Main menu
Many leaders and aspirational figures recount instinctive decisions that changed their lives. However, can we rely only on intuition when making critical decisions? Intuition may be useful for choosing a car. However, self-awareness and sound reasoning are paramount when navigating pivotal choices.
Self-awareness empowers people to recognize how expectations, assumptions, biases, and deeply ingrained beliefs influence their decisions and behaviors. It helps identify strengths and weaknesses, and the necessary information and data required for informed decision-making. A self-aware executive can make quick data-driven decisions while considering personal motives, stakeholder perspectives, and workplace conditions.
Research has shown that self-awareness is fundamental for a leader's success, accounting for a 30% variance in effectiveness among leaders. Self-aware people who understand their impact have outstanding leadership skills and report higher satisfaction levels.
Self-Awareness Challenges
Maintaining self-awareness can be challenging, particularly as leaders advance in their careers. A Harvard Business Review study revealed that while many leaders claim they have mastered self-awareness, only approximately 10-15% truly have this skill.
Leaders often experience diminished awareness of their personal assumptions and biases, along with a reduced openness to differing viewpoints. As they gain more experience, they may increasingly rely on their knowledge.
Unconscious biases are a significant challenge to self-awareness, as everyone harbors biases that develop into classifications, assumptions, and comparisons, reinforcing presumptions. This issue is exacerbated when leaders do not confront and address these biases, furthering misjudgments and flawed decisions.
Biases and favoritism within management teams can result in team disintegration, poor decisions, and wasted time and resources on misguided projects.
Commitment to Self-Awareness
True self-awareness consists of 2 aspects: forming an objective self-view and understanding how others perceive you. Leaders should develop internal and external awareness by committing to continuous learning, including self-reflection, regular feedback, and objective evaluations.
Jackie Ferguson, Executive Vice President at The Diversity Movement, states, “Continuous assessments are essential for a leader's development, especially when cultivating self-awareness skills that enhance thoughtful decision-making, improve team cohesion, and mitigate the effects of ingrained biases.”
A holistic leader who values self-awareness benefits from a support network of friends, family members, colleagues, mentors, and coaches for guidance, development opportunities, and emotional support.
High-performing managers lead diverse teams with varying perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences. Self-awareness, a key skill of holistic leaders, enables them to leverage diversity, equity, and inclusion practices, fostering a comfortable, safe, and supportive environment for innovation and creativity.
Bridgett Tabor, Director of Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion at BAYADA Home Health Care, notes:
“Self-awareness has been a valuable skill in enhancing my experience in diversity, equity, and inclusion due to its role in improving my decision-making ability and enriching my perspectives. While it's easy for me to approach situations based on biases formed throughout my career, I strive to avoid this tendency by considering issues from multiple viewpoints while recognizing their potential impacts on the business and the groups I engage with.”
Self-reflection is instrumental in identifying motives, emotions, incentives, and core values. Objective assessment tools identify strengths, weaknesses, and developmental ways. Leaders must understand how their words and actions affect others while anticipating reactions and potential outcomes.
Internal and external self-awareness allows high-performing leaders to fulfill their roles with authenticity, empathy, and adaptability. This commitment cultivates a culture that promotes peak efficiency and effective collaboration within teams, ultimately driving personal growth and organizational advancement.
Developing Self-Awareness
Here are 4 key steps for developing self-aware leaders:
1. Embracing Diverse Perspectives
It is important to cultivate empathy by understanding the reasons behind differing viewpoints. Leaders should empathize with others and comprehend their life experiences and underlying motivations. Additionally, gaining insights into various cultures is beneficial for navigating the complexities of a rapidly evolving global business landscape.
2. Creating a Conducive Environment for Open Dialogue
Establishing a workplace culture that promotes open and honest discussions is vital. This environment allows team members to express their concerns and perspectives freely. It is equally important to value feedback and diverse opinions, nurturing a culture of inclusivity and mutual respect within the organization.
3. Understanding Others' Motives and Needs
Self-awareness skills help in recognizing others’ needs, desires, and motivations. This requires leaders to observe employee engagement levels, anxieties, and confidence, among other hidden cues. This awareness helps in customizing interaction and support methods to meet individual needs.
When dealing with others, pause before reacting to assess possible reactions and anticipated outcomes. This pause enhances understanding of others' feelings and needs, ultimately improving the interaction and results quality.
4. Seeking Regular Evaluations and Feedback
To fully realize their potential, individuals must explore successful and unsuccessful strategies while remaining open to change. A self-aware leader actively seeks growth and improvement opportunities, welcoming praise and constructive criticism. A holistic leader benefits from a robust support network that includes family, friends, mentors, colleagues, and coaches. This network feedback is invaluable for performance assessment and understanding how others perceive their actions.
Ferguson states, “Leveraging a network for external perspectives is a crucial step in the development journey of a holistic leader.”
Conclusion
Self-aware leaders are better positioned to improve their performance and that of their teams. This ongoing growth fosters increased organizational collaboration and productivity while promoting empathy and understanding in relationships.
Therefore, it is essential to consider diverse viewpoints, understand others' needs and motives, and cultivate a feedback-rich culture to become an effective holistic leader, which creates conditions conducive to sustained organizational success.
