To be a great leader, there are many skills that you should possess or develop. One skill is self-awareness, which can be detrimental to your success as a leader if overlooked. Leaders who understand their own emotions, personality, strengths, and weaknesses can better engage with employees and clients.
Now, you may scoff and think, “I’m self-aware, I know exactly what I am doing,” but it is a hard skill to define. Many people see themselves as being self-aware when they are not. In fact, it is often noted by psychologists that those who claim to know themselves the best are often the least self-aware.
The good (and maybe bad) news about self-awareness, is it’s a learned trait, not something you are born with. Self-awareness is a learned process of self-reflection that takes place over years. It requires continual checking in with the self to see where you are at, how you are perceived by others, and what your current strengths and weaknesses are. It requires striving to improve and to understand where you are at and how your thinking and actions are influenced by your experiences. What are your biases and how can you overcome them?
Becoming self-aware seems like a lot of work, right? You are probably wondering what the benefits are of putting in the effort to become more self-aware. Is it really worth your time? Here are 4 reasons that self-aware leaders are more successful:
1. They Understand Their Impact on Others
Self-aware people understand their own emotions, actions, and the impact their emotions/actions have on others. That sounds simple, but the implications are staggering. Think about the last time you had a bad day…did you let that bad day spill onto others? Did it affect how you acted around your employees, kids, or spouse? Self-aware leaders not only have less bad days, but they don’t let their bad days affect others (which typically snowballs into more bad days). Self-aware leaders know how their moods affect others and they have figured out how to regulate them.
2. They Understand Their Weaknesses
We all have weakness, but as leaders sometimes we are scared to show them. Awareness of your weaknesses enables you to work with others who have differing strengths. This allows you to more easily accept the idea that others may have better ideas or abilities than you. Understanding your weaknesses creates space for others to shine while freeing up your time to focus on your strengths.
3. They Understand Their Strengths
Identifying and understanding your strengths is typically a little easier. However, sometimes we worry that if we highlight our strengths, we are being egotistical. Don’t let this fear get in your way. There’s no need to brag about strengths, just use them as a tool to be a better leader.
4. They Know Their Limits
Everyone has limits. As much as some of us push them, limits are still there. Self-aware leaders know what level their tank is at and act accordingly. When they need a break, they take one. When they’re tired, they acknowledge it and take responsibility for getting some rest. When they are running on all cylinders, they give whatever they’ve got but aren’t afraid to delegate or ask for help. Again, everyone benefits: coworkers, their team, and even their family. Ironically, a leader who knows where their limits are often operates at much closer to their limit than a leader who has no idea that they’re tired, over capacity, or heading for a crash. Leaders who aren’t aware of their limits usually crash into them.
How to Pave the Way to Self-Awareness
For leaders looking to move forward in developing self-awareness, there are different ways to begin.
- Get Feedback: Asking for feedback, especially from your peers or direct reports can be awkward but necessary. You may seek to get feedback from an outside source such as an SGI coach, fellow member, or mentor. Another great tool to gather feedback is a 360-leadership assessment. This tool highlights your leadership capabilities, including execution, communication, people management, and so on. This provides an objective view of your strengths and weakness, allowing you to focus on areas you need to develop or delegate to be more effective.
- Be Open: Part of your role as a leader is to build an effective team. Ask your team members, “How can I support you in your role?” By being vulnerable enough to open yourself up to your team, you not only build trust, but demonstrate that you appreciate their opinions and insights.
- Be Objective: Look at a past situation, acknowledge what you did well, and note areas where you could have improved—whether that is in how you spoke to someone, what your body language was, or something else entirely. Then, define what you will do differently to change in the future.