EPISODE 4

THERE IS NO LEADERSHIP WITHOUT SELF-AWARENESS

How can we lead if we cannot read our own emotions? How can we inspire and challenge if our purpose is unclear? How can we coach and develop others if we have never reflected deeply about our own passions, fears, strengths and weaknesses?

We can't.

Self-awareness is transformational; I've seen it in the many leaders I coached during my career and it has also helped me through my professional challenges. If you want to dramatically change the way you lead and transform the way you experience life at the same time, start with self-awareness.

Are you ready?

-------------

Self-awareness is all about bringing more consciousness and intentionality to your life.

Why is it important?

• increases proactivity and productivity
• drives up self-esteem and self-acceptance
• increases overall wellbeing through better decision making

The research is clear:

• self-awareness allows us to see things from the perspective of others, practice self-control, work creatively and productively, and experience pride in ourselves and our work as well as general self-esteem (Silvia & O’Brien, 2004).
• it leads to better decision making (Ridley, Schutz, Glanz, & Weinstein, 1992).
• it can make us better at our jobs, better communicators in the workplace, and enhance our self-confidence and job-related wellbeing (Sutton, Williams, & Allinson, 2015).

​

​

All good leadership coaching programs start with self-awareness. I believe the reason is that you can not develop Emotional Intelligence, the master skill of the future of work, without a profound self-reflection process. Dr. Travis Bradberry, author of Emotional Intelligence 2.0, explains that self-awareness is one of the core components of emotional intelligence. And emotional intelligence accounts for nearly 90 percent of what sets high performers apart, explains Daniel Goleman, author of the #1 bestseller Emotional Intelligence.

Self-awareness pays off for companies as well. A Korn Ferry study found that "poor-performing companies’ employees were 79 percent more likely to have low overall self-awareness than those at firms with robust Rate of Return." And we must better act, because according to research by organizational psychologist Tasha Eurich, 95 percent of people think they’re self-aware, but only 10 to 15 percent actually are.

​

Keep on reading below for actionable tips on self-awareness...

​

​

---------

3 things you can start doing today to develop your Self-Awareness

Here are 3 practices I've used during my coaching and mentoring experience that work very well :

1. Self Reflection should be part of your daily or weekly routine. Reflecting regularly about your day, your values, your areas of improvement, your strengths can increase your self-awareness exponentially. I highly recommend Journaling, a practice that has been linked to outstanding leadership. Read more on Harvard Business Review - Want to Be an Outstanding Leader? Keep a Journal.​
   ​
2. Feedback is everything. No matter your role in the organization, feedback can help you understand your behaviors and their impact.
   - Ask questions about yourself to the people you love: What do you think I’m very good at? What are my best qualities and values? Where do I fall short?
   - Ask for feedback at work that is connected to your activities: What did I do best during the project? What where my biggest challenges at our daily meeting? What should I do differently next time?
   ​
3. Curiosity to the maximum level. Cultivating your curiosity not only will improve your self-awareness but can also contribute to your flexibility, global vision and will for sure help you stay current. As Carol Dweck, author of Mindset: the New Psychology of Success says: "The hallmark of successful people is that they are always stretching themselves to learn new things."

​

If you made it up to here, I hope you enjoyed this episode and I encourage you to try at least one of the ideas explored here. See you next month!