There is no end to the list of qualities that help to create a better leader. However, during times of uncertainty, major change and disruption, one rises to the top — self-awareness.
The most effective leaders during challenging times have a very good sense of who they are. They have an accurate understanding of their impact on others. They are curious. They solve problems. In a nutshell they are self-aware, although self-awareness – per se – isn’t their specific focus.
These qualities enable them to constantly learn, grow and become … and remain … effective leaders.
Self-Awareness Drives Tangible Benefits
“We all can lead better by developing a better understanding of ourselves, so we can make the best of what we have,” says Claudio Feser, senior advisor at McKinsey & Co. “Our research suggests that leaders who are self-aware – who know themselves or, as we put it, are ‘centered’ – are up to four times more effective in managing change than people who aren’t.”
Self-aware leaders unleash optimal performance from the individuals and teams they manage. They also identify and mentor the “next generation” of potential leaders. In contrast, leaders lacking self-awareness stifle the growth of those reporting to them by not being approachable and open to others’ thoughts.
Organizational psychologist Tasha Eurich notes that, among other attributes, self-awareness results in leaders who are more confident and more creative – attributes that directly and positively impact the company’s culture.
“(They) make sounder decisions, build stronger relationships, and communicate more effectively,” she writes, adding that more-satisfied employees are a critical byproduct. Self-awareness also establishes a culture of trust as employees are more engaged and better respond to leaders who are accountable.
Leader Derailment
The importance of self-awareness is best understood by first addressing the issue of “leader derailment” … the phenomenon of high-potential employees who, after finally getting a leadership opportunity, fail to capitalize upon it.
Research and experience tells us three important things:
· High-potential employees are less likely to derail if their career path includes developing strong relationships with upper management and listening to (and taking actions based upon) the feedback they receive.
· Derailment isn’t always (or solely) the result of poor decisions or financial results. Rather, it’s frequently because of personal and relationship issues. The other side of the coin: leaders who have an accurate or self-deprecating self-awareness minimize their derailment risk.
· A leader’s self-view can be as much as 180 degrees different than how he or she is viewed by others. The result, according to Robert and Joyce Hogan of Hogan Assessment Systems and Robert B. Kaiser Leadership Solutions, is leadership that fails, perhaps even as high as 75 percent of the time.
Incorporating Self-Awareness Into Your Skill-Set
The good news is there are ways you can become more self-aware.
The essential first step is to understand that self-awareness and self-confidence are not the same. Self-awareness is the ability to recognize your needs, feelings, strengths, weaknesses, ambitions, how others see you, etc. Self-confidence, meanwhile, is trusting (rightly or wrongly) in your perception of your skills, abilities, traits, etc. And there is no end to the number of self-confident people who are not self-aware at all.
Additional steps include these:
· Focus on how leadership should be done and not into how leaders behave. Leadership is not “performance art.” It’s bringing skills, talent and experience to the challenge of leading other people. “Many leadership (training) experiences historically foster management rather than skills,” writes former ExxonMobil executive Xinjin Zhao in Wharton magazine. He adds that traditional training methods lag changes taking place in the world, including “how to keep new generations of employees constantly motivated, inspired, and performing at their best.”
· Consider that some of your behaviors might be weaknesses. Examples: unwillingness to elicit and use someone else’s idea; believing that seeking feedback is a negative; misinterpreting risk aversion; thinking setbacks are personal defeats, believing failures don’t provide learning opportunities.
“Experience necessarily involves failures, and you certainly shouldn’t miss the meaning of those,” writes Jeffrey Russell, Vice Provost for Lifelong Learning and Dean of Continuing Studies at University of Wisconsin-Madison. ”Failures can prepare you to be a leader — as long as you take the time to reflect on them. When you’re reflective, you think about outcomes and impact. You develop judgment.”
· Develop a real curiosity into how your behavior might affect those around you. You broadcast your values and ethics in your actions and decisions. Those, in turn, shape how others view you. You may, in fact, have an unconscious bias that emerges in your leadership style.
Without learning about and understanding yourself, you face multiple problems as you are unable to:
o change your behavior when circumstances require flexibility or openness of thought
o predict how your behavior affects others
o be supportive of others
Seeking specific and future-focused feedback from others is helpful and effective, but asking for feedback historically is anathema to an ambitious would-be executive.
· Venture outside your bubble. Force yourself each day to spend meaningful time outside your of your own workspace and your closest day-to-day colleagues. Instead, look out the “window” and embrace and grow from your interactions with others.
“Absentee leaders are people in leadership roles who are psychologically absent from them,” says Scott Gregory, CEO of Hogan Assessment Systems. “They were promoted into management, and enjoy the privileges and rewards of a leadership role, but avoid meaningful involvement with their teams.”
· Identify your triggers and responses. “Showing poise in the face of difficult situations is the essence of executive presence, or the ability to inspire confidence in others to believe in you,” writes executive coach Dina Denham Smith. “You need to manage how and when you process your reactions to communicate in thoughtful ways and see the outcomes that you want.”
All of these help you to self-reflect and learn … and grow.
Getting There
Net-net, self-awareness is about being honest with others, and most importantly, with yourself (which drives how you interact with those around you). Armed with that knowledge, you make better decisions and enable others to do so, as well.
It’s a critical skill that you need to develop and fine tune as you move through your career.
