Understanding Self Awareness in Leadership
Most leaders are capable of guiding a team to success and seeing a project through to its full completion, but great leaders -- at least, in my experience -- go above and beyond in cultivating a workplace that fosters personal growth, honest communication, and a healthy working environment where everyone feels valued.
A great leader can come in many different flavors, but I find that truly effective leaders all share one critical trait, one essential component that sets them apart from the crowd: self awareness.
Self awareness—understanding your emotions, triggers, strengths, and weaknesses—serves as the foundation for confident leadership and sound decision-making. Without it, leaders can become blind to their behaviors, lose trust among their teams, and make decisions based on personal biases or incomplete information. Self awareness is the key to understanding who you are as a leader and how your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors influence others.
But self awareness is not something that comes naturally to everyone, and that's perfectly okay. In the midst of racing towards the future, it can be difficult for a leader to take a step back and reflect on their present.
And that's why this blog post is dedicated towards understanding how important understanding self awareness in leadership is for transforming an ineffective leadership style into one that inspires effective communication and informed decision-making.
Characteristics of Self Aware Leaders
Self aware leaders possess a deep understanding of themselves and can see how their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors influence others. The cornerstone of self awareness is recognizing all aspects of how our personality traits factor into how we live our lives, and make decisions throughout the day.
And most leaders make decisions every single day, oftentimes big decisions that can have major consequences for their teams, projects, and future. Combine this with the significant amount of uncertainty business leaders face on a constant basis and you have individuals placed in positions where they need to make decisions quickly and assertively.
So how does being self aware help a leader manage this pressure? Well, it's not so much that being self aware allows someone to bypass having to make important and high-impact decisions (quite the opposite!), but being self aware helps good leaders ensure that they are making decisions with a deeper understanding.
Self aware leaders share a few common characteristics, namely:
- Efficiently regulate their emotions
- Optimal organizational skills
- Practice empathy and active listening
- Are accountable and embrace their own strengths along with acknowledging their weaknesses
- Have a clear sense of purpose
- Are adaptable to changing circumstances
- Keep an open mind and try to consider different perspectives
- They are more authentic, consistent, and can contribute to the success of their organization.
In general, self aware leaders are more likely to establish trust and relate with their team members on a fundamental, human level, creating an inclusive and positive work environment rooted in authenticity.
The Impact of Self Awareness on Leadership Development
Self-awareness is a critical quality that distinguishes effective leaders from the others, namely on how rapidly critical leadership skills improve the more self aware we become. To illustrate this, I often like to use a "place yourself in their shoes," example:
Imagine that you have two supervisors who must make many decisions throughout the lifetime of a project, and they differ in the following ways:
- Supervisor 1: Effective, instructions are clear, but they often snap during high-pressure meetings. You become hesitant to give them any negative reports on progress for fear of drawing their ire. Even if you tell them what needs to be fixed, you already know that their "fixes" will be short term bandages on a larger problem, neglecting the long term strategies.
- Supervisor 2: Equally as effective and clear, and notably, developed a habit of pausing and taking a deep breath during high-pressure meetings before speaking. You are aware that they are frustrated, but their response isn't dictated by their emotional triggers or state. You feel comfortable explaining any issues knowing that their responses won't consist of a personal attack made out of anger, or a short term fix. They recognize how quick fixes can often lead to more trouble down the road, and work with you to map out a long-term plan.
This example illustrates a key strength of being self aware: leaders who are aware of their biases, habits, and triggers are better-situated to regulate their emotions and momentarily reflect on a decision before making it. Even that split second of pause can make all the difference, and a self aware leader is capable of understanding how every aspect of their leadership style impacts their team members.
All of these bonuses that come from regular self awareness practices lead to a more robust leadership style, and may even improve the speed at which leaders develop into competent, inspiring, and effective mentors.
Decision Making and Self Awareness
Making important decisions is probably the biggest task leaders are faced with, and the vast majority of leaders do not undertake this duty lightly. Over 85% of business leaders reportedly suffer from decision distress, the psychological phenomenon where making a decision that impacts others results in feelings of guilt, anxiety, or doubt.
If you've ever had to make a big decision, I'm sure you're familiar with that voice in your head that says:
- "Is this the right decision?"
- "What if a better option comes along later?"
- "Will others be okay after I make this decision?"
- "Am I forgetting something important while making this decision?"
