Cultivating Self-Awareness to Flourish Personally and Professionally

Self-awareness – a concept frequently discussed in the realms of personal and professional development – remains elusive for many. In fact, research by Tasha Eurich reveals that while most people believe they possess self-awareness, only 10-15% meet the criteria.

But what exactly is self-awareness, and how can we cultivate it? In essence, self-awareness involves a deep understanding of oneself, encompassing thoughts, feelings, and behaviours. Essentially, what you feel, why you feel it, and how you behave as a result.

When you are able to tune in with your true self, you can take informed action towards changing what is not in line with your values and goals.

‘I am able to control only that which I am aware of. That which I am unaware of controls me. Awareness empowers me.’ (Sir John Whitmore)

To explore and enhance self-awareness, we can make use of the Johari Window. This visual tool, which takes its name from psychologists Joseph Luft and Harry Ingham who created it 1955, is a handy model for mapping personal awareness. It comprises four quadrants:

• Open area: What you and others know about yourself.
• Blind area: Aspects of yourself that you are not aware of, but that others know / see about you. For example, you may not realise that you are a charismatic presenter until someone points that out to you.
• Hidden area: Aspects known to you, but concealed from others.
• Unknown area: Aspects of yourself that neither you or others are aware of.

Practically speaking, you would like to increase your open area as much as possible, whilst working on reducing the other three quadrants:

Research underscores the benefits of heightened self-awareness, including elevated empathy, refined communication, enhanced time management, and greater happiness, job satisfaction, and relationship fulfillment.

To improve your self-awareness, you can make use of a few strategies:

• Practice self-reflection. Journaling and meditation are perhaps the most common ways of doing this, but I’d encourage you to be creative and find the way that best works for you. Anything that enables you to set some time aside to evaluate your past actions, thoughts and feelings, as well as visualise how you’d like the future to look like. Pro tip: there is evidence suggesting that asking yourself ‘what’ instead of ‘why’ questions might make the introspective process much more productive.
• Take a strengths assessment. There are a multitude of tools available for this, and the great news is that some of these (such as VIA Character Strengths or Strengths Profile ) offer a free option too.
• Gather feedback. Be receptive to all information that can actually represent valuable feedback. Formal channels such as performance evaluations and 360 feedback tools are incredibly valuable, but so are the more informal ‘in the moment’ observations that those around you make.
• Work with a coach. There is nothing preventing you from doing any of the above on your own. The hard part is to be able to view things objectively, and then come up with a plan and follow through with your actions. Collaborating with a professional who provides objective insights and support in formulating and executing personal development plans might make a world of difference.

References

Castrillon, C (2023) Why self-awareness is essential for career success. Forbes. Available from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/carolinecastrillon/2023/03/12/why-self-awareness-is-essential-for-career-success/

Eurich, T (2018) What self-awareness really is (and how to cultivate it): It is not just about introspection. Harvard Business Review. Available from: https://hbr.org/2018/01/what-self-awareness-really-is-and-how-to-cultivate-it