How do you communicate and collaborate with others with self-awareness as a leader?

1 Know your personality type

One way to improve your self-awareness is to know your personality type and how it influences your behavior and preferences. There are various tools and assessments that can help you identify your personality type, such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), the DiSC model, or the Enneagram. Knowing your personality type can help you recognize your communication style, your motivation, your stress triggers, and your blind spots. It can also help you appreciate the diversity of other personality types and how to adapt your communication and collaboration accordingly.

2 Seek feedback regularly

Another way to enhance your self-awareness is to seek feedback regularly from others, especially from those who work closely with you or have a different perspective from yours. Feedback can help you gain insight into how others perceive you, what you are doing well, and what you can improve on. Seeking feedback also shows that you are open to learning and growing as a leader. However, feedback can be challenging to receive and give, so you need to be respectful, constructive, and specific. You also need to be willing to act on the feedback and make changes when necessary.

3 Reflect on your actions and emotions

A third way to boost your self-awareness is to reflect on your actions and emotions, especially after significant events or interactions. Reflection can help you analyze what went well and what went wrong, what triggered your emotions and reactions, and what you can do differently next time. Reflection can also help you identify your values, goals, and purpose as a leader, and align your actions and emotions with them. You can use various methods to reflect, such as journaling, meditation, coaching, or mentoring.

4 Practice mindfulness

A fourth way to increase your self-awareness is to practice mindfulness, which is the ability to pay attention to the present moment with curiosity and openness. Mindfulness can help you become more aware of your thoughts, feelings, sensations, and surroundings, and how they affect your communication and collaboration with others. Mindfulness can also help you manage your stress, emotions, and impulses, and improve your focus, creativity, and empathy. You can practice mindfulness through various activities, such as breathing exercises, yoga, or walking.

5 Develop emotional intelligence

A fifth way to improve your self-awareness is to develop emotional intelligence, which is the ability to understand and manage your own emotions and those of others. Emotional intelligence can help you communicate and collaborate with others more effectively, especially in complex and diverse situations. Emotional intelligence can also help you build trust, rapport, and influence as a leader. You can develop emotional intelligence by learning the four components of emotional intelligence: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management.

6 Learn from others

A sixth way to enhance your self-awareness is to learn from others, especially from those who have different backgrounds, experiences, opinions, and cultures from yours. Learning from others can help you expand your knowledge, perspective, and skills, and challenge your assumptions and biases. Learning from others can also help you appreciate the value of diversity and inclusion, and foster a culture of collaboration and innovation as a leader. You can learn from others by listening actively, asking questions, sharing ideas, giving feedback, and seeking mentorship.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?