Lao-Tzu, the famous Chinese philosopher once said: “It is wisdom to know others; it is enlightenment to know one’s self.”
I couldn’t agree more, as I have always believed that becoming a great leader does not and surely cannot happen overnight. Rather, it is a lifelong journey that requires a great amount of introspection and self-awareness.
Throughout more than 20 years of my career working with leaders, one common attribute I notice among those who manage to achieve higher team performance is the awareness of their own thoughts and emotions when working with other people.
In terms of teamwork, self-awareness enables leaders to acknowledge the way they see and respond to people, which eventually affects the way people perceive them in the leadership role.
As a matter of fact, when we commit to being truly aware of the impact of our reactions, the influence we have on others, and conscious of the incredible opportunities we can create for ourselves and others around us, then we have unique opportunity to reflect on our own paths as leaders and to build greater self-awareness.
It is these moments of self-discovery that I am certain can help you make a bigger and broader impact in the world and for the people around you.
A research study conducted in 2010 by Green Peak Partners and the Cornell School of Industrial and Labor Relations examined a number of executive interpersonal traits and this is what I found strikingly interesting:
“[i]nterestingly, a high self-awareness score was the strongest predictor of overall success. This is not altogether surprising as executives who are aware of their weaknesses are often better able to hire subordinates who perform well in categories in which the leader lacks acumen. These leaders are also more able to entertain the idea that someone on their team may have an idea that is even better than their own.”
In this sense, we can see that self-awareness essentially has never really been one of the big top leadership qualities on the list, unlike vision, charisma or strategic thinking; instead, it is a quieter supplementary quality but it certainly enables high-octane leaders to perform better.
However, when leaders develop self-awareness, they become more conscious of what they are good at while acknowledging what they still have yet to learn. This includes admitting when you don’t have the answer and owning up to mistakes.
Although in our highly competitive culture, in a world that believes triumph is everything, this can seem counterintuitive. In fact, many of us operate on the belief that we must appear as though we know everything all the time, or else people will question our abilities, diminishing our effectiveness as leaders because they perceive weakness.
In the past that was often true. Marketplaces didn’t change nearly as quickly s they do today, and the experience people gathered over a career almost always stayed relevant as they became leaders and bosses. The boss really did know best.
Unfortunately, given the current rapid pace of change and the ubiquity of online information, no one person can possibly “know” everything.
So what can leaders do to embrace this change? I’d say be honest with yourself. Because whether you acknowledge your weaknesses or not, everyone can still see them. Moreover, the person who tries to hide his or her weaknesses actually highlights them, creating the perception of a lack of integrity and self-awareness.
Anthony K Tjan nicely summarised the benefit of self-awareness in his article “How Leaders Become Self-Aware”: “[w]ithout self-awareness, you cannot understand your strengths and weakness, your ‘super powers’ versus your ‘kryptonite’. It is self-awareness that allows the best business-builders to walk the tightrope of leadership: projecting conviction while simultaneously remaining humble enough to be open to new ideas and opposing opinions.”
Simply put, self-awareness helps you get better because you know how well you are doing now. It will help you make the right decisions when you know your blind spots. It will help you do great work because you remember you past mistakes and address them. It will help you become a better leader because you know which mindset you’re operating from.
In other words, being self-aware is being self-knowledgeable and it will be your guiding compass on your endless learning journey as a leader.
Now you can probably see why self-awareness is an essential trait to leadership, so for those who have never laid eyes on this self-reflection and its rewards, I suggest you start today.
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Arinya Talerngsri is Group Managing Director at APMGroup, Thailand’s leading Organisation and People Development Consultancy. She can be reached by e-mail at arinya_t@apm.co.th or https://www.linkedin.com/pub/arinya-talerngsri/a/81a/53b
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