Self-awareness: How well do you know Yourself?
Self-Awareness
Self-aware leaders motivate, inspire, and challenge their followers by using their grasp of their emotions and values to affect others. They are more trusted, and they can provide their people with better direction and purpose, resulting in higher levels of performance. In the pursuit of developing our ability to think critically, we must become more self-aware. A lack of self-awareness can be a major stumbling block in moving forward in business. More than that, a leader who is not self-aware can pollute the culture, restrain development, and become a limiter on healthy growth. The good news is that there are many ways to navigate these blind spots and it doesn’t have to cost a lot.
Learn About Yourself
The better you know (and the more you learn about yourself), the better you will be able to lead and serve your team. Self-aware leaders are consistent. They are consistent in their moods, values, and principles. Consistency in a leader helps when delegating tasks, projects, and responsibilities.
“To know yourself is the beginning of wisdom.”
SocratesTweet
3 Keys to Self-Awareness:
1. Honesty
People seldom see themselves realistically. We don’t see ourselves in the same way that we look at others and we struggle to see ourselves as others do. The Bible recognizes that we struggle in this area:
"Why would you focus on the flow in someone else’s life and fail to notice the glaring flaws of your own?”
Matthew 7:3 TPT
Oftentimes, we judge others by their actions and results and tend to measure ourselves by our intentions. The ability to bring honesty to the mirror and recognize our weaknesses, propensities, and biases is the starting point for change. As a personal evaluation, can you describe the strengths and weaknesses of: 1) Your Personality, 2) Your Communication Style?
2. Humility
Can you receive criticism with grace? Self-aware leaders can receive feedback about their weaknesses without becoming defensive. It can be an uncomfortable situation but there is so much value and potential for growth when we humbly receive constructive criticism. Performance reviews become valuable tools for improvement when there is openness and transparency. As a leader, you do not need to be perfect having no weaknesses, good leaders surround themselves with people who complement their weaknesses. This takes humility.
3. Willingness to Change
Doing the hard work of understanding yourself gets traction when you are willing to put a plan of action in motion. James warns of the deception that can come over us when we fail to take action:
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.
James 1:22-24 NKJV
This verse is regarding the word of God, but the principle rings true. If we fail to take action when presented with the truth, we quickly fall into deception.
FacebookTwitterLinkedInPinterestEmailSelf-awareness is a result of maturity, feedback, and a willingness to change.
John MaxwellTweet
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