No matter how big or small, a decision comes with a sense of finality, and that can be anxiety-inducing even for the most resilient leader. Making decisions is unavoidable for leaders, but self awareness can help improve the confidence leaders have in their decisions.
Self-awareness enables leaders to make informed decisions with an open mind and acknowledge their biases when doing so. It gives leaders more "data," by which they can weigh their options against their emotions, biases and priorities.
For instance, let's say that you have a client-based business with multiple clients that rely on your work. Then, you find out during your quarterly report meeting that the market has taken a downturn and you must cut costs. You already know layoffs are out of the question, so the only viable option is to reduce your client pool. The problem is that your least profitable client is also your favorite, but your most profitable client is your most difficult to work with.
However you approach this (hopefully) uncommon crossroads differs based on your situation, but leaders who lack self awareness may be tempted to make a decision based purely on their emotions (either their preference for client 1 or their dislike for client 2) without considering the bigger picture.
True self awareness enables leaders who find themselves in these unfavorable positions to take a step back and weigh every option before making a decision.
Best Practices for Developing Self Awareness
1. Practice regular self reflection.
Self awareness doesn't simply happen on command; it's a skill that develops from a consistent habit of reflecting on ourselves. And believe me when I say this is a challenging skill to develop that will take time. The human mind isn't very comfortable with pointing out weaknesses or even recognizing internal problems, and in many ways, it's a natural quirk of our psychology that guards us from feelings of guilt and shame.
Instead, I encourage you to consider self reflection not as an opportunity to put yourself down or shame yourself for past decisions, but rather, as a sign of growth and courage. It's hard admitting that we have blind spots, and the fact that you're taking this step to make change and face those fears is already something to be proud of.
Start small and ease into it. Begin with the concrete things you did, and go deeper into how those things made you and others feel. Take time each day to reflect on your actions, decisions, and interactions. Ask yourself:
- What went well today?
- What could I have done differently?
- How did my behavior impact others?
2. Seek feedback, even if it isn't what you are expecting.
It is impossible -- I repeat, impossible -- to see every single blind spot in our behaviors that impact others because, well, they're blind spots. Even with diligent self reflection, we can neglect other aspects of our leaderships styles that aren't received by others as we intended.
But as the old adage goes, "I don't know what I don't know," meaning that you can't fix a problem if you are not even aware it is a problem.
That's why I encourage everyone from the seasoned CEO to the developing young leader to seek feedback from mentors, colleagues, friends, and especially employees.
Constructive feedback on your leadership style and decision-making can only help you grow and spot those areas that need tweaking. Tools like 360-degree reviews provide valuable insights into your strengths and areas for improvement, but only if you approach it from a place of wanting to grow, and not from defensiveness.
Even if an employee has strong opinions about your leadership effectiveness, if they give this feedback in a respectful and cogent manner, then I believe that kind of honesty can become your most valuable tool for building self awareness quickly and efficiently.
3. Identify your strengths and weaknesses.
If you only take one thing away from this blog post, it should be that a self aware leader -- at their core -- recognizes their strengths and weaknesses.
These look different to everyone, but importantly, a self aware leader does not try to pretend or build the illusion that they have no weaknesses. Instead, a self aware leader acknowledges that they have these particular weaknesses and do their best to ensure that their decisions are not made in response to these shortcomings.
I find that taking time to write down your strengths and weakness is particularly effective. For example, your list could look something like this:
- Strengths:
- I am responsive to the needs of my team members.
- I am a capable communicator.
- I am understanding of the personal struggles that my employees face that may impact their work.
- I do my best to make my employees feel valued in the workplace.
- Weaknesses:
- During tight deadlines, I tend to be short and curt with responses to my team members.
- I am sometimes forgetful and need reminders from team members even if it is not their job to do so.
- I sometimes let immediate needs guide my decisions.
Whatever your list looks like, remember that leaders lead by example, and if you show that you’re willing to grow and improve, your team will likely do the same.
Conclusion
We all make choices and leaders are human beings who struggle with the pressure of making high-impact, long-lasting decisions throughout their careers. Self awareness cannot lead you to the "right" answer, but it can instill greater confidence in the decisions you do make, ensuring you make your choice from a place of true objectivity.
Leaders who embody self-awareness inspire trust, build meaningful relationships, and make well-informed decisions that align with their values. Cultivating traits like humility, emotional regulation, and adaptability allow self-aware leaders to set a powerful example for their teams.
Start small—reflect daily, welcome feedback, and practice mindfulness—and watch as your leadership and decision-making success transform.
