Self-awareness is critical to self-leadership.
And self-leadership only becomes more important the longer you lead.
Awareness is the knowledge that something exists within you and around you.
Your leadership presence carries weight wherever you go.
But are you knowledgable of what is inside of you and of how what is inside of you affects all who are around you? This applied knowledge is self-awareness.
Leaders who are rightly self-aware can expect three valuable results.
1. To Do No Harm. Self-aware leaders are cognizant of their dark side. Every leader has selfish tendencies. Every leader has the potential to hurt, manipulate, and deceive those they lead. Every leader has elements of insecurity that might show up in the form of blaming, domination, or control. Even leaders who get results sometimes do so at the expense of those they lead. Often, leaders like this cause great destruction and do so blindly. But self-aware leaders have the potential to keep these tendencies in check and tell a different leadership story.
2. To Make Their Best Contribution. Self-aware leaders know who they are and who they are not. They know their talents, gifts, and abilities. They work hard to see these talents become true strengths that will benefit others. They are also keenly aware of the things they don’t possess. They understand where they need to lean on others. There is no such thing as an omni-competent leader. And by being knowledgable in this way they are able to make their best and most significant contribution. They can focus their leadership towards greatest impact and service.
3. To Rejoice In The Contribution Of Others. Self-aware leaders understand their limitations in such a profound way that they can value what others bring to the table. They understand that there is no sustainable impact apart from the contribution of others. Leadership by definition is a team sport. One person alone rarely makes a mark. But complimentary pieces, valued equally, and led well, can lead to a greatly leveraged accomplishment. The leader who can see their own worth and the worthy contribution of others will rejoice in what they can do together.
How does one become self-aware? There are two crucial attitudes and one important quest. The attitudes lay the foundation for action. First is an attitude of humility. Second is an attitude of teachability. The humble leader is able to acknowledge that they do not know it all. They don’t think less of themselves, they simply think about themselves less. The teachable leader is able to receive honest feedback. The teachable leader seeks out honest feedback. The humble and teachable leader has a growing ability to see themselves accurately and can live in that knowledge to the service of others. The quest is one of looking backwards to see where your journey to this point has added or subtracted from the leader you are today. We all have various aspects of family, life experiences, loss, and wounds that play into how we lead. We have those who believed in us and those who shamed us. Our leadership life map is an important aid in becoming more self-aware.
True self-awareness requires an inner strength of character, a change of heart. Are you becoming increasingly self-aware? Are you experiencing the results listed above?
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