TOP TAKEAWAYS: Self Aware Leadership with Matthew Phelan

In Episode 3 of Series 2 of The Knowing Self Knowing Others Podcast, I had a great discussion with Matthew Phelan and here are my Top Takeaways from our discussion.....

Our definitions of self-awareness changes over time.? We’re all on a journey of getting to know our strengths, weaknesses and impacts on other, but we’re all changing all of the time. You and I are different people than we were yesterday:?we’ll have had life changing events like covid, bereavements, babies, etc that will change how we see the world and see ourselves.

Awareness of what makes us happy allows us to harness it and maximise it.?When we are self aware we can lean in to those things that make us happy and by being happy, it gives us the chance to be the best version of ourselves - which is better for us and better for the people around us. ?

Data says that people in the senior levels of organisation are happier.? You might think that with seniority comes greater pressure, stress and difficult decision making, but it seems that actually, greater autonomy and freedom to make decisions is linked with greater happiness. ???

The more senior you are the more filtered your view is.? There are invisible power structures within organisations that will filter information that comes to you.?When you’re the person that pays the wages, feedback will always be filtered. ?

Self-awareness can be a good thing and a bad thing.?If you are in a flourishing culture, being self aware can help you relate to others, and draw from your empathy and sensitivity to help you operate effectively. But in an organisation with a toxic culture the less empathic and sensitive you are, the less you’ll worry about other people’s opinions and carry on regardless!?Matthew gives politics as an example of where this plays out?