Self Awareness in Business: It’s Not Navel Gazing, It’s Necessary

So many in the business world operate with limited self awareness. We’ve all seen it: people who scorch the office with the fire of their reactions, not registering the patterns of their own behaviour nor how it can affect others. Perhaps we’ve been the fire-starter as well as the fire-fighter through our careers. As an entrepreneur, it is critical to lead your business with high levels of self awareness. How can you possibly understand your market, get the best out of your employees or build positive relationships (inside and outside of the business) if you first don’t understand yourself? Whether you are new to business or have been in the game a while, take the time to get to know yourself and make the unconscious conscious. This is the stuff you need to know to be a great leader: of yourself, of others and of your business. Without conscious awareness of who we really are as humans, we are a slave to our thoughts, emotions and behaviour. This is dangerous ground for the business owner. With self awareness comes a consciousness of how you are living your life. Once you understand what you do and why you do it, you can align everything in your life to manifest your dreams – in the business world and outside it. You will have a crystal clear vision for your business and your life, and an understanding of where your strengths and weaknesses will help or hinder your efforts. The first step in getting to know who you are is having an open mind. If you go into this journey of self discovery being defensive or judgmental, then you’ll learn nothing. This is not an exercise in picking fault or allocating blame. This is about understanding who you are, how you respond in different situations, what drives you and what you need from others. What you believe, how you feel, what you think and how you behave has an impact on your business and every area of your life. The path to knowing yourself can be a long one. Start by asking yourself some probing questions. Explore some personality profiles. Without judgment, see yourself for who you are and what makes you human. Journaling is a great tool in developing self awareness. Avoid self analysis paralysis or self deprecation and learn to be an objective witness to your actions. The self-aware business leader knows what drives them and what de-motivates them. They make the adjustments to better deal with their weaknesses and max out their strengths. They are the master of their emotions rather than the slave, conscious in their reactions and cultivators of relationships – inside and outside of the workplace. It’s time to get to know you. Go forth and start peeling back the layers.