to assess how well we understand our emotions, strengths, weaknesses, values and goals and how these impact our behaviors and decisions. Another way is to seek feedback from others. Additionally, personality assessments, emotional intelligence tests, or behavioral observation tests can measure self-awareness.
Examples of personality and behavior assessments include:
- The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI): This assessment measures personality preference in four areas: extroversion/introversion, sensing/intuition, thinking feeling, and judging/perceiving. It is widely used in career counseling and team building.
- The DISC Assessment: This assessment measures behavior in four areas: dominance, influence, steadiness and conscientiousness. Itis widely used in business settings for team building and leadership development.
- The Big Five Personality Traits: This assessment measures personality traits in five areas; openness conscientiousness extraversion agreeableness and neuroticism. This assessment is widely used in research and has been shown to be predictive of job performance and well-being outcomes.
There are several ways a leader can build self-awareness:
- Understanding your strengths and weaknesses. We all have strengths and weaknesses, preferences and aversions. Whatever they are, just being aware of them is important so that we don’t put ourselves in situations where we are not likely to succeed.
- Becoming a good listener can increase self-awareness. By being open to someone else, we can learn to listen objectively to what that person wants or needs to share. This, in turn, helps teach us how to listen to our own inner dialogue and opinions.
- Opening your mind to new perspectives. Limited perspectives lead to limited thinking. As we develop different perspectives on a variety of topics, we develop our individual identity and personal opinions. We can and should expand our perspectives to be more universally inclusive.
- Recognizing that self-awareness is connected to self-esteem. Our self-esteem is influenced from childhood. If we were criticized as children, we may develop a case of low self-esteem. If we were praised, we are likely to develop high self-esteem. Much of our beliefs are buried in the subconscious, where they can do irreparable harm if not examined and re-calibrated to reflect who we have become. Self-awareness can improve our self-esteem because we understand who we are and what we believe, empowering us to move forward with a strong rudder to guide us.
- Obtaining feedback from others. The objectivity of others can be very helpful in self-awareness. Constructive criticism is important, even if it makes us uncomfortable. When a personal trait is revealed that could benefit from modification, make a mental note to consider how it could be addressed and refined.
Research suggests that when we see ourselves clearly, we are more confident and more creative. We make sounder decisions build stronger relationships and communicate more effectively. We are stronger workers who are rewarded with promotions, and we’re more effective leaders with more satisfied employees, and more profitable companies.
Self-awareness is the most important attribute, or “muscle,” that leaders need to take ownership of and to develop. It’s what will keep us on target to be the best version of ourselves and the most authentic leader we can be.
