“Look outside, and you will see yourself. Look inside, and you will find yourself.” — Drew Gerald.
Are you a leader, or are you an entrepreneur? Perhaps you are a combination of both. Not every entrepreneur makes an effective leader. Like entrepreneurship, leadership requires a certain level of self-awareness to help elevate team respect and deliver measurable results.
Self-awareness refers to the consciousness of one’s individuality or personality. Being self-aware means, you understand who you are, what drives you, and how you react in different situations. There are self-imposed rules that govern your professional behavior, commitment to a result, and how you interact with others.
Take a moment now to assess your self-awareness. Think about how you make decisions. What triggers you to action? What influences you? The subject of self-awareness is extensive and worthy of constant evaluation. To get you started, here are some tips on how to become more self-aware so that you can enhance your leadership potential.
1. Allow yourself to feel.
Your feelings are important, whether as an ordinary person or leader. They can be positive or negative and may include sadness, happiness, excitement, or guilt. The goal is not to label your feelings as bad or good and not to suppress them.
For better self-awareness, it is crucial to understand your feelings and not to judge them. When you allow yourself to feel, understand your feelings’ genesis and manage them. Use your emotions as a learning opportunity to better your leadership skills.
2. Ask for feedback.
Seek the opinion of others by asking for their perspectives regarding your ability to handle certain matters. For example, approach your colleagues, family members, or trusted members of your team.
Create a work environment that encourages employees to share their opinions on how effective everyone in the team is. Use this information to gain an insight into your behavior patterns, particularly those you are not aware of.
3. Take advantage of gaps.
Take a deeper look at your strengths and weaknesses. Identify gaps in your work processes rather than looking for things that you may be doing wrong. Then, determine what causes these gaps so that you can improve on them.
Emotional intelligence and self-awareness are crucial traits for every leader. Know your personality, values, habits, needs, and emotions. Understand how they affect your feelings and attitude towards others. Self-awareness will help you manage your feelings and make better decisions, which are vital for good leadership.