What do you do if your self-awareness is lacking as a leader?

There are several steps you can take to improve: First, recognize any gaps by reflecting on feedback and instances where emotional responses may have been inappropriate. Second is to seek honest feedback from my team and peers. Third is to reflect daily to help identify patterns in behavior. Remember that self-awareness as an ongoing learning journey and one needs to adjust behaviors based on insights gained as well as practicing empathy, and actively work on becoming a more emotionally intelligent and impactful leader.

Research from Tasha Eurich found that 95 percent of people believe they are self-aware, but the real number is 12-15%. It's important for all leaders to spend intentional time building their internal self-awareness (knowing your values, personality, strengths and weaknesses) and your external self-awareness (knowing how other people see you) by consistently asking for feedback.

Start by taking assessments related to self-awareness like Johari Window, FIRO-B etc. This can help us to identify specific area and take action on improving self-awareness

As leaders, we often focus working ON THE THING– but what WORKING ON OURSELVES? Self-awareness is the mirror, shows our strengths, weaknesses, and how we impact others. Self awareness is KEY here. How to level self awareness -seek feedback -note your triggers -take up a mindfulness practice -get an outside perspective (like a coach) Like any journey, there will be bumps, but the view is worth the climb.

Imagine você, um líder, sem ter conhecimento sobre suas próprias habilidades ou seus pontos de melhoria. Como seria sua gest?o? Sem autoconhecimento, é improvável que você tenha uma boa autogest?o. E quem dirá fazer uma ótima gest?o da sua equipe. Se conhe?a bem! Esse é o ponto de partida para trabalhar melhor com as pessoas a sua volta. Se questione: o que me desafia, o que me inspira, o que me deixa irritado? Pergunte para o seu time quais s?o seus pontos fortes e em que podes te desenvolver para ser um ótimo líder. Pense nisso!

Let's consider an example- Alex (CEO of a tech startupAlex noticed a subtle undercurrent of discontent among employees. He could blame others, turn a blind eye or choose to engage with his employees to understand the causes and perceptions. Soliciting honest feedback from team members, conducting anonymous surveys, and arranging one-on-one conversations not only gives us more information but also opens us to our blind areas. For leaders to grow, seeking feedback is a critical skill - set review schedules with direct and skip level reports - listen to what they say openly, ask questions to clarify and seek specific data and instances, make adjustments and changes and close the loop with a follow up with the concerned stakeholder.

I love the thought of feedback as a gift, yet how many of us do really like to have a feedback? Simple reason is feedback has been lable as a negative element, moment some one say about us we move to defensive mode. One thing we should keep in mind, certain things we don't see in us where others see, hence we need to be open and embrace such feedback for our own betterment

Own exp: First,let's understand closing the loop on the feedback sought is equally rather more important than seeking feedback. 1.Sought Feedback-at regular intervals t/gh various channels, anonymous, 1to1connect, Skip level, new joiners, upon probation completion etc. 2. Analyze the feedback received. Categories them into short, mid, long term goal on the basis of what could be resolved / attended quicker and which feedback needs strategizing and will need time to implement 3. Communicate-Share the update on the feedback received, also which can't be taken up for whatsoever reasons. This way, we not only build the trust & creates transparency, the process of seeking feedback is respected.

As an Emotionally Intelligent leader, I always find time to self-reflect. It always pays to do that regular temperature check on yourself just make sure that any meetings, conversations or issues that may arise are properly processed and you are comfortable with it. Being aware of your emotions, whether it is tapping into your self-awareness, self-management, social-awareness or relationship-management is always going to put you in good stead.

1. Celebrate the fact you realize the lack and are interested to find solutions. 2. Start observing your reactions and behaviour through the day. Write down most intense moments. 3. Set some time to reflect every day and start exploring the inner world. 4. Be the observer - emotional intelligence means including the wisdom of emotions and feelings, not just rational explanation. 5. Embrace that this is continuing journey, making you better every day. Self-awareness is the first and most important step in EI and helps us practice the rest.

