Focus Forward: Is Self-Awareness the Key to Future Growth?
Dr. Agata Dulnik, MCC
Workplace psychologist & award-winning executive coach. Doctorate, George Washington University& MCC, ICF. Performance and effectiveness via transformative learning and neuroscience. Thinking partner to global executives
The current economic situation is becoming more complex by the day. Our challenged global economy has most leaders worried about people, outputs, and profitability.
In times like these, companies look to save money, cut expenses on non-necessary items, and ask employees to be patient and lower their expectations. These, you might say, are hardly the times when companies should invest in the intangible skills of their employees, much less to encourage their people to develop these skills for an uncertain future.
These are all sound arguments—arguments that have proven themselves in the past and are reflected in classic management practices. However, that Old World mentality may not lead to effective practice in our new, complex, post-COVID, artificial intelligence-driven world.
As top leaders strain their brains to come up with strategies that will help their firms navigate global challenges as effectively as possible, they may wish to consider that investing in their employees’ self-awareness may prove powerfully beneficial for their businesses. As a matter of fact, every dollar spent on helping employees develop this essential skill may not only generate significant savings but may even help to generate significant income for the company.
So what is self-awareness, and why is it such a powerful secret weapon for struggling organizations?
The definition of self-awareness has evolved since Shelley Duval and Robert Wicklund published their landmark theory of the concept in 1972, but over the decades, the development of individual self-awareness—the capacity to self-evaluate, which allows people to actively identify, process, and store information about themselves—has been shown to be an invaluable asset.1
Researcher?Anna Sutton described self-awareness as, “the extent to which people are consciously aware of their interactions or relationships with others, and of their internal states.”2
In simple terms, self-awareness means actively looking for ways to understand oneself in relation to the reality one experiences—and growing from it.
While self-awareness offers multiple benefits to the individual who practices it, business leaders may be interested to learn that it also offers three essential benefits that can benefit their entire organization.
McKinsey’s model of the “future-ready” company called for, among other things: a) turbocharged decision-making, b) acceleration of organizational learning, and c) treating talent as scarcer than capital. It is amazing to me how these variables can be accelerated by enhancing workers’ self-awareness.3
Let’s look at the core organizational outcomes of self-awareness:
Organizational performance. A 2015 Korn Ferry study showed a higher rate of return (ROR) for companies whose employees exhibit higher levels of self-awareness. A study of 486 companies over 30 months demonstrated that organizations with a higher percentage of self-aware leaders outperformed organizations with a lower rate, whereas professionals at poorly performing companies “were 79 percent more likely to have low overall self-awareness than those at firms with robust ROR.” The study authors concluded that self-aware employees show greater readiness to take on new challenges and learn, therefore positively impacting organizational results.4
Employee productivity. Recently, a study published in the International Journal of eBusiness and eGovernment Studies provided strong evidence that self-awareness is positively related to job performance and productivity. This study found that self-awareness supports emotional intelligence, improves communication, increases trust, and supports better decision-making.5
Improved workplace experience. A 2016 study found that employees’ and leaders’ self-awareness was positively associated with job-related well-being. Employees reported gaining a greater appreciation of diversity, improved communication with colleagues, and increased confidence.6
Effective change management. Research from?McKinsey ?estimates that half of organizational transformation efforts fail for human, rather than system or process, reasons. Self-awareness is closely linked to emotional intelligence, which has been shown to increase resilience and adaptability.7
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It is in the enlightened self-interest of organizations to invest in self-awareness programs for their leaders and employees. In fact, the more complex our reality becomes, the greater the need for the benefits typically attributed to enhanced self-awareness.
The path to creating self-awareness among employees is centered on two well-known development tools. The most powerful instruments for developing self-awareness in organizations are coaching and 360s.
A 360, just as its name suggests, provides an employee with a full-perspective view of how they are perceived by their peers and others, through anonymous development feedback. This snapshot of the employee’s perceived strengths and areas for development and improvement frequently highlights any blind spots and offers them new insight and opportunities for growth. Coaching allows employees to achieve self-discovery in an atmosphere of psychological safety. When used together, coaching and 360s can boost people’s self-understanding and encourage them to cultivate a growth mindset, while expanding their repertoire of self-management techniques. In uncertain times, this is precisely the employee profile that becomes a key differentiator.
References:
1.??????Duval S, Wicklund RA. A Theory of Objective Self Awareness. 1972. New York: Academic Press.
2.??????Sutton A. Measuring the effects of self-awareness: construction of the self-awareness outcomes questionnaire. Eur J Psychol. 2016 Nov; 12(4): 645-658.
3.??????De Smet A, Gagnon C, Mygatt E. Organizing for the future: Nine keys to becoming a future-ready company. https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/organizing-for-the-future-nine-keys-to-becoming-a-future-ready-company
4.??????Korn Ferry. Korn Ferry Institute Study Shows Link Between Self-Awareness and Company Financial Performance. June 15, 2015. https://www.kornferry.com/about-us/press/korn-ferry-institute-study-shows-link-between-self-awareness-and-company-financial-performance
5.??????Alferaih A. Evaluating the impact of self-awareness on job performance through self-efficacy. International Journal of eBusiness and eGovernment Studies. 2022;14(1):409-428.
6.??????Reaping rewards of self-awareness: Training delivers confidence and understanding. Development and Learning in Organizations. 2016;30(4):24-26.
7.??????Maor D, Reich A, Yocarini L. The people power of transformations. McKinsey & Company. February 11, 2017. https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/people-power-transformations-tullia-capovilla-aime/ ?
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@Avvartes
Executive MBA Program Director
1 年Thank you for sharing. I fully agree that self-awareness is key. As you say it is "actively looking for ways to understand oneself in relation to the reality one experiences—and growing from it". A rare skill I must say. It requires people to slow down and self reflect. And today we are all in a rush, too much going on, too fast. Self reflection can be learned and it is based on developing new habits and for sure stepping out of our bubbles to gain an outside perspective of our own experiences. We need to talk to people from outside our networks, listen to those who think different and solve problems diffrently, people from other industries and other sectors. I believe this is key to gain self awareness.
Well cited argument on a critical topic that too often is taken for granted ie of course I know myself. But I wonder if a key issue/hurdle is the question “self aware about what?” Do we know what we best reflect on that influences our leadership performance?
Executive Level Organization and Leadership Development Professional helping firms link culture-strategy-learning and facilitating change AND Professor, Strategy, Management, and Human Resources
1 年Excellent Dr. Agata R. Dulnik, Ph.D., MBA, MCC. Once again showing your Depth of understanding of these complex issues And how your experience can help others... Self awareness isn't just cool.yeam building topic or a nice thing to know.. It is indeed the key future growth and effectiveness. Thanks for sharing.
Enterprise Infrastructure SME
2 年Great article! It's good to see that there is actual research supporting what intuitively seems to make a lot of sense. Hope more leaders take notice.
Co-founder Origins Living | Investor | Mentor | Judge - kbbreview awards 2020-24
2 年Self-Awareness is a skill that needs to be taught to leaders of businesses first. Once those at top level understand the power of it, they can make plans to support their team in developing this skill.