by Bron Stephens

Self-awareness is a vital characteristic of effective leadership. It involves understanding oneself deeply, including not just traditional strengths and areas for development, but also considering the strengths we overuse, our values, boundaries, and emotions. 

Leaders who possess self-awareness are better equipped to make informed decisions, communicate effectively, and build strong relationships with their team members and peers. 

This article explores the importance of self-awareness in leadership and how it can positively impact various aspects of leadership, including strengths and areas for development, improving communication and collaboration, and receiving and using feedback effectively.

The Importance of Self-Awareness in Leadership

Self-awareness is the ability to recognise and understand one’s thoughts, emotions, and behaviours. In leadership, this goes one step further to understanding the impact these have on those around us. 

This enables leaders to make informed decisions and play to their strengths while also building and developing new skills to support continued advancement. 

Leaders who possess self-awareness are more likely to be authentic and genuine in their interactions with others. Not only does it feel good to be ourselves, this authenticity builds trust and credibility among team members, leading to stronger relationships and increased employee engagement.

Taking this awareness one step further and deeply understanding and observing the impact of how we show up moment to moment, and responding, is what sets great leaders apart.

Whilst self-reflection is an essential element of leadership development and identifying what you do well and your areas for development, self-awareness isn’t achievable through self-reflection alone. As humans, we’re prone to blind spots and either overestimation or underestimation of our performance (think Dunning-Kruger effect and imposter syndrome). 

Starting with self-assessment and reflection and building on it with feedback and insights from other sources will help you objectively assess their abilities and areas for improvement.

The Role of Feedback in Effective Leadership

Feedback is a crucial component of leadership development. It provides leaders with valuable insights into their strengths and areas for improvement allowing them to grow and develop their skills. 

In a perfect world, we as leaders are wholly open to receiving feedback, viewing it as an opportunity for growth rather than a personal attack. Of course, sometimes this mindset is hard to master, and we don’t always receive feedback with an open mind without becoming defensive or dismissive – this is all part of developing self-awareness and embracing our vulnerability and areas for development.

Developing Self Awareness Safely

Some techniques to develop self-awareness and feel safe receiving feedback include:

1. Structured reflection on past experiences – gain a deeper understanding of yourself and your actions by looking back at specific events or situations and analysing them in a structured way asking:
   • What was the Action I took?
   • What did I observe around me and in other’s responses?
   • What is my reflection on why they responded that way?
   • What can I learn from this experience?
     Through this process, we can identify patterns in our behaviour and make positive changes to improve our future experiences. You can do structured reflection through journaling, coaching or any discussion where you can pause and step through the reflection.
2. Seek specific feedback from others – actively seek input from a diverse range of perspectives to gain a better understanding of how your actions and decisions are perceived by others. Supercharge it by making it harder for people to respond with “nothing, everything you do is great” when you ask if “there’s anything I can do better”. Asking for specific feedback with a defined number of examples to make it easier for the other person to know what you’re looking for. For example:
   • Can you tell me 3 things I did this month that helped you to feel supported?
   • Can you tell me 1 thing I did this quarter that frustrated.
   • Can you tell me the 5 key areas you feel I need to develop my leadership.
     If you’re still learning to be open to feedback, this style of asking can make it feel safer for you to ask by setting a format for the feedback you’ll receive.
3. Practice mindfulness and being present – It’s hard sometimes to regulate our emotions in high-pressure situations. By developing mindfulness and presence, we can better control our responses by creating the space to take a breath before we speak. It can also help you focus on what IS actually happening instead of worrying about what might happen.; and
4. Undertake a 360-degree survey – This involves soliciting feedback from colleagues, superiors, and subordinates to gain a comprehensive understanding of your strengths and weaknesses as a leader. We use Leadership Circle Profile™ 360° assessment to help you understand how you think you’re showing up versus how others perceive you in the key areas that impact leadership effectiveness.

Using Self Awareness

The joy of developing self-awareness is you can start taking some easy steps that will help you build it: 

1. Seeking diverse perspectives – ask others their opinions and thoughts on topics where you might be tempted to make a unilateral decision. This can help you gain broader understanding of different viewpoints and experiences and understand your own biases more.
2. Practice active listening and curiosity – rather than simply responding to what others are saying, take the time to truly understand their perspective, respond with a clarifying question such as “can you tell me more about that?” or “I’m not sure I understand, can you say more?”.
3. Embracing vulnerability – allow yourself to be uncomfortable, acknowledge you don’t know and need to grow and allow yourself to commit to the work on improving. This is easier to do when you share with others what you’re doing and can make it feel much safer if you’ve told people in advance that you’re trying to develop your self-awareness and leadership skills.
4. Seeking ongoing learning and development – by taking the time to invest in yourself and your leadership you’ll have more tools in your toolkit. Regular and ongoing learning and development will help you to stay up to date with the latest research and accelerate your leadership career by always being prepared for what’s next and demonstrating your growth mindset.

Conclusion

By actively working to increase your self-awareness, you can become a more effective and empathetic leader, better equipped to navigate complex challenges and build strong relationships with those around you.

Prioritising self-awareness in your leadership practices and continuously working on developing this skill will help you make informed decisions, build strong relationships, and create a positive work environment for both you and your teams.

If you’d like to know more about Leadership Circle Profiles and how Transform and Lead Australasia can support you, we’d welcome you to book a discovery call.