Self-aware

LEADING SELF

You understand your impact on others and you strengthen your personal capability over time.

Self-awareness looks like admitting your own mistakes, asking others how they’re feeling, or reflecting on your own performance and asking others for input on possible development.

When you are self-aware, you…

• Seek feedback on your own performance

• Self-regulate

• Adapt your approach to the situation

• Display humility

• Demonstrate empathy and compassion

Quick tips

• Everyone has strengths and development opportunities. Strive to maintain a balanced view of your performance.

• See development as an ongoing process of learning and growth.

• When receiving feedback, try not to be defensive or dismissive.

• Always remain open to feedback this will help to create a culture that is open, constructive, and feedback friendly.

• Be supportive of others by listening and exploring their concerns until you reach a shared understanding.

• When you don’t receive the response you desire be willing to adapt your approach and style.

• Share your challenges and struggles with others in a constructive way to help build trust and understanding.

Practice this behaviour

Here are some ways you can practice this behaviour:

• Ask your peers for feedback on your leadership approach and impact. Ask them what you should stop doing, start doing and continue doing.

• Join in a diversity initiative. Work out an organisational approach for leveraging interpersonal differences.

• Keep a journal about the issues and opportunities you’ve faced and how you responded to those. Reflect on what worked, what didn’t, and what you would do differently next time.

• Join a work group or task force that includes people from diverse interest groups or departments. Ask for suggestions on how you can work more collaboratively with the group.

What can hold you back

Here are some things that could get in the way of developing this behaviour:

• Not prioritising your own development. Don’t treat continuing professional development as something you’ll do when you find the time – you have to make the time.

• Operating on instinct. Instead, plan your leadership approach.

• Not asking for feedback. It may feel unnatural to you at first, but practice asking for feedback until it’s second nature.

Related learning

Related programmes