There is a strong connection between #selfawareness and success in the workplace.
Although
most people believe that they are self-aware, true self-awareness is a rare
quality. Research suggests that when we see ourselves clearly, we are more
confident, and creative., make sound decisions, build stronger relationships, &
communicate more effectively.
The
fact is that only 10-15 % of people have mastered the art of
self-awareness. In leadership, this is a key factor to impact yourself, your
people, & your surroundings.
Three
factors listed below that could potentially develop practical guidance for how
leaders can learn to see themselves more clearly.
1.
There are two types of Self-awareness: Internal self-awareness, represents how
clearly we see our own values, beliefs, passions, thoughts, feelings,
behaviours, strengths, & weaknesses and their impact on others. This is associated
with higher job & relationship satisfaction, personal/social control, and
happiness.
External
self-awareness is understanding how other people view us, in terms of those
same factors listed above. People who know how others see them are more skilled
at showing empathy. For leaders who see themselves as their employees do, their
employees tend to have a better relationship with them, feel more satisfied
with them, and see them as more effective in general.
Leaders must actively work on both seeing
themselves clearly and getting feedback to understand how others see them.
Those leaders who are highly self-aware, actively focus on balancing the scale.
2.
Experience and Power hinder sell-awareness: Research has shown that leaders who
lean heavily on experience + skills, overvalue themselves leading to a false
sense of confidence in their performance. By virtue of their level, senior
leaders have fewer people above them who can provide candid feedback. The more
power a leader wields, the less comfortable people will be to give them
constructive feedback, for fear it will hurt their careers. This reduces
leadership effectiveness.
Business prof. James O’Toole has added that,
as one’s power grows, one’s willingness to listen to shrinks, either because they
think they know more than their employees or because seeking feedback will come
at a cost.
3.
Introspection doesn’t always improve self-awareness: The problem with
introspection isn’t that it is categorically ineffective — it’s that most
people are doing it incorrectly.
The “why” is a surprisingly ineffective
self-awareness question. Research has shown that we simply do not have access
to many of the unconscious thoughts, feelings & motives we’re searching
for.
So, to increase productive self-insight and
decrease unproductive reflection, we should ask what, not why. “What” questions
help us stay objective, future-focused, and empowered to act on our new
insights.
Leaders who focus on building both
self-awareness facets seek critical feedback & who ask what questions
can learn to see more clearly.