In my own journey, I have found self-awareness to be a hidden treasure chest, with reflection as one of the keys to unlocking its riches. Self-awareness leads to being a 'happy you.' A self-aware person is in alignment to their values, are able to manage their emotions and understand correctly how others perceive them. We spend a majority of our lives in our own company, feeling like we have ourselves completely figured out. However, as you delve deeper into asking "Who am I?" the answers don't come simply. Sometimes, answers to simple questions like "What am I passionate about?" or "What are my hobbies?" are not easy to find. Thus, self-reflection is a powerful tool to discover your inner compass and move in the direction you desire.

For me journaling is a wonderful tool to look and reflect on myself daily. It allows me to understand my emotions and where they come from, to be able to spot my reactions and change them if I see need for that. Putting my thoughts on paper helps me to vent and communicate my needs and boundaries with more empathy and awareness. Evening journaling is even greater, as I am writing down what I am thankful for, proud of and what I wish for myself for upcoming days. It all strengthens my positive mindset and I can do it attitude.

The great thing about leadership is you have others to reflect YOU back to you. As leaders, it's crucial to self-reflect, and it's also imperative to get a truthful understanding of how our teams perceive us in order to enhance our own self-awareness. When we lead from a stance of collaboration and co-creation--not domination and obedience--we become allies for each other in learning how to navigate the complexities of ourselves and the workplace, not adversaries trying to win the game. Because hierarchy has built-in power imbalances, leaders need to proactively take steps to create a safe, trustworthy environment for teams to share candidly. When leaders and teams embrace self-awareness as lifelong learning, amazing things can happen.

There is an essential rule that helps us adjust our behaviors and improve our self-awareness. I call it the Evaluate-update-celebrate E-U-C rule. 1-Learn to always evaluate your reactions towards others. 2-Once evaluating in case of an overreacting and it is going to normally happen since we are all humans and since we all go through stressful situations,learn to update the reaction when you overreact(example: by adjusting the behavior-by apologizing..etc) 3- once you adjust the behavior you will find yourself celebrating by achieving better results at your personal/professional life. Ps: the process above requires continuous training and practicing!!

Empathetic leaders are usually the best ones. After all, we're leading human beings, not numbers. Get to know your people, talk to them about their lives outside the organisation, and see the world through their eyes.

So true...one of my most favorite Life skills as taught to the scholars at CBSE -Empathy!Similarly every leader as an educator for instance in the true sense also needs to practice what he /she preaches to the scholars...after all ..humans do imitate don't they?

Short answer: hire a coach. Longer answer: I would recommend hiring a coach to help you figure out the best approach to increase your self-awareness - including selecting assessments that’ll be most helpful, figuring out who to ask for feedback, uncovering blind spots, and putting a plan in place to develop, practice and review progress.

Let's get one thing straight – nobody's perfect. So, don't feel ashamed to ask for honest feedback from colleagues you trust. Be open to hearing about the good, bad, and awkward. Take some time to reflect on their input and work on improving yourself. Journaling can be super helpful for self-awareness, so give it a try.

For me any work around supporting, leading or coaching others should start with me. I could not consider being a guide to someone if I not having done and still doing work to understand myself better. Not doing that would mean that I can pass on others my fears, blockers, needs.

This is a bit of a paradox! It requires some degree of self-awareness to recognize lack of self-awareness. 3 things that one can do to increase self-awareness: 1. Seek feedback enthusiastically, like a thirsty person seeks water 2. Let all feedback filter in - neither reject it nor get thrown by it - store it with the non-judgmental dispassion of a librarian keeping away books 3. Set aside a few minutes quiet reflection. Select one or two recurring patterns of feedback to go deeper. Why do I do this? What emotions may be driving it? Create a virtuous cycle where you make small changes, seek feedback and get quick wins. Having a neutral, trusted sounding board helps - could be a friend, a coach.