Why Self-Awareness is Critical for Leaders: Insights for Executive Coaches
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What is a self-aware leader?
Self-awareness is the foundation of an effective leadership style. The self-aware leader has a deep understanding of their personal strengths, weaknesses, emotions, and how their emotions and behaviors impact others. In our complex work environments, this self-knowledge is crucial for leaders to enable them to foster engagement, respect, and a positive organizational culture.
What is the impact of low self-awareness on leadership?
Although many leaders have an adequate level of self-awareness, when situations are especially stressful the impact of even slightly lower self-awareness is magnified and may cause the individual to experience:
- Becoming irritated easily and their anger can make them treat people abrasively
- Feeling imbalanced in their work and home life
- Difficulty aligning work with personal values and goals
- If one is not sensitive to their own emotions during stressful times, they may develop symptoms (messages from their bodies) such as headaches, lower back pain, anxiety attacks, and sleep difficulty
- Becoming volatile, impulsive and projecting blame onto others
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Self-awareness is also the core of emotional intelligence because without an awareness of our own emotions, what causes them, and how we react to them, the leader is hindered in developing the most effective options to both manage oneself and to understand and manage others.
Leaders who are more aware of their emotions find it easier to regulate their behavior and manage the impact of their emotions on their co-workers and family members. Moreover, leaders who are in tune with the physiological signs of their emotions use those clues to help them identify emotional information and use that data to their benefit.
The Business Case for Self-Awareness
The popular Harvard Business Review article entitled, Self-Awareness Can Help Leaders More Than an MBA Can, by Hougaard, Carter and Afton, emphasized how business leaders need high self-awareness. Leaders who exhibit self-awareness are more effective, adaptable, and capable of creating a constructive work atmosphere. This not only benefits individual performance but also enhances team productivity. In contrast, a lack of self-awareness in leaders can lead to challenges, such as poor communication, decreased team morale, and reduced effectiveness.
An organization's overall health and success are influenced by the presence of self-aware leaders, who often cultivate collaborative and innovative cultures.
Coaching Homework Assignments to Enhance Self-Awareness
Executive coaches help leaders become more self-aware, which can lead to greater transparency in the leader's style helping them to be a more influential and respected leader. The following coaching homework assignments have been helpful for my coaching clients:
- Practicing simple self-reflection such as a five-minute inner focus for mindful breathing to pause and meditate briefly on centering oneself is a powerful method to create the conditions for self-awareness. Once centered, then check in, by asking oneself, "how am I feeling right now?" or "what is going on with me?" This type of simple self-reflection is a key technique that helps in managing thoughts and emotions, leading to improved decision-making.
- Journaling for ten minutes each day at a set time is another helpful ritual, which is a reflective practice to enable leaders to evaluate their leadership style and identify areas for growth. The leader could respond to prompts such as, "how am I feeling right now?" or "what is one thing I need to be honest about today that will help me be more effective?"
- Feedback mechanisms are incredibly helpful, such as the formal assessment tools that an executive coach uses.
- Simply asking key colleagues what they recommend one does more or less of, or keep doing the same, are rarely asked often enough—but I have found seeking that type of direct feedback to be especially useful. It is important for the recipient to genuinely say "thank you" for the feedback.
- The most effective development process for increasing the leader's self-awareness is executive coaching which offers a personalized approach. Professional coaches help "hold up a mirror" for the leader so they can develop more accurate self-assessment—to be able to see themselves as others see them.
The leader's journey to enhanced self-awareness is multifaceted, requiring self-motivation and often involving techniques from organizational psychology and executive coaching. These methods, combined with the guidance of a skilled coach, enable leaders to develop greater self-awareness, improved performance, and the superior organizational success that a more refined leadership style brings.
