There are many important aspects to leadership; authenticity, influence, trust, honesty, etc.; I could go on. Another important competency of leadership that doesn’t garner so much attention is self-awareness.
Self-awareness can play an important role in many aspects of our professional lives. Having the ability to observe yourself objectively, knowing and owning your strengths and weaknesses can bring a greater depth to your own personal growth and to your relationships with others.
So what exactly is self-awareness? It is the ability to be able to identify and control your emotions. You have a strong awareness of your own emotional triggers, both positive and negative. Having this awareness gives you an insight into your own behaviour and how others perceive you.
Having a strong self-awareness brings with it many benefits. The most significant is the ability to speak and behave with intention rather than to simply react to situations.
As leaders, we feel the need to come across as the all-knowing expert. After all, we want to impress others with our capabilities and knowledge, we don’t want them to question why they should listen to, promote or hire us.
Leadership begins with the self. Knowing yourself and your limits well enough to share your shortfalls, lack of expertise in certain areas and owning your mistakes will take your communication with others to a much healthier place.
To assume that others don’t see your weaknesses is a little misguided. They do see them and when we don’t own them they may well be interpreted as dishonest or a little shifty. On the other hand, when someone openly acknowledges that they aren’t strong in that area or they made a mistake we tend to admire their honesty and increase our trust in them.
It also enables you to make decisions based on your strengths which of course will increase your productivity and effectiveness as a leader. This in turn will definitely please those you are working with.
Do we expect a leader to admit to weaknesses or mistakes? We should. When we lead by example, we show our human-ness which includes the reality that we are not all knowing, infallible beings, we are learning, growing and sometimes stumbling.
Letting others know that mistakes and challenges are a part of the leadership journey gives them the ability to see themselves as leaders. It’s an achievable goal, even with their own areas of weakness, they will become more self-aware.
So, back to my original question; just how self-aware are you?
Answer the following questions honestly:
- Do you know your own strengths and weaknesses?
- Do you observe your own emotions and reactions?
- Do you observe how your emotions affect your behaviour?
- Do you observe how your behaviour affects others?
- Do you learn from your experiences?
- Do you look at the bigger picture?
- Do you have the ability to laugh at yourself and your mistakes?
A final, but very important point to implement that will increase your self-awareness is the ability to listen to constructive feedback from others. Knowing how others see you, particularly when the feedback is consistent from a number of sources will give you valuable insight into who you are. Combined with the other points mentioned, feedback will increase your self awareness and your leadership skills.
