What makes a great leader? They’re goal-driven and can deliver results. They’re team players and enjoy helping others. They’re committed, reliable and take risks. We all know that these are many of the characteristics and attributes that can be found in the best leaders around. But the competency that’s probably the least discussed and undervalued is self-awareness.
With our busy schedules, it’s really difficult to find the time to self-reflect. Trust me, I’m right there with you. We think we understand our own personality traits, behaviors, strengths, wants, etc., but do we really even know how these things affect our lives? A lot of the time, we aren’t even aware of how we’re perceived by our peers, don’t really understand the benefits in knowing and, quite frankly, just don’t want to hear it! In the crazy-competitive culture that we live in today, a lot of us feel like we need to appear like we know everything all the time so we don’t lose our credibility as leaders. We don’t like to recognize our weaknesses for the same reason.
Self-awareness is knowing what you’re good at while still acknowledging what you have yet to learn. It’s owning up when you make mistakes and don’t always have an answer. It allows you to better understand why you feel what you feel and why you act and react to situations and events the way you do. Most importantly, it can improve our judgment and help us identify opportunities for professional development and personal growth.
Starting next Monday, I’m going to do a series of posts about the value of self-awareness in our lives and how it can help a person become a more effective leader. Some of the things I’ll be covering will be:
- The value of self-awareness (and how to develop it)
- Why understanding yourself helps you achieve your goals
- How self-awareness can make you a more effective leader
These are just a few of the topics that we can talk about. Of course, I would absolutely love to hear your perspectives and input on each post. And if you have any other suggestions, just leave them in the comments below and I’ll see if they can be included! I hope you’ll join me next week in what is hopefully a great discussion!
“Whereas the average individuals often have not the slightest idea of what they are, of what they want, of what their own opinions are, self-actualizing individuals have superior awareness of their own impulses, desires, opinions, and subjective reactions in general.” ~Abraham Maslow
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Hey love dove! Great post, I love reading your blog! I agree that self-awareness is highly undervalued when it comes to considering what makes a great leader. I just recently took the strengthsfinder 2.0 self assessment test as a requirement for my account management class and it directly relates to what you’re talking about. Basically, it lists your top 5 strengths or talents and how to effectively utilize them not only in the workforce but also in your day to day, establishing and building relationships with co-workers and peers alike. Mine were: communication, activator, intellection, empathy, and context. The book and website goes into more detail of what they actually mean. The book was really cheap and it has an access code in the back you can use to take the assessment test; it’s basically a series of about 130 questions wherein out of two personality traits, you pick the one that suits you best and the degree to which it does, you have 2o seconds for each question so you’re basically forced to go with your first instinct. I think it is something you would really enjoy and get a lot out of, if you haven’t already heard of it or taken it. The website is strengthsfinder.com. Take care, love you!
What if I don’t want to be a leader? What other areas of my life can self-awareness help me in?
Self-awareness as you’ve described it I expect is useful for anyone… though I bet you have some interesting things to say in this particular context
A quote from “Conversations With God” (amazing book) came to mind: “If you do not go within, you go without”. A reminder that all of your outer lack can be traced to an inner disalignment in the long run. 
Let’s see how this series comes out! I’m reading!
Andrew
I’m so excited for these posts! I can’t tell you how important I think developing a sense of self-awareness is. I don’t know about you, but I’m a big fan of the MBTI & the DISC assessment. Have you taken either? I found them both to be really useful in pointing out things that I knew about myself but never really considered to be a key personality trait or strength.
Anyway, great choice of topic! Looking forward to reading.
Great idea for a series! I think that self-reflection is something I struggle with making time for. I know it sounds odd, but I think Mondays are always a self-reflection day for me. I have had some time off on the weekend, and usually am figuring out how to get further and push harder this week.