Why Self-Awareness is Key in Dealing with Crises

“Nuh-uh, I don’t believe it, man. I don’t see it.” Travis Kalanick, the young co-founder of Uber, pushed at his recently hired president Jeff Jones and the rest of the executive team. His lack of self-awareness had never been more apparent than at this moment.

The setting was a conference room at the Le Méridien hotel in downtown San Francisco in 2017. Jones, who was brought in a few months before to fix Uber’s public perception problem, had called for the meeting to discuss the results of the public survey that he had commissioned. He wanted to know how people viewed Uber, and most importantly, how they viewed Kalanick. Jones shared the results of the survey: the public loved Uber as a service and enjoyed using it. However, people hated Travis Kalanick. It was clear to the executives that Uber didn’t have an image problem, it had a Travis problem. In bold black ink, they wrote on a large piece of paper that hung in the middle of the room, what they perceived was the public’s view of the Uber culture: “A bunch of young bro bullies that have achieved ridiculous success.” But, with the little self-awareness that he had, Kalanick was not buying it. He just couldn’t see how, with everything that he had done for Uber, he was considered the problem. Jones and the executives, armed with the data, fought back.

In the middle of the argument, one of the executives got a phone call, and she stepped out of the room to answer it. Moments later, she signaled to another executive to come out. Something seriously wrong had happened. Before too long, Jones, Kalanick and other executives were huddled in the hallway around a laptop, watching a video. The footage, shot from inside an Uber car, showed Travis Kalanick berating an Uber driver and shouting at him.

In the hallway, the executives were stunned. The real Kalanick was on his knees, slowly whispering to himself: “This is bad. This is really bad.” At a later meeting that afternoon, Kalanick couldn’t stop repeating over and over: “I’m a terrible person. I’m a terrible person. I’m a terrible person.” Was Travis finally getting an awareness about himself and his impact on others? It was hard to say whether this new crisis was making him more self-aware.

A short while after the driver video surfaced, Kalanick tried to save himself with an apology statement: “It’s clear this video is a reflection of me—and the criticism we’ve received is a stark reminder that I must fundamentally change as a leader and grow up. This is the first time I’ve been willing to admit that I need leadership help and I intend to get it.” But if you’re thinking that this rare moment of short-lived self-awareness was the turning point for Kalanick and his career, think again. Kalanick’s half-hearted apology and promise came a bit too little too late, and were never followed by any actions. Four months later, the Board had enough of him- they voted to fire him from the company.

What can leaders learn from the case of Travis Kalanick? No matter how fast the growth or how good the product is, a poisonous leadership style that lacks self-awareness will always result in a toxic organizational culture that will backfire. While Uber’s product was loved by all, Kalanick’s narcissistic personality impacted the brand so negatively that Uber lost $20 billion in its market valuation at the time of his exit. Yes, self-centered jerks can create great organizations and lead them to unprecedented growth. But long-term success will not be achieved unless there are humble, self-aware leaders at the top. It is tempting to think that Kalanick’s apologies and promises after crises were based on deep self-reflections and honest feedback. The more likely truth is that they were publicity stunts by someone who rarely reflected about his own leadership and hardly listened to others. In the face of crisis, the most critical ingredient for leaders is self-awareness.

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To learn about how to improve your own self-awareness, please check out my new Master Class in Leading Yourself. For the first time, I am bringing together my research, coaching experience and leadership development to provide transformative leadership courses online.

The course structure includes: 8 sessions (start on any day); The Birkman Personality Assessment ($60 value, available only through a certified coach); The EQi 2.0 Emotional Intelligence Assessment ($130 value, available only through a certified coach); A one-hour Coaching Call on Birkman/EQi 2.0 Assessments

Each session consists of: 30 minute video session; Leadership Assignment; Book recommendations; TED Talk recommendations; an Optional additional assessments

The topics covered include self-awareness, personality and emotional intelligence, agility & resilience, mindfulness, humility & ambition, compassion & kindness, generosity & strength, and take-home behaviors.

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Amer Kaissi is a Speaker, Executive Coach, and Professor at the Department of Healthcare Administration at Trinity University. He is the author of the book “Intangibles: The Unexpected Traits of High-Performing Healthcare Leaders.” For more information, please visit www.amerkaissi.com and https://amer-kaissi-master-courses.teachable.com